mkean's review against another edition
2.0
Morpho Eugenia: 2/5. Enjoyed (the naturalist) parts of it, but the twist was unexpected, perhaps even unnecessary???? after reading other reviews, why are people so taken by it??
outoftheofficeagain's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
I just finished the novella collection, ‘Angels & Insects’ by AS Byatt, which is a bind up of two novellas; Morpho Eugenia and Conjugial Angel. Both stories are set in Victorian England (like the poet plot in ‘Possession’) and employ many of the same storytelling devices and themes that I enjoyed so much in ‘Possession’, in new and interesting ways.
Morpho Eugenia focuses a lot on science and the juxtaposition of science and religion. It follows a scientific explorer after his research is destroyed in a shipwreck. He goes to stay with a wealthy family where he catalogues their collection of specimens and he falls in love with the beautiful daughter. While there he helps with the younger children’s lessons and begins observing the ant population. It has an almost gothic vibe to it, and deals with a dark revelation. Even though I saw it coming, and you might say it’s “too long”, because like ‘Possession’ it goes off on tangents and quotes poetry and even contains a story within the novella, the atmosphere is just so enjoyable. I love her writing and am happy to experience it, wherever it goes.
Another thing I noticed was that this style she uses reminds me a lot of classics I’ve really enjoyed, like ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ or ‘A Room with a View’. There are conversations between characters that explore opposing viewpoints on a theme or ruminate on an idea for multiple pages. Her works have that feeling and it works so well within the setting.
Conjugial Angel is about mediums and seances and connection through death. Full disclosure I thought I would prefer this one, but it didn’t quite hit for me. I still enjoyed her writing and some of the moments, and ideas presented.
As I said in my ‘Possession” review, these just won’t be for everyone… but if it works, I think you’ll really enjoy the time you spend here. The next books I have of AS Byatt’s to work my way through is that Frederica Quartet which is set in the 60s and 70s. So it should be a little different, and I’m excited to see what changes in her style. BUT I’m waiting a bit before I start it, as each book is quite long.
skmatson10's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is extraordinarily well written especially considering it’s time. If I hadn’t known better I would’ve thought it was a true Victorian gothic novel. The first novella I was more interested in plot wise, the second I’m sure I would have been more engaged with if I was in a different headspace but I just couldn’t concentrate on something so intellectual and convoluted. I also wasn’t as interested in the poetry in the second and I didn’t feel like I knew the history of the poets well enough to understand.
ainsleyiscariot's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kristinana's review against another edition
4.0
I quickly skimmed the first page of the other reader reviews of this book and discovered that my opinion in comparing the two novellas that comprise it is opposite of most readers. It seems most readers (from the top page, at least) prefer the first novella, "Morpho Eugenia" (the "Insects" section) to "The Conjugal Angel" (the "Angels" section).
For me, "Morpho Eugenia" was a little disappointing. I don't always need to be surprised by what I read, but the characters in this novella were a bit too derivative, the family secret incredibly obvious... well, actually, the whole plot and most of the characters were either obvious or one-dimensional. While I am utterly in awe of Byatt's ability to replicate Victorian prose debates about science and religion, I have to admit that, unlike her equally brilliant (but also beautiful and highly readable) faux Victorian poetry and fairy tales, I did not want to read her faux-Victorian debates. Ultimately things felt too simplistic; the story just didn't hang together for me.
So why the four stars? Well, part of it has to do with "The Conjugal Angel," which I'll get to in a minute. But part is that, despite my problems with the plot of "Morpho Eugenia," I have to admit that much of the imagery of the story has stuck with me. Especially the parts where human and insect sex and reproduction are compared. Ew, but also very haunting.
"The Conjugal Angel" I thought was completely brilliant. This could be my own personal bias in favor of stories about spiritualism, but in any case, I really loved it. It was different from any story I've recently read about spiritualists, in that it takes the idea seriously. To make it that much better, one of the main characters is Alfred Tennyson's sister... so there's lots of poetry and interpretation to boot, plus a beautifully imagined inner life of several historical figures. This novella, to me, approaches the achievements of Possession more nearly than the first; it is a gorgeous meditation on grief and love, the burdens of the past and how we idolize the dead, and how what is unseen to others can strangle us. Plus, lots of commentary on poetry and wordplay, and I love getting lost in Byatt's twisty sentence structure.
