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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
These two novellas are unexpectedly brainy, and they threw me off guard at first. But once I shook off my stupidity, I was completely enraptured by both of the stories.
I actually can’t believe there is a contemporary author who is so adept at capturing Victorian gothic in this day and age. This book reads as though it were written over a century ago. I can’t even wrap my head around it. Byatt’s pose is lyrical yet pointed. Her beautifully crafted sentences are backed by so much cultivated intelligence that every line is worth highlighting.
The second novella (the “angels” half of “Angels & Insects”) isn’t even a horror story, but it spooked me so badly that I washed my hair in the bath instead of taking a proper shower.
I would like to read this again one day when I am more educated.
(Do not read the content warning if you don’t wish to be spoiled.)
I would like to read this again one day when I am more educated.
(Do not read the content warning if you don’t wish to be spoiled.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Structurally not as tight as some of her other writing, though rich and multi-layered as always.
Morpho Eugenia: The entomology is so delightfully Victorian and the metaphor/mythology is so saucy that one can easily forgive the meandering plot and text-book ending.
The Conjugial Angel: Swedenborg, seances, theology and the Tennysons. What could be more Victorian? Only Byatt can craft such engaging prose from and of the poetry of those times. This novella is a study of close reading and reading between the lines.
Morpho Eugenia: The entomology is so delightfully Victorian and the metaphor/mythology is so saucy that one can easily forgive the meandering plot and text-book ending.
The Conjugial Angel: Swedenborg, seances, theology and the Tennysons. What could be more Victorian? Only Byatt can craft such engaging prose from and of the poetry of those times. This novella is a study of close reading and reading between the lines.
Now I’m no longer in the thick of it, I keep being almost won over by this. I like what it’s doing. I think the two novellas speak to each other in interesting ways — I’m particularly interested in how they tear apart notions of a classic (marriage plot, Romantic, church-approved, angel-approved) romance. I liked certain character moments, when they happened, and certain descriptions. I could be on board.
But man. There was to be a way to do this — to merge plot and character and period and Big Philosophical Ideas — that isn’t so relentlessly boring. There must be. I caught glimpses of it here, between the huge dull tracts on God, etc and excerpts of poems and long descriptions of historical figures and thoughts. And like, I get that that’s part of the project, and recognise what’s being referenced here: I once took the world’s most boring English course, so I know that 19th cent work can be didactic beyond belief. But it doesn’t have to be! Surely! I’m not asking for a removal of these ideas, I understand that it’s necessary context, interesting theoretically, but I’m begging for a little more integration, a little less author-summarising-real-ideas-thru-tedious-fictional-character-victorian-sparknotes-soliloquies. Does that make sense? Anyway, somewhere between those bits is something interesting but there’s not a lot to hold onto. It’s like rock climbing: the places you can grasp onto the rock are far between, and take great effort to reach for. You’re good at this, and do manage to get your fingers into the thin cracks, and eventually make it to the top, the end, and look around and think ‘nice view, ultimately’. But you’re also very achy from all the stretching across the dull rock face, and out of breath from the effort of taking on a climb you should have been more than prepared for, and you’re not going to be coming up this particular way again any time soon
But man. There was to be a way to do this — to merge plot and character and period and Big Philosophical Ideas — that isn’t so relentlessly boring. There must be. I caught glimpses of it here, between the huge dull tracts on God, etc and excerpts of poems and long descriptions of historical figures and thoughts. And like, I get that that’s part of the project, and recognise what’s being referenced here: I once took the world’s most boring English course, so I know that 19th cent work can be didactic beyond belief. But it doesn’t have to be! Surely! I’m not asking for a removal of these ideas, I understand that it’s necessary context, interesting theoretically, but I’m begging for a little more integration, a little less author-summarising-real-ideas-thru-tedious-fictional-character-victorian-sparknotes-soliloquies. Does that make sense? Anyway, somewhere between those bits is something interesting but there’s not a lot to hold onto. It’s like rock climbing: the places you can grasp onto the rock are far between, and take great effort to reach for. You’re good at this, and do manage to get your fingers into the thin cracks, and eventually make it to the top, the end, and look around and think ‘nice view, ultimately’. But you’re also very achy from all the stretching across the dull rock face, and out of breath from the effort of taking on a climb you should have been more than prepared for, and you’re not going to be coming up this particular way again any time soon
"The Conjugial Angel" is much more interesting than "Morpho Eugenia"; I would've liked some more exploration of Tennyson and Hallam, though. Also, usual Byatt weaknesses apply.
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lovely lovely imagery of butterflies and golden curls and cream. also recommend [book: Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice]. also the movie they made isn't bad either.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated