Reviews - After Sappho | The StoryGraph

1.37k reviews for:

After Sappho

Selby Wynn Schwartz

3.69 AVERAGE

ajkane's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this so badly, but I just can't. The only reason it's getting two stars is because I managed to finish it, and the writing is beautiful.

pippipoppy's review against another edition

2.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

brisingr's review against another edition

5.0

A woman is someone who gathers the threads of her life into her hands and goes onwards.

A book like a lost history at long last finally found. After Sappho follows the most famous poetess of the world in absolutely everything: the love and passion, the language, the erasure of history, the heart and the queerness of it - and it is a book made of fragments, like much of the Sappho's work in the modern days.

The whole of humanity is built on the communal and individual suffering of every woman who ever lived. I have never seen a book that so viscerally acknowledges this fact like this one. So enraging and brilliantly done, and I hope we will continue to be the chorus demanding the rights of half of this century's people. May our freedom become whole, may it include us in all our instances.

(I agree the style of this book will not be for everyone, it's literally a novel made of fragments and paragraphs and so very rarely, whole pages. I've been raised on fanfiction, this was exactly what makes my heart throb with enthusiasm. And for a book with such a huge cast of characters, woman after woman described in her amour and uniqueness and arts - it sheds such clear light on every single one of them).

kesika_r's review against another edition

3.5

A story about womanhood experienced by many different women throughout history. It’s a very Eurocentric take on womanhood and what it means to break down barriers said by the patriarchy. This hybrid work of non-fiction & fiction explores the intricacies of this woman and their relationships.

annabel_winter's review against another edition

3.5

informative reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The writing was beautiful at some points and it really reminded me of how much we owe to the women who have come before us BUT it's borderline impossible to read due to how short each segment is and it really only works if you can devote a lot of time to reading very large portions at once.