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Michael's Reviews > Possession
Possession
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by
Michael's review
bookshelves: fiction, mystery, historical-fiction, 1001-books, england, academia, books-about-books
Aug 13, 2010
bookshelves: fiction, mystery, historical-fiction, 1001-books, england, academia, books-about-books
A fun ride that wavers between the competitive/collaborative work of two literary contemporary scholars in England and their subjects, fictive Victorian poets who had a secret love affair. The latter slowly comes out through letters, close reading of poems, and other clues pieced together by creative sleuthing. I liked how the story contrasts the cultures of the two eras and its accounting for why literary scholars often become obsessed with the personal lives of their favorite writers in order to "possess" them. �
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
June 6, 2010
–
Finished Reading
August 13, 2010
– Shelved
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
academia
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
england
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
1001-books
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
mystery
July 31, 2012
– Shelved as:
fiction
March 13, 2014
– Shelved as:
books-about-books
Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)
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Florence (Lefty)
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Nov 06, 2012 05:13PM
A friend of mine just added this to her 'abandoned' shelf - she hated it. Nice to read your spin.
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Among lots of high ratings, it does garner quite a few negative reactions. Maybe try The Children's Book for a more trustable read if you want to explore Byatt.
A bookseller recommended this to me as I was leaving for a month-long hiking trip in Ireland and Brittany. Reading it while exploring Brittany's coastal paths and culture was magical. Michael, I think our reading tastes match except for science fiction.
Elizabeth wrote: "...Reading it while exploring Brittany's coastal paths and culture was magical. ...I think our reading tastes match except for science fiction...Love that evocation of place in literature. Like the book "Dakota" for which you are the only person I know who read it. Please, please throw out more of your thoughts on your reading, so I can share in your journey. Just because others seem more skilled in crafting responses, each individual's reaction represents something new and valid in the universe.
Byatt's "The Children's Book" was masterful for historical fiction and "Whistling Woman" was fine to me on how elucidating how one's work and personal life intersect.
You say no to sci fi, but rated "Hot Zone" highly. The issue could be in finding the right sci fi to read. I don't understand artificially handicapping one's reading range. I can't see what didn't work for you with use of some basic tags ("shelf" labels) to negotiate your read book list.
Oh Michael, so glad to see our 5 stars. First read it years ago and loved I. Tired of the seemingly endless stories written in what we call 'yr12'... (YA) style. Loving it again already.
Lesley wrote: "Oh Michael, so glad to see our 5 stars. First read it years ago and loved I. Tired of the seemingly endless stories written in what we call 'yr12'... (YA) style. Loving it again already."Great to hear from a fellow fan. Have had very satisfactory reads of four of her books and could use your advice on favorites. Have collected 3 others, one of which, Babel Tower, seems daumting but likely rewarding.
I can't remember which of any of the others I have read.. Can't see why not, but none ring a bell except for the FABULOUS "The Childrens Book".. Must see if my EBOOK library has the quartet,
Phew. I made it to the end, but I didn't really find the fun you did. I do agree that The Children's Book is more accessible, but with many of the same good points.
Cecily wrote: "Phew. I made it to the end, but I didn't really find the fun you did. I do agree that The Children's Book is more accessible, but with many of the same good points."Looking forward to your review. Hard to put my finger on why it was "fun", but I think it had to do with the ongoing time-machine effect. Lives in the past presaging parallels in the present and lives in the present imagining the past is still alive. I didn't attend closely to play with prose forms, whether modernism was slipping into portrayal of the past, and vice versa. The movie kind of sucked, the interplay of competition and romance of the scholars brought out the parody element, but the immersive transitions between past and present fostered some of that dizzy feeling you get like on a merry-go-round.
Michael wrote: "Looking forward to your review...."Done and dusted, here.
Michael wrote: "Hard to put my finger on why it was "fun", but I think it had to do with the ongoing time-machine effect. Lives in the past presaging parallels in the present and lives in the present imagining the past is still alive...."
Yes, that was all so very clever.
I'm not in any rush to see the film, and your comment reinforces that.
Another one I need to get to. Nice review, Michael
Tammy wrote: "Another one I need to get to. Nice review, Michael"Sincere thanks. I need to revive the capacity of doing three sentence reviews. Hope to next read her Babel Tower.
