I. Personally, I love it, so I might not be the best person to ask. It has definitely turned some people off due to subject matter and some scenes. I think there's probably a little bit of love/hate spectrum going on, but I also know some people who fall in between. Best way to find out is to play!
II. I agree with
Henchmen13 that this is unique among the games that I've played. There are others that are written well, but it's hard to come up with a strong analogy.
III. Yeah, I dunno if it'll be 9 months or only 6, but it's definitely gonna be a minute.
IV. I don't know the answer, but I hope the woodchuck survived your questioning.