bears and the Iowa school of writing (and italics!)
He is my fave writer, but I also have to be in the right mood for all those things too. A B+ for him would be a C for anyone else...
I think if he had included more of Esther's story and/or left her out completely or had just done a trilogy and did a follow up with Esther's Grandson (or do a longer novel and include all three stories and name it something different)....
It's like calling A Prayer for Owen Meany A Prayer for "Tertiary Character"...