Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - After Sappho: Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

After Sappho: Longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize by Selby Wynn Schwartz

10 reviews

hollymileham's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i am absolutely blown away. this is one of my most favourite and precious reads ever. the way it traces women/lesbian history throughout time linking everyone together is so perfect. what a romantic and lovely way to describe what it is to be sapphic. this means so much to me i could go on and on. i will never read anything like this ever again, this is one of a kind

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gvstyris's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

We dreamed of islands where we could write poems that kept our lovers up all night. In our letters, we murmured the fragments of our desires to each other, breaking the lines in our impatience. We were going to be Sappho, but how did Sappho begin to become herself?

After Sappho centers a cast of white sapphic historical figures as they grapple with their position in 19th/20th century Europe. My primary takeaway from this novel - or perhaps more accurately, series of vignettes - was its appreciation for different mediums of art, particularly as a form of escapism and political/emotional expression. Schwartz's usage of first person plural pronouns to position the narrator as a Greek chorus also highlighted the communal aspect of the search for queer liberation and joy, which was another standout for me. I understand why this book is validating for so many people.

Despite that, I struggled in the reading process quite a lot. The non-linear storytelling is difficult to follow, especially as each woman's story is interconnected and their trajectories are relatively similar. I repeatedly lost interest and came close to DNFing, but persevered because the novel picked up quite significantly once we reached the First World War. I also imagine that the focus on white women was deliberate given Schwartz's academic background, but it definitely felt like a missed opportunity to me.

As someone who usually adores non-linear novels (especially if they're all vibes and no plot!), I'm a bit surprised this missed the mark for me as much as it did. Unfortunately, I've just read better, and am now craving a re-read of Girl, Woman, Other.

That being said, Schwartz's prose is gorgeous. A couple other highlights:

But some of us have always seen the modern world as a sea meant to drown us.

The only thing she feared was compromise, the soothing voice that licks down rage until it is nothing but a small smooth lump in your hand.

There is always this risk, in life, that we have our parts in a tragedy and we do not know it.

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grace_cr1's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

This book is beautifully written, the language is varied and poetic. This book is also quite a dense and somewhat inaccessible read, it was difficult to remember the amount of people named throughout the novel and so was hard to follow. I recommend this book but its definitely a novel you have to be in the mood to read 📚

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