sabnorlin 's review for:

After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz

4.0

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"After Sappho" by Selby Wynn Schwartz is a giant feast of a book. At its heart, the novel is braided into three parts: fragments from the archaic Greek poet, Sappho; a lineage of creative Sapphic women from the 1800 and 1900s; and the history of women's rights in Italy. Told through a mosaic of fragmented but interconnected stories, these women attempt to break free from their ordinary lives in search of more. More freedom. More time. More connection. More ways to love. Writers, dancers, playwrights, actresses and painters — these women come alive on the page and invite the reader to see into their lives. It is as much a book you could curl up and get lost in on a rainy afternoon, as it is a treatise on genre-defying writing.

The language itself is beautiful, poetic and completely original, seemlessly blending history and fiction until the line was no longer discernible to me. There were entire pages that I underlined or read aloud to my spouse; even now looking back at my notes, I'm struck by what a gorgeous weaving of stories it is. I'm only docking this one star because I found it difficult to follow the connected narratives at times.

This book is for anyone who loves: