I read this a few weeks before the movie came out and wanted to finish it before the movie hit the theaters. As usual and not surprising, the book is much better than the movie. From the beginning of the story when the author spoke to his editor and said after spending some time in Savannah that NYC was boring I was hooked (as I was living in Manhattan for some time when I read this book).The characters were rich, vibrant, and one more eccentric than the next. The narrative of the city, weather, culture, and personalities was fun, funny, and created vivid images. It was a tragic story in so many ways with real and flawed characters. A Very good read!