What a delightfully strange book. Such wonderful characters, both human and animal. I honestly fell in love with a skunk. Never saw that coming. Numerous times I couldn't help but laugh out loud. This book had a wonderful sense of period (1899) and a terrific sense of quirkiness. This book also has the most unexpected ending I have ever read, and I absolutely loved it. Numerous parts of this book will happily stay with me for a very long time. To sum up simply, this is one of the most delightful books I've read in a long, long time.