In a perfect world HBO would do a page by page adaptation but I am guessing that this is not economically feasible (full disclosure: I have never been a TV executive so I really have nothing with which to base this on...but I did just drink a V-8). Other than Silence of the Lambs and LOTR I can think of no movies/tv shows that have lived up to the source material yet I have enjoyed many adaptations. So u should lower your expectations or get used to disappointment (incidentally this is how I have stayed married for 18 years).
Oh, believe me, I don't expect much.. Like I said, I do enjoy the show for what it is. But when a character is still alive for a season and a half longer than he should be, or characters are completely left out, or clumsily combined into other characters, it disappoints me. Of course, they can't let the cast get too big, and I totally understand why they can't, and shouldn't. I love the show, because it makes it easier to talk to my friends about something that I do really love, and it is definitely entertaining. It's just leaving out so many things that I really wanted to see, and I would hate to see something similar happen to East of West because budgetary restraints.