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A review by lizella
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
4.0
Originally I opted for the audio version of this book, but found that it was too dense to properly absorb in that format so I went back to the classic ink on paper, which in the end seems most fitting.
This is a novel that requires the reader to get caught up in the zeitgeist of time and place to truly appreciate the characters and their stories. While it made for a slower-paced reading experience, I enjoyed learning about artistic and political movements that strongly figure in the lives of the characters and make them who they are. It brought another level of appreciation of how history and movements unfold in time as opposed to their solid and quantified place in history as we see them today. The reader is given a glimpse of the infinite possibility and uncertainty of late 19th and early 20th centuries led by a cast of characters that embraced the new and leading edge of cultural change.
This is a novel that requires the reader to get caught up in the zeitgeist of time and place to truly appreciate the characters and their stories. While it made for a slower-paced reading experience, I enjoyed learning about artistic and political movements that strongly figure in the lives of the characters and make them who they are. It brought another level of appreciation of how history and movements unfold in time as opposed to their solid and quantified place in history as we see them today. The reader is given a glimpse of the infinite possibility and uncertainty of late 19th and early 20th centuries led by a cast of characters that embraced the new and leading edge of cultural change.