It was a HUGE struggle for me to get through the first part of this book-- mostly because Lotto was such an irritating character, but also because the language was either absolutely beautiful or incredibly pretentious, and never anything in between. It was exhausting to read, but I forced myself to stick with it because I knew that a change in perspective was coming soon (thank you, other GR reviewers!) 
 Mercifully, the second half of the book told Mathilde's story, which was somewhat more straightforward and MUCH more compelling. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that it goes a long way toward redeeming the lackluster first half. I give the first part of the story 1 1/2 stars, the second part 3 1/2 stars, and the book as a whole a generous 3 stars.