The plot was interesting, but it moved too slowly for me. More than 100 pages in, and it was still not clear how the two different story lines were related.

The author also spends a lot of time on the descriptions of the characters' surroundings, which I found annoying. They were too long, often unnecessary, and they kept the story from progressing. (Do I really need to know every time the baby arches his back to look up at the ceiling? That there was pannini bread on the floor of the coffee shop?)

I like that O'Farrell created buildings and landmarks that were (unbeknownst to the characters) shared by the characters from the past and present.

Some of my friends will want to skip this one because of the sexual themes it contains.