i believe i started the book in high school, but stopped just before chapter 7. picked it back up several years later, and i'm glad i waited. just like in 'to kill a mockingbird', i found the side characters (especially the more oppressed ones) to be more intriguing to me than the main character/narrator; and just as similarly, this novel's politics seem to be painted with a fairly wide brush. 

easily, the most gripping parts of this book are in its characters and the trauma they endure, as well as the conflicts they grabble with. i appreciate the emotional roller coaster this put me through, i got some healthy cries out of it.