A review by hadu
Possession by A.S. Byatt
4.0
When I first started reading "Possession" my first impression was that it was slow, boring, and slightly pretentious. I considered not continuing to read but I'm glad I stuck with it because the story did pick up. Although I can see where someone with different interests than me would remain unenthused. If you're looking for action packed adventure or other dramatic scenes this probably isn't the book for you. If you have an interest in the complexity of emotions and relationships then I think you will enjoy this book.
I couldn't help but think of today's gossip magazines while reading about Ash and Christabel's affair through Roland, Maud, and the other scholars' research. I was sometimes appalled by their ravenous need to know everything about the two poets who were long dead...then I realized that I was dying to know it all as well so I couldn't pass judgement. I found it suffocating to think of a life spent researching another's life and not having much of a life outside of that.
The portrayal of Americans in this book bothered me just a little. We aren't all sneaky, overweight, loud, and selfish people although I won't deny that people fitting that description do exist in this country.
I've always had some trouble reading poetry and honestly when I came upon the sections of "Possession" where there was a poetry passage it felt like work reading them and trying to understand the hidden meanings and metaphors. But I will say I did notice over time that they started to make a bit more sense and made me wonder if I should consider reading poems more often.
I couldn't help but think of today's gossip magazines while reading about Ash and Christabel's affair through Roland, Maud, and the other scholars' research. I was sometimes appalled by their ravenous need to know everything about the two poets who were long dead...then I realized that I was dying to know it all as well so I couldn't pass judgement. I found it suffocating to think of a life spent researching another's life and not having much of a life outside of that.
The portrayal of Americans in this book bothered me just a little. We aren't all sneaky, overweight, loud, and selfish people although I won't deny that people fitting that description do exist in this country.
I've always had some trouble reading poetry and honestly when I came upon the sections of "Possession" where there was a poetry passage it felt like work reading them and trying to understand the hidden meanings and metaphors. But I will say I did notice over time that they started to make a bit more sense and made me wonder if I should consider reading poems more often.