Honestly there seems to be a lot of mixed feelings about this and I really get it. That said, while it isn't my sort of thing, I also think this book is incredibly well crafted and contrary to a lot of other people I do think it will age well. Think time capsule rather than dating itself. There is some risk of losing the audience with so many character, but the book is more than long enough to let you grow familiar with them all and genuinely feel (positive or negative) for them and have strong opinions on what happens to each of them.
Not my thing, but I can still clearly see that its a fantastic piece of storytelling.