The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard

This book was so boring I could barely stand it. In fact, I had to abandon ship halfway through. The main character is kind of interesting, as are the two kids, but the story itself is so slow-paced that the characters can't carry the book. I found myself daydreaming everytime I tried to read it. The writing was over the top...the author sounds as if she's writing to try to get an award rather than tell a story. Pretentious readers may try to act like they enjoyed this mess, but don't believe them. One of the worst books I've ever read.