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vickreads 's review for:
After Sappho
by Selby Wynn Schwartz
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Selby Wynn Schwartz’s After Sappho is a poetic, genre-defying novel that reimagines the lives of historical women—writers, artists, and activists—who defied patriarchal constraints to carve out space for their creative and intellectual pursuits. The book is a deeply evocative exploration of feminist resistance, sapphic desire, and the act of self-creation. It blends fiction and history in a lyrical, fragmented style that mirrors Sappho’s own lost verses.
Told in a collective voice, the novel weaves together figures spanning the late 19th and early 20 century, like Virginia Woolf, Lina Poletti, Eileen Gray, Colette, and many others, celebrating their defiance, creativity, and queer lineage. Schwartz’s prose is fragmented, rather than a linear narrative, the book unfolds as a series of vignettes, demanding an engaged reader willing to embrace its experimental form. I admit that I only just managed to be one of these readers. It is not always an easy read, but it is a broadly sourced read which routinely pushed me onto new discoveries of historical women and their works.
At its core, After Sappho is about transformation—the ways in which women reinvent themselves in defiance of societal norms. The novel highlights their