Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by lydlud_
Angels and Insects by A.S. Byatt
4.0
This is kind of hard to review as it's 2 novellas rather than a single novel, and I had quite different opinions of the two.
I thought the first, 'Morpho Eugenia', was ok. I'd say it's worth a read and had some interesting elements. The comparison of human and ant behaviour is quite effective in places, but the lengthy descriptions of ant behaviour are really quite boring. The tension between religion and science in the age of Darwin is another element which is interesting, but almost overdone, as again it spills into confusing detail. The ending was bizarre and hard for me to accept.
On the other hand, I loved the second novella, 'The Conjugial Angel'. It's about séances, spirituality, religion, loss, and poetry. I thought it really worked. The characters were all interesting and the inclusion of lots of verse and biblical quotes was compelling rather than boring.
I thought the first, 'Morpho Eugenia', was ok. I'd say it's worth a read and had some interesting elements. The comparison of human and ant behaviour is quite effective in places, but the lengthy descriptions of ant behaviour are really quite boring. The tension between religion and science in the age of Darwin is another element which is interesting, but almost overdone, as again it spills into confusing detail. The ending was bizarre and hard for me to accept.
On the other hand, I loved the second novella, 'The Conjugial Angel'. It's about séances, spirituality, religion, loss, and poetry. I thought it really worked. The characters were all interesting and the inclusion of lots of verse and biblical quotes was compelling rather than boring.