If this author did not have an excellent reputation as a poet, it's hard to imagine this novel would ever have been published. There are so many exquisite lines that could have won the Bulwer Lytton contest for the worst first sentence of a novel that in their 'poesy' keep you laughing. My favorite is one which is about a person whose eyes were the blue color of the pilot light of a stove of (and now I am making this up to match my recollection) owned by a man who..... add a full description of the rest of the house and how much he pays his gardener. Yes, if you are a fan of the music of words you will like this, but if you try to imagine a scene related to what the words describe you will find yourself in hysterics or scratching your head in a 'say what'. Either that or you will get seasick as you imagine the waving oleanders. It's been several years since I read this novel but chanced upon it on this website. Despite the excess, the story is a rose among the thorns of excessive writing that is worth reading.