Possession: A Romance
by A.S. Byatt
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Book Summary Information
Author: A.S. ByattEdition: Paperback
Published: 1991-10-01
ISBN: 0679735909
Number of pages: 576
Publisher: Random House
Book Reviews of Possession: A Romance
Book Review: A bold conception in a literally dense narrative
Summary: 5 Stars
Possession is by no means a perfect novel. Any work that forces you to consult a dictionary or encyclopedia as often as this one does, surely can't be praised for it's simplicity or lucidity. The narrative is dense with arcane words, figurative language, historical and literary allusions. Ms. Byatt's erudition can at times be overpowering. I suppose that density can in part be explained by the fact that this novel is as much about the power and joy (not to mention sensuousness) of language, as it is about a Victorian romance, paralleled by one in the 20th century under the guise of an intriguing mystery and detective story. The modern protagonists are literary scholars and their subjects are poets whose intellect and language skills act as a powerful aphrodisiac in their affair.
What totally blew me away about this novel was that Ms. Byatt was able to synthesize all the critical and sundry elements into a coherent whole that not only had my attention riveted throughout it's wild temporal transitions between the Victorian era (through the correspondence of the poets and journals of their intimates) and modern English society through the inquiries and travels of Roland Michell, Maud Bailey, and their contemporaries, but also contained insights into the psychology of male and female relationships as it pertains not only to physical, but to intellectual and emotional needs.
What is even more amazing, is that Ms. Byatt herself, in the creation of Ash and LaMott, has proven herself to be a poet of outstanding ability and sensibility. She has breathed life into these characters and their poems, so much so, that when consulting my encyclopedia on the likes of Vigo, Swedenborg, Swammerdam, Wordsworth, and Donne, I would almost have expected to find articles on Byatt's 2 fictional Victorian poets as well.
Summary of Possession: A Romance
"Literary critics make natural detectives," says Maud Bailey, heroine of a mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters, and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a love affair between the two Victorian writers the pair has dedicated their lives to studying: Randolph Ash, a literary great long assumed to be a devoted and faithful husband, and Christabel La Motte, a lesser-known "fairy poetess" and chaste spinster. At first, Roland and Maud's discovery threatens only to alter the direction of their research, but as they unearth the truth about the long-forgotten romance, their involvement becomes increasingly urgent and personal. Desperately concealing their purpose from competing researchers, they embark on a journey that pulls each of them from solitude and loneliness, challenges the most basic assumptions they hold about themselves, and uncovers their unique entitlement to the secret of Ash and La Motte's passion.Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize--the U.K.'s highest literary award--Possession is a gripping and compulsively readable novel. A.S. Byatt exquisitely renders a setting rich in detail and texture. Her lush imagery weaves together the dual worlds that appear throughout the novel--the worlds of the mind and the senses, of male and female, of darkness and light, of truth and imagination--into an enchanted and unforgettable tale of love and intrigue. --Lisa Whipple
An exhilarating novel of wit and romance, an intellectual mystery, and a triumphant love story. This tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets became a huge bookseller favorite, and then on to national bestellerdom.
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