I hate to do this, but I think I'm going to have to go ahead and mark this as my first official DNF. 
 Sigh. 
 I feel pretty bad doing this, considering I've forced myself to finish books I truly disliked simply because I have a need for completion and closure and hate leaving anything half done (not to mention I hate reviewing anything I haven't finished), but I'm afraid for the time being there's not a way around it. With the heavy load of reading material on my to-read list I just can't slow down for a book like this. 
 The story itself is really solid, and I was drawn to it by the movie version. However, the movie version had good pacing going for it, whereas this book -- while good -- just plods along like a wagon with a squeaky wheel. There's nothing WRONG with the book, the words form a perfectly nice and coherent story, but it just feels...bleak... Eilis is a wonderful character, but she doesn't spring to life on the page and most of what I find I like about her is all the personality actress Saoirse Ronan gave her in the film over what I'm actually plodding along with in my reading. 
 Maybe I'll go back someday and look into this again, because it really isn't BAD, but I just can't handle how bleak and plodding it is right now, especially since I know the plot almost word from word from the film. This very rarely ever turns me off as a reader, even if it is verbatim, but in this case... I dunno... It's just not doing anything for me right now.