It took me a while to get around to it, but this is the fourth SF novel I've read. In ranking terms, I'd place it behind Birdsong, but slightly in front of On Green Dolphin St, and a street or two ahead of Charlotte Gray. My only real problem with the book is that I felt I was being asked to both like and sympathise with Anne unreservedly, and I'm far from sure that's warranted. Yes, she'd had more than her fair share of tragedy in her past, and certainly her 'present' life is no picnic, but the reader is not led to believe she has any thought, consideration or remorse for Christine, the wife of her lover, Charles Hartmann. Indeed, another angle on events might reasonably portray a devious and plotting Anne doing everything possible to selfishly wrench her quarry away from his loyal and loving wife; a woman not untouched by recent personal tragedies of her own. That apart, I felt the book 'worked', and cleverly evoked sharp images of small-town France between the wars, without swamping the reader with pages of detail. It's well-written, the characters are interesting, the storyline is engaging and it all makes for a very enjoyable read. Don't expect too much of this simple tale and you won't be disappointed. So, where would we be without rules? Ask the pub landlord (at the Golden Lion?).