Reviews with content warning for Rape - After Sappho

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

12 reviews

arcookson's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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deedireads's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads

After Sappho was my 11th read from the 2022 Booker Prize longlist, and what a unique little book! When they say it “defies genre,” they really mean it. I’m not sure that it was really for me, but I have a boatload of respect for what Selby Wynn Schwartz has pulled off.

The book reimagines the lives of real women — mostly lesbians — who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Virginia Woolf, etc.). Threaded throughout is a choral voice representing the amalgamation of all of them. It’s poetic, it’s imaginative — and it must have taken so much research to create.

Unless you know a lot about at least some of these women, this is definitely a “go with the flow” / “just vibes” kind of book. As per my usual, I wasn’t really able to let go and just sink into that approach. So I think I would have liked this book if I was a bit more of a history nerd. In fact, I think queer/lesbian/feminist history buffs will LOVE this one. Still, I’m impressed and can definitely see why it’s gotten critical acclaim.

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fionamundy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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caseygracee's review against another edition

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slow-paced

1.5

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mmcloe's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

A little disappointing on the whole, especially seeing the extensive citation of Saidiya Hartman in the acknowledgments. One of the things that makes speculative fabulation so brilliant is the capacity to illuminate the stories of those mutilated and plastered over by the archives, using storytelling to push back and heal against this mutilation.

This book's work really only focused on those who have been vindicated by the archives - the brilliant writers and early feminists who have been the subject of countless scholarly evaluations. And in doing so, the author glossed over much of the less savory aspects of these people's lives and ideologies. Overall, a relatively straight approach to historical queerness.

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