I have read this book before, about 10 years ago but I couldn't remember much detail, just the general gist of it.
At first I found the book to be a bit depressing, the father is a bit of a no-hoper and I wanted to shout at him! Also it dealt with some pretty sad events quite early on. I also found it to be very full of detail, it felt slightly padded out. So, I skim read the first third or so of it, without feeling I had missed much. However it really gets going in the second half, the children start to grow up and really shine, lifting the story away from from the unreliable/dislikeable adults of the family who gradually move to the background (the father especially). The main character's spirit really comes though, the details seem to add much more to the story and the end is uplifting. I'm glad I persevered!