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lareinadehades's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Suicide
clarkg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
When I first encountered this book, I was intimidated by its tome-like appearance. I am infinitely glad that I forged ahead because it ended up being one of the most rewarding reading experiences I have ever had. Playful and complex, "Possession" experiments with perspective, temporality, and genre. The result is a story with a heartbeat, or a pulse that can be felt at any point in the book. Reading it requires time and dedication but so do most things that matter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, Grief, Suicide, Pregnancy, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexism, Racism, Child death, Terminal illness, and Body shaming
wordsmithreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Suicide
storyorc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A wry, poignant experience lies just beneath the surface of dry academia in these pages. Reading it feels like a cynical old professor remembering why they fell in love with literature. Possession invites you to fall in love with many things besides literature too - its timid protagonist, Victorian poetry, mythology, the internal worlds of quiet wives, Brittany, loud American scholars and their English disapprovers, the archeological study of those who devote their lives to a single historical figure, and the ridiculousness of it. Works are often called 'love letters' to their subject material but Byatt was mad enough to make Possession not only literally dozens of love letters, but sprinkle in multi-page love poems as well.
Possession is not, however, romanticised. Byatt is not wanting for a romantic turn of phrase of course, but Roland often has to think about ticket prices and rent in the middle of his international treasure-hunt. The threat of being swept up into false levels of passion is ever-present in both timelines yet the characters are always damningly aware of it. Both Christabel in the 1800s and Maud in the novel's present grapple with whether one can love without losing oneself. This titular question of possession is raised in myriad ways: though bonds of marriage and parenthood, through secrets and their uncovering, through the scholars who hoard every letter a dead poet penned and their widows who burn them. Byatt even flirts with literal possession thanks to the Victorian obsession with séances. At each junction, we are made to reckon with how much and how willingly we give ourselves away. By juxtaposing the parallels between our casts in each timeline, Byatt explores both the consequences of giving oneself away and of holding back.
On a less grandiose but no less important level, Byatt is a master of endearing us to unlikeable characters. Chapters devoted to secondary characters feel tangential, yet shine a light on inner convictions which force an appreciation for even the most meek or abrasive (looking at you, Cropper). This generous and empathetic method of revealing character resonates beautifully with the way our heroes delve through layer after layer of the scandalous secret lives of Victorian poets.
Thankfully, Byatt also knows when not to indulge in a tangent. Far from the dusty library of the first pages, this treasure-hunt-style plot crescendos into a more dramatic action scene than I would have believed. And yet, in its final moments of revelation, you feel you could hear a pin drop.
At the risk of sounding like a study guide, I encourage readers to keep an eye on imagery surrounding whiteness (the literal colour, not the race). Whenever someone started talking about how white Christabel or Maud looked, be it about purity, beauty, or frigidity, I noticed it would illuminate something about where either the speaker or object was sitting on the possession question. Also apples, though I'd have to read again to say why beyond the superficial temptation connotation - they cropped up a lot.
Read with @RoisinsReading's (Youtube) Big Book Club discord.
Possession is not, however, romanticised. Byatt is not wanting for a romantic turn of phrase of course, but Roland often has to think about ticket prices and rent in the middle of his international treasure-hunt. The threat of being swept up into false levels of passion is ever-present in both timelines yet the characters are always damningly aware of it. Both Christabel in the 1800s and Maud in the novel's present grapple with whether one can love without losing oneself. This titular question of possession is raised in myriad ways: though bonds of marriage and parenthood, through secrets and their uncovering, through the scholars who hoard every letter a dead poet penned and their widows who burn them. Byatt even flirts with literal possession thanks to the Victorian obsession with séances. At each junction, we are made to reckon with how much and how willingly we give ourselves away. By juxtaposing the parallels between our casts in each timeline, Byatt explores both the consequences of giving oneself away and of holding back.
On a less grandiose but no less important level, Byatt is a master of endearing us to unlikeable characters. Chapters devoted to secondary characters feel tangential, yet shine a light on inner convictions which force an appreciation for even the most meek or abrasive (looking at you, Cropper). This generous and empathetic method of revealing character resonates beautifully with the way our heroes delve through layer after layer of the scandalous secret lives of Victorian poets.
Thankfully, Byatt also knows when not to indulge in a tangent. Far from the dusty library of the first pages, this treasure-hunt-style plot crescendos into a more dramatic action scene than I would have believed. And yet, in its final moments of revelation, you feel you could hear a pin drop.
At the risk of sounding like a study guide, I encourage readers to keep an eye on imagery surrounding whiteness (the literal colour, not the race). Whenever someone started talking about how white Christabel or Maud looked, be it about purity, beauty, or frigidity, I noticed it would illuminate something about where either the speaker or object was sitting on the possession question. Also apples, though I'd have to read again to say why beyond the superficial temptation connotation - they cropped up a lot.
Read with @RoisinsReading's (Youtube) Big Book Club discord.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicide, and Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual harassment
Re: the homophobia, this book is way gayer than you'd expect but the character most likely to have been a lesbian meets a tragic ending. Re: racism: the only non-white character happens to be the most sexually aggressive. She has a fun personality too, and this trait is not a problem on its own, but it does adhere to the stereotype.anniebg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Possession is a literary mystery in both subject and style. Roland Mitchell and Maud Bailey are two academics both researching Romantic poets from the Victorian era, Randolph Ash and Christabel La Motte, when the possibility of a previously unknown connection between them comes to light. The story follows the intricacies of the research and investigation as they seek to uncover the truth, and stop an American researcher from beating them to the punch - and spiriting some important documents out of the country. It took me a while to settle in to this story and I initially found it tough, slow, going. The plot is slow moving and the prose is dense. But once I was in I was all in, fully invested in the outcome of the research and the fate of all the characters.
I can fully see why this won the Booker Prize in 1990. Byatt is a master of her craft. Not only did she write an intricate layered story, but she created all the documents that her fictional scholars used to piece together the connections between their poets- lengthy romantic poetry that could easily pass for authentic, letters, diary entries, and extracts from academic publications. At times I found the literary analyses and critiques, the textual analysis, a bit too dry and academic. At other times I enjoyed playing literary sleuth myself. I also appreciated the varying tones Byatt incorporated. Much of the book felt dry and academic, especially if Victorian literature is not your thing. Yet the book is not all like this. In fact a chapter towards the end, a sort of showdown between the British academics and their unscrupulous American counterpart, was laugh out loud funny with cars ramming each other plus a spot of grave digging. And I also sniggered more than once at the fun Byatt poked at academics. The ending was satisfying, if a bit too convenient. I had reservations at the beginning of this book but I ended up liking it a lot more than I initially expected.
I can fully see why this won the Booker Prize in 1990. Byatt is a master of her craft. Not only did she write an intricate layered story, but she created all the documents that her fictional scholars used to piece together the connections between their poets- lengthy romantic poetry that could easily pass for authentic, letters, diary entries, and extracts from academic publications. At times I found the literary analyses and critiques, the textual analysis, a bit too dry and academic. At other times I enjoyed playing literary sleuth myself. I also appreciated the varying tones Byatt incorporated. Much of the book felt dry and academic, especially if Victorian literature is not your thing. Yet the book is not all like this. In fact a chapter towards the end, a sort of showdown between the British academics and their unscrupulous American counterpart, was laugh out loud funny with cars ramming each other plus a spot of grave digging. And I also sniggered more than once at the fun Byatt poked at academics. The ending was satisfying, if a bit too convenient. I had reservations at the beginning of this book but I ended up liking it a lot more than I initially expected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Suicide, and Lesbophobia
anagramatica's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The flavor of this tale is both geeky and gothic, and the story ends with a bittersweet touch of uplift. The segments of Victorian poetry were a bit hard for me, but I loved everything else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Cultural appropriation
Seances/spirit communicationkimschouwenaar's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
y’all, what the hell… slowest book I’ve ever read with an extremely dissatisfying ending. maud and roland’s story was captivating, but dragged out unnecessarily. and the innumerable references to well-known historical writers (john donne is one my absolute favourite metaphysical poets, so I was very happy to see him again) shows the author took this chance to kind of… brag about her knowledge. I think that’s how I would phrase it.
