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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have really mixed feelings about this novel. It’s such an ambitious premise, one which I found really interesting, and the writing is drop-dead gorgeous. I wish I owned a copy so I could underline the hell out of it.
That being said, I was so close to DNFing it. Until it reached WWI, I wasn’t particular gripped by anything. This book is hard to read since it doesn’t really have a plot, but it also doesn’t really follow a single character in great depth. It’s hard to feel invested in any of the characters because there are so many and I often forgot who was who. My favourite parts were honestly of Virginina Woolf and Vita Sackville-West and their relationship which so sweet. Everything just felt like it wasn’t explored in enough depth for me to really care. I suppose, though, that that is the difficulty with this sort of hybrid fiction/non-fiction work. Overall, I did kind of enjoy it, but I had much higher expectations.
That being said, I was so close to DNFing it. Until it reached WWI, I wasn’t particular gripped by anything. This book is hard to read since it doesn’t really have a plot, but it also doesn’t really follow a single character in great depth. It’s hard to feel invested in any of the characters because there are so many and I often forgot who was who. My favourite parts were honestly of Virginina Woolf and Vita Sackville-West and their relationship which so sweet. Everything just felt like it wasn’t explored in enough depth for me to really care. I suppose, though, that that is the difficulty with this sort of hybrid fiction/non-fiction work. Overall, I did kind of enjoy it, but I had much higher expectations.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
there were too many characters and it was hard to follow what was going on. i did not like the vignette format.
Booker season has arrived! It’s always an exciting time and this year seems to be a strong one. It’s always good to see small presses on major book awards like this so I was looking forward to reading After Sappho, which is on Galley Beggar Press as my first novel out of the Booker dozen.
After Sappho takes the lives of women some famous some, obscure and links them to the Greek poet , Sappho , who is also known as a symbol of love between women. Indeed all the women mentioned in the book from Virginia Woolf , Colette , Lina Poletti and Sarah Bernhardt have had relationships with other women or passed as men, either on stage or in reality, the most interesting piece being about William Seymour.
The book is structured in a Sebaldian way; it is divided into vignettes spanning the years 1880 – 1930, however everything is linked and intricately with Sappho being the main thread. What emerges is a portrait of women demanding to be treated equally, deifying the patriarchy and breaking free from masculine stereotypes of women – something which not a modern concept but has been present since the classical era. It is an impressive feat, especially when Selby Wynn Schwartz’s prose is so accessible and the linking themes are pulled off deftly.
Once again Galley Beggar Press has managed to balance interesting writing with a memorable story. This is their second time being on the Booker Dozen, the first being the awesome Ducks, Newburyport and I do hope that After Sappho makes the shortlist as well. It’s a unique eye opener of a book which will challenge and teach in the process.
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i find it really hard to understand what i make of this book if i’m honest. part of me is obsessed with the vivid, emotional, flourishing writing, and part of me thinks that overall it’s 255 pages of nothingness - i get it, and i also find it really boring. it’s sad, cos it’s a subject i really love - modernist lesbians woo! - but the way it is written as a kind of fictional non-fiction with all the boring bits left in and the interesting bits not really included made it hard to keep my attention lubricated. i felt placid and unmoved for pretty much all of it, which is so sad cos the concept is so great! i just don’t really feel like it’s actually explored anything new by being fiction than if it had just been a normal biography. the writing is wonderful though!
inverts may have their warmest parts turned outwards, like orchids or octopuses.
but how can you love someone you cannot define?
they were very young, but they were feeling their way towards becoming.
it is a rare moment when the divine touches the lips of a mortal woman. an actress, like an acolyte, might spend her life waiting for that luminous moment to descend upon her.
inverts may have their warmest parts turned outwards, like orchids or octopuses.
but how can you love someone you cannot define?
they were very young, but they were feeling their way towards becoming.
it is a rare moment when the divine touches the lips of a mortal woman. an actress, like an acolyte, might spend her life waiting for that luminous moment to descend upon her.
reflective
slow-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
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character