I am an animal lover and I was warned by the book club leader that I may not be able to get through this book, but I couldn't put this book down after the prologue. I thought Sara Gruen did a fantastic job with the narrator and I liked the switching between present and past. Some people will be extremely bothered by the abuse that goes on with both people and animals in this book, but remember there was very little regulation regarding animal abuse or spousal abuse during the time the story takes place. Don't let other reviewers scare you away from reading this book. This is one of my favorite books this year. It did not disappoint me, but rather left me wanting to read more!