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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
"After Sappho" by Selby Wynn Schwartz is a giant feast of a book. At its heart, the novel is braided into three parts: fragments from the archaic Greek poet, Sappho; a lineage of creative Sapphic women from the 1800 and 1900s; and the history of women's rights in Italy. Told through a mosaic of fragmented but interconnected stories, these women attempt to break free from their ordinary lives in search of more. More freedom. More time. More connection. More ways to love. Writers, dancers, playwrights, actresses and painters — these women come alive on the page and invite the reader to see into their lives. It is as much a book you could curl up and get lost in on a rainy afternoon, as it is a treatise on genre-defying writing.
The language itself is beautiful, poetic and completely original, seemlessly blending history and fiction until the line was no longer discernible to me. There were entire pages that I underlined or read aloud to my spouse; even now looking back at my notes, I'm struck by what a gorgeous weaving of stories it is. I'm only docking this one star because I found it difficult to follow the connected narratives at times.
This book is for anyone who loves:
The language itself is beautiful, poetic and completely original, seemlessly blending history and fiction until the line was no longer discernible to me. There were entire pages that I underlined or read aloud to my spouse; even now looking back at my notes, I'm struck by what a gorgeous weaving of stories it is. I'm only docking this one star because I found it difficult to follow the connected narratives at times.
This book is for anyone who loves:
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Literary fiction is only ever so good for me. That being said this was good. Series of feminist vignettes in historical fiction. I enjoyed it despite it not being my typical style.
reflective
slow-paced
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As suggested in the lengthy bibliographic note, it's hard to put this book in a genre. It's fiction but well informed and well linked to actual historical and literary people and moments. The voice is a collective we which creates an interesting almost timeless sense. I appreciated the fictional factual nature with an incredibly queer and empowering lens. That said, it was slow, lacked a real plot and was occasionally a journey to make.
I love the idea of writing a novel about important Sapphic artists of the late 19th / early 20th century, but the format kinda lost me. It was jumping from a story to another way too much, making me forget who’s who and what their connection was. The audiobook narration was very boring. Plus, I would have loved to hear about other Sapphics that those who were rich, white, and incredibly privileged.
informative
inspiring
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes