Perhaps it's because I listened to the audiobook or that I was in a weird headspace, but I just couldn't get into this one. I found the politics of it all pretty boring and difficult to grasp since I don't care too much about overseas politics. Especially in the early 1960's. 

I also didn't find the characters lovable, and I didn't feel like we got to know them well enough outside of Vera. But the spacing was also very slow, in my opinion. It felt tedious, and I ended up speeding the audiobook up to 1.5 speed just so I could get through it.

I bet if I ended up really trying to pay attention I'd like it more? But the pacing really made it difficult for me to enjoy or want to enjoy this book.