For me, "Morpho Eugenia" was a little disappointing. I don't always need to be surprised by what I read, but the characters in this novella were a bit too derivative, the family secret incredibly obvious... well, actually, the whole plot and most of the characters were either obvious or one-dimensional. While I am utterly in awe of Byatt's ability to replicate Victorian prose debates about science and religion, I have to admit that, unlike her equally brilliant (but also beautiful and highly readable) faux Victorian poetry and fairy tales, I did not want to read her faux-Victorian debates. Ultimately things felt too simplistic; the story just didn't hang together for me.
So why the four stars? Well, part of it has to do with "The Conjugal Angel," which I'll get to in a minute. But part is that, despite my problems with the plot of "Morpho Eugenia," I have to admit that much of the imagery of the story has stuck with me. Especially the parts where human and insect sex and reproduction are compared. Ew, but also very haunting.
"The Conjugal Angel" I thought was completely brilliant. This could be my own personal bias in favor of stories about spiritualism, but in any case, I really loved it. It was different from any story I've recently read about spiritualists, in that it takes the idea seriously. To make it that much better, one of the main characters is Alfred Tennyson's sister... so there's lots of poetry and interpretation to boot, plus a beautifully imagined inner life of several historical figures. This novella, to me, approaches the achievements of Possession more nearly than the first; it is a gorgeous meditation on grief and love, the burdens of the past and how we idolize the dead, and how what is unseen to others can strangle us. Plus, lots of commentary on poetry and wordplay, and I love getting lost in Byatt's twisty sentence structure.
katmackie's review against another edition
3.0
I've given myself a day between finishing this collection of two novellas and writing a review. I'm conflicted in my overall experience, but looking back I realize just how profound it really was for me.
A.S. Byatt is a magnificent writer. I was constantly caught off guard by how shockingly beautiful many of her sentences were. This is a great book to read on an electronic reading device, unless you don't mind highlighting wonderful tidbits in your physical copy! And of course the actual plots of the stories are just as inspired.
That being said, I found myself quite distant from how often Byatt conveys love of writing and poetry in both of these stories. Being a writer herself, you can see she's passionate for what she does for a living. This is beautiful in it's own way, but I found it tangling with my desire to carry on with the actual plot lines. And while I do have a place in my heart for poetry, when it's dispersed throughout the story it tends to take me out of that specific headspace I get into while reading a novel. I think I use a different part of my brain to process it. This is what pulls my review down to three stars instead of four, for it happened often enough to become frustrating for me. This happened less in the first story, which if I were to separate them, I would give four stars.
All in all, I did truly enjoy the visual and passionate moments of both stories. Byatt is a fantastic writer and I plan on reading more of her work.
*I also remember really enjoying the movie adaptation, which I'm excited to watch again after reading the book!
A.S. Byatt is a magnificent writer. I was constantly caught off guard by how shockingly beautiful many of her sentences were. This is a great book to read on an electronic reading device, unless you don't mind highlighting wonderful tidbits in your physical copy! And of course the actual plots of the stories are just as inspired.
That being said, I found myself quite distant from how often Byatt conveys love of writing and poetry in both of these stories. Being a writer herself, you can see she's passionate for what she does for a living. This is beautiful in it's own way, but I found it tangling with my desire to carry on with the actual plot lines. And while I do have a place in my heart for poetry, when it's dispersed throughout the story it tends to take me out of that specific headspace I get into while reading a novel. I think I use a different part of my brain to process it. This is what pulls my review down to three stars instead of four, for it happened often enough to become frustrating for me. This happened less in the first story, which if I were to separate them, I would give four stars.
All in all, I did truly enjoy the visual and passionate moments of both stories. Byatt is a fantastic writer and I plan on reading more of her work.
*I also remember really enjoying the movie adaptation, which I'm excited to watch again after reading the book!
shatyraa's review against another edition
2.0
Just to much details on the insects and not enough on the characters.