An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears

It took me weeks to make it through this book, and at times I wondered why I was bothering, but very nearly the end it paid off.  Up till that point I thought it was a very well-written period book, but the details on political intrigue in England circa 1660 were really passing me by, and I was impatiently waiting for it to be over so I could start on one of the two new books I just got on the Byzantine Empire.
Then - and I won't detail what happened - this magnificent idea started stirring, and over the last section of the book it was like watching some incredible bird rising up and spreading its wings, shaking off the leaves.  It was not unlike watching a M. Night Shymalan movie, except that I wasn't watching for it - it starting dawning on me just as it did the narrator.  The petty political maneuverings and narrow-minded perspectives of the prior parts of the book just fell into place as I grasped the overall story.
So it's safe to say that I liked it.