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beckethm's review against another edition
3.0
This was an unusual and somewhat intriguing little novel. (I mean "little" literally: it was a small book and not much longer than a novella.)
The book blurb is somewhat misleading in describing it as a story of intersecting lives. Really, it is the story of a professor undertaking the research she hopes will secure her tenure, incorporating detailed notes and musings on her subject, Margaret Fuller. There's enough information on Fuller to constitute a short biography, but it is presented in such a scattered way, I'm not sure how coherent it would be to someone not already familiar with her life. Having done some study on Fuller myself, I found the author's views on her interesting.
I'm not sure what to make of the framing story. When not engaged in research, the main character, Angelica, gets involved in a one-sided affair with a misogynistic Harvard professor who routinely denigrates her and her work. She flirts with but never commits to a hook-up with a lesbian colleague who is so dreadfully predatory, I can only hope she was meant to be ironic. There's some mildly amusing academic satire, but ultimately the romantic shenanigans degenerate into farce.
Why did I rate this 3 stars? The writing is good in places and the structure was interesting. At least it was a quick read and a not unfair representation of Margaret Fuller.
The book blurb is somewhat misleading in describing it as a story of intersecting lives. Really, it is the story of a professor undertaking the research she hopes will secure her tenure, incorporating detailed notes and musings on her subject, Margaret Fuller. There's enough information on Fuller to constitute a short biography, but it is presented in such a scattered way, I'm not sure how coherent it would be to someone not already familiar with her life. Having done some study on Fuller myself, I found the author's views on her interesting.
I'm not sure what to make of the framing story. When not engaged in research, the main character, Angelica, gets involved in a one-sided affair with a misogynistic Harvard professor who routinely denigrates her and her work. She flirts with but never commits to a hook-up with a lesbian colleague who is so dreadfully predatory, I can only hope she was meant to be ironic. There's some mildly amusing academic satire, but ultimately the romantic shenanigans degenerate into farce.
Why did I rate this 3 stars? The writing is good in places and the structure was interesting. At least it was a quick read and a not unfair representation of Margaret Fuller.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
This rich but ultimately heartbreaking novel tells the story of Angelica Bookbinder, a fictional professor striving for tenure at Harvard, and her research subject, real-life feminist and New England intellectual Margaret Fuller. As Angelica researches Fuller's life, her own life begins to mirror Fuller's romantic struggles. Occasionally, this novel reads like a biography (leading me to wonder why Novak didn't just write one) but at the same time, the academic formality melts well with Novak's staccato narrative. Novak's strength does not come from her characters; often, she relies on thin stereotypes (I find the rapacious lesbian women studies professor to be a tired caricature, which Novak sadly trots out). Angelica is painted sparsely and develops best when ruminating over Fuller's life; it is when Novak forces her to interact with her contemporaries that the story feels a bit over-the-top (some readers, I've read, found Novak's depiction of Angelica's attempts at lesbianism to be homophobic while others found it more satirical). Instead, it is the poem-like prose that grabs the reader. As a geography major and Bostoner, I found Novak's use of place as character to be a satisfying element, but those not from Boston might find her emphasis on street names and Harvard landmarks tiring. In the end, this is a tasty novel about a fascinating and little known historical character.
lovewitch's review against another edition
3.0
ok so i got it because it was 1euro and it only said Margaret Ghost.no picture,no author,nothing.i just wanted to be suprised and i was.it's okay,not bad.it's a small book to read and pass your time
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