I wanted to like it more than I did. To begin with, I didn't understand everything that was going on with tobacco growing, tobacco prices, surveying, and politics, and the author didn't give me a reason to care enough to try harder. Also, Chris, the hero, has an adulterous affair with a married woman and only regrets his actions because she won't ditch her husband for him. Evelyn, the woman he loves, just seemed selfish. Dorothy always seemed like the better person, but in the end she just gets Chris by default. The book perhaps painted a picture of the politics of the time, but it wasn't compelling.