I always love Shreves genius in coming up with tales of woe. She is a master story teller and can weave the tiniest detail of a personality in moment in time, and eventually have it implode. Such a wonderful descriptive writer and she seems to know these people well and she understands her characters with true subtleties. This was a wonder rich book but not a tale that was at all enjoyable. The narrator was a true sociopath, he wanted his own way and did not really care how he got it or whom he hurt. I think a lot of people think these types of people are not caring or loving, they are but not if it does not suit their purpose. How he manipulated his daughter was disgusting. But the cleverness of Shreve's writing shone through with how she wove a tale of true tragedy on something so simple as marrying someone you do not love. The Asher brothers were an interesting pair, we knew very little about them but amazingly their characters seemed to come alive within the Tale. None of the Characters were particularly endearing they were slighty grey and sad. I could see how the tale could have had a few endings and was glad that Shrive took it the ways she did. A very good read and one to try if you are not depressed by bad romantic or life choices.