As a once-teenage Lemony Snicket addict I was pessimistic about Daniel Handler's adult offerings when I picked this (the first "grown up" title of his I've read) up but I was won over by the end of the first page. Each sentence is heart-stoppingly beautiful and even my literary-fiction hating mind picked up on the themes running throughout and adored each almost as much as I fell in love with every single one of the wonderful characters. Anyone who's ever cared about anyone in any way should read this book, probably twice to make sure it sinks in...