I found this book incredibly difficult to rate. I was torn between 3 and 5 stars, so I have compromised with 4. 
 On the one hand, I can appreciate that it is a true masterpiece. It is incredibly well written, the characters are so well developed and so real, the attention to detail is flawless, and it so, so much more than a 'horror novel'. Much as I enjoyed the movie, after reading the book I can fully understand why Stephen King hates the movie. It is nothing like the novel. I know it will stay with me for a long time. 
 On the other hand.... I just found it a little tedious. I actually took a break when I was halfway through and read another book before coming back to this one. At almost 700 pages it is pretty long but this has not usually been a problem in the past- when I've loved a book, I've still flown through it. I guess I just didn't love this one. Can't really put my finger on exactly why.