This...

This is one of the reasons I have stuck with Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson, which can be a bit draggy (emotionally and plot-wise) and disjointed (purposely so and to great effect) at some points, but is ultimately one of the best things (and also one of the few books to have held my interest in a while) I have read recently. The writing is always good, even if it takes a good thirty or so pages before it gets going in a way that makes you want to keep reading...