it reads more like an extremely long research article than the fictional work of art I was hoping it to be. disappointed and glad to have finished it.
it reads more like an extremely long research article than the fictional work of art I was hoping it to be. disappointed and glad to have finished it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy
sofipitch's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I wanted to like this one much more than I did but it was such a slog. The book forces it's reader to be the historians themselves, which might be fun if not for the fact that it is about entirely made up characters. You'll read ten pages on some Victorian arguing in favor of the belief of seances simply because the two main characters were mentioned. Another stand out example is the bathroom of a passing character described for 2-3 pages. You'll read pages and pages of literary analysis once again on authors who do not exist. That was what I kept coming back to over and over, this might have been more interesting had Ash and LaMotte been real. The characters themselves are very boring, both contemporary and historical, LaMotte is the only mildly interesting one and you can tell because more of her poems, life, and literary analysis are featured.
There is also the inclusion of fake poetry from LaMotte and Ash as well as short stories, almost constantly, maybe 1/4th of the book. As often as we are forced to read analysis on the poems just presented I can't help but wonder if the poems came first and then the book was built around it as a better way to sell them.
Overall much longer than it needed to be for both the story and the message it was trying to tell.
There is also the inclusion of fake poetry from LaMotte and Ash as well as short stories, almost constantly, maybe 1/4th of the book. As often as we are forced to read analysis on the poems just presented I can't help but wonder if the poems came first and then the book was built around it as a better way to sell them.
Overall much longer than it needed to be for both the story and the message it was trying to tell.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy and Suicide
savvylit's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
At 550 pages, Possession is an absolute tome of a novel. Not only that, but it is a dense work of historical metafiction. In writing this book, A.S. Byatt created an entire oeuvre of poems by two distinct authors. Also included within the story of Possession is a plethora of letters and journals of yet even more characters of Byatt's own creation. I understand now why this book is considered to be a masterpiece. The skill and dedication it must have required to realistically portray the writings and emotions of multiple fictional people... Well, it is unfathomable to me.
All that being said, I did not actually enjoy reading Possession. Most characters were underdevolped stereotypes. The worst offender was feminist scholar Leonora Stern whose portrayal is frankly both bi- and lesbophobic. Additionally, I think that this novel was incorrectly marketed as a romance. It is not a romance in the typical sense. In fact, the actual expression of romantic love in Possession is few and far between. And, like the characters, what little there is falls flat. If anything this book is a love letter from Byatt to the scholarship of literature. Perhaps that is what was meant by the full title "Possession: A Romance."
Ultimately, though, what bothered me most was the disjointed flow of the book. This was due to the sheer amount of metatextual inserts into the overarching "mystery." Just when I began to feel invested in a character or storyline, I was dropped into a lengthy Victorian poem or a series of melancholic journal entries. I considered not finishing this book at only 200 pages into the story. However, I decided to continue out of some sense of needing to suffer at the expense of experiencing true art (TM). I will add Possession to the list of masterpieces that I read but will not revisit or recommend. (i.e. War & Peace and Infinite Jest).
All that being said, I did not actually enjoy reading Possession. Most characters were underdevolped stereotypes. The worst offender was feminist scholar Leonora Stern whose portrayal is frankly both bi- and lesbophobic. Additionally, I think that this novel was incorrectly marketed as a romance. It is not a romance in the typical sense. In fact, the actual expression of romantic love in Possession is few and far between. And, like the characters, what little there is falls flat. If anything this book is a love letter from Byatt to the scholarship of literature. Perhaps that is what was meant by the full title "Possession: A Romance."
Ultimately, though, what bothered me most was the disjointed flow of the book. This was due to the sheer amount of metatextual inserts into the overarching "mystery." Just when I began to feel invested in a character or storyline, I was dropped into a lengthy Victorian poem or a series of melancholic journal entries. I considered not finishing this book at only 200 pages into the story. However, I decided to continue out of some sense of needing to suffer at the expense of experiencing true art (TM). I will add Possession to the list of masterpieces that I read but will not revisit or recommend. (i.e. War & Peace and Infinite Jest).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Body shaming, and Infidelity
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