Seriously, it's awesome. I had to purchase this book in order to do a presentation in my Turkish Culture and Civilization class, and really, for assigned reading, I haven't yet seen a book with as many overlapping and complex themes as Orhan Pamuk's 'Snow'. On the outside, it's an examination of the clash between the secular West of Turkey and the more traditional East, but on reading the book further you find a delightfully interwoven tale of love, loss, and self-discovery. It can be a little depressing at first, what with all the suicide, but nonetheless you won't be able to put it down until you finish, and even if you are able to put it down by some master sorcery you won't be able to get it off your mind for at least a day.