Another reviewer started out his review with the question: Did we read the same book? Those are my exact sentiments to the reviewers who praised this work.Doctorow has always been a difficult read to me. Although I loved the musical RAGTIME, I found the book difficult to read. At that point I gave up on his books. Had I taken that pattern into consideration, I would not have bothered with THE MARCH.As usual Doctorow has a "shotgun" - scattered approach to his characters. You get a little bit of various characters who eventually interact. As a result, I didn't feel attached to any of the characters, except perhaps Pearl, the mulatto former slave.I'm sure that THE MARCH will become a movie. Sean Penn will be great as Arly and Hallie Berry will play Pearl. The screen writer will tighten up the story as did the writer for Ragtime, the musical.General Sherman makes limited appearances in the story.The only strong point of the novel is the demonstration of the brutality of war.