This is one of my all time favorite books. As someone that reads at least a book a day, I feel somewhat qualified to say what is a good book or not. This one is a good book. The love story just sucked me right in. The prose was amazing. Descriptions made me feel like I was actually in Africa. The ending was a shocker, but not too much if you paid close attention throughout the book. I loved the use of italics in the forward sections, very fitting.
Overall, I read this book every six months or so, just because I love it so much. I've read a few others by Shreve, but this one takes the cake.