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sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
A. S. Byatt's most recent novel is a sprawling coming of age story focusing on several related English families during the decades leading up to WWI. It's a story you've heard over and over again about the rapid societal changes following the Victorian Era, and yet Byatt gets you interested in her myriad cast so that you have to find out how they all end up.
Our story centers around the family of Olive Wellwood, mother of a large brood and author of fairy tales and stories for children and a social liberal. Her children as well as the children of families they socialize with come of age during this period and discover that while the world changes around them, their place within it isn't always where they expected. The Benedict Fludd family offers a stark contrast with the tyrannical potter father scaring his wife and daughters into submission to his artistic whims. Then there are the Wellwood cousins, the museum curator's family, the Warren siblings, and the German puppeteers. This is definitely a full cast, but with nearly 700 pages, their stories all get told.
I really don't read many long books anymore, so my main gripe is that this dense and detailed book took so long to read that it seemed even longer than than the number of pages would suggest. I'll admit, though, that I didn't read every word (which is really rare for me), especially when Byatt rambled on about this or that matter of cultural, historical, or political significance. If you like historical fiction, especially with a British focus, or complicated family relationships and aren't scared off by the size of this one, I'd totally check it out.
Our story centers around the family of Olive Wellwood, mother of a large brood and author of fairy tales and stories for children and a social liberal. Her children as well as the children of families they socialize with come of age during this period and discover that while the world changes around them, their place within it isn't always where they expected. The Benedict Fludd family offers a stark contrast with the tyrannical potter father scaring his wife and daughters into submission to his artistic whims. Then there are the Wellwood cousins, the museum curator's family, the Warren siblings, and the German puppeteers. This is definitely a full cast, but with nearly 700 pages, their stories all get told.
I really don't read many long books anymore, so my main gripe is that this dense and detailed book took so long to read that it seemed even longer than than the number of pages would suggest. I'll admit, though, that I didn't read every word (which is really rare for me), especially when Byatt rambled on about this or that matter of cultural, historical, or political significance. If you like historical fiction, especially with a British focus, or complicated family relationships and aren't scared off by the size of this one, I'd totally check it out.
krobart's review
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/review-1428-the-childrens-book/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/12/12/review-1428-the-childrens-book/
lorrietruck's review against another edition
2.0
I think I liked the idea of this book the most - a sprawling novel about intertwining families in the lead up to the First World War. In reality, it didn't quite live up to what it could have been.
I found the characters hard to distinguish from each other, the children and the men anyway. None of them seemed to have any real disctinct personality traits to distinguish themselves from one another. And none of them were particularly likeable. In fact, the more you knew about the characters, the less you liked them. The most affecting part of the book for me was when the two Robin's were killed and, besides the circumstances of their birth, you don't really learn that much about them throughout the novel.
I found the historical sections of the novel to be quite boring, not gripping at all, and often skipped them. The name dropping of historical figures throughout the action of the novel didn't feel genuine at all.
I really wanted to like this book. I just didn't!
I found the characters hard to distinguish from each other, the children and the men anyway. None of them seemed to have any real disctinct personality traits to distinguish themselves from one another. And none of them were particularly likeable. In fact, the more you knew about the characters, the less you liked them. The most affecting part of the book for me was when the two Robin's were killed and, besides the circumstances of their birth, you don't really learn that much about them throughout the novel.
I found the historical sections of the novel to be quite boring, not gripping at all, and often skipped them. The name dropping of historical figures throughout the action of the novel didn't feel genuine at all.
I really wanted to like this book. I just didn't!
lauriestein's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and haunting and sweeping and tragic and allusive and literary. All about the contexts and spaces in-between of the golden age of children's literature, the everyday hidden depths and fictional surfaces of childhood and adulthood and family and friendship. The Victorian progresses/descends into the Edwardian and into war and out. Packed chock full of ideas and art and tales and leaves one with simultaneous urges to make, hold, exhibit, and smash a pot.
I can see the critiques: too much history-telling (but I never will have a problem with that), too much heavy-handed allegory (but how could it be otherwise in a fairy tale?), too much allusion (and I probably didn't even catch half of it), too many characters (but I could read a novel about each of them). I think I liked this too much and inhabited it too fully to sensibly review it. It's so desperately, wonderfully evocative of the period and its literature and art and generation gap. It's one of those books that makes me want to read everything.
How funny that I finished reading it on November 11.
I can see the critiques: too much history-telling (but I never will have a problem with that), too much heavy-handed allegory (but how could it be otherwise in a fairy tale?), too much allusion (and I probably didn't even catch half of it), too many characters (but I could read a novel about each of them). I think I liked this too much and inhabited it too fully to sensibly review it. It's so desperately, wonderfully evocative of the period and its literature and art and generation gap. It's one of those books that makes me want to read everything.
How funny that I finished reading it on November 11.
theangrystackrat's review against another edition
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
There was not a lot of plot in this one and it just felt whiney. Didn't feel like there was a lot of "meat" to this story.
kathieboucher's review against another edition
4.0
It took several weeks to slog through this sweeping Victorian/Edwardian multi-family coming-of-age story, but the time was well spent.
The book's structure was interesting: these were literary families, and much of the emotion and growth of characters was centered around theatrical presentations--the planning, the performance, and the reactions all around. Some characters were writers, and there were occasional digressions into their writings, which slow the action but are much in keeping with the style and richness of the book.
The insights into progressive thought, art, and lifestyles from this era are so engrossing. The author's deep research and vast understanding of the period add great overview for the reader.
The drama and foreboding of the story builds as the years pass. The reader knows that children of the 1890s will leave the fairy stories and the puppet shows behind as they approach appointments with destiny in World War I.
The book's structure was interesting: these were literary families, and much of the emotion and growth of characters was centered around theatrical presentations--the planning, the performance, and the reactions all around. Some characters were writers, and there were occasional digressions into their writings, which slow the action but are much in keeping with the style and richness of the book.
The insights into progressive thought, art, and lifestyles from this era are so engrossing. The author's deep research and vast understanding of the period add great overview for the reader.
The drama and foreboding of the story builds as the years pass. The reader knows that children of the 1890s will leave the fairy stories and the puppet shows behind as they approach appointments with destiny in World War I.
aliciagriggs's review against another edition
2.0
Not really for me. Part of this book I really enjoyed. I liked Olive's perspective and her thoughts as an author, but it got weird a couple of pages in and I lost interesting. In fact, it took over 100 pages to gain any interest and then I lost it quickly. Shame. I think I'll try again in a few years time.
lwarren6's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, War, Classism, Child death, and Sexual assault
It’s VERY long and cerebral.nuthatch's review against another edition
5.0
This is an unusual book. There are a number of intertwining threads and characters. The time period is the turn of the 20th century, a time of many social and political movements in Europe and Britain. It is also a book about social class and art. The characters interact with each other and with the changes in society at this time.
jimmacsyr's review against another edition
2.0
I could not get into this book. Part of the problem is likely the fact that I was reading this via CD on my way to and from work. There are a number of changes in reader (and changes from story line, to reading the "Children's stories") that got lost in the discontinuous nature my drive. In either event, after four CD's I was not looking forward to the fifth, so I returned it to the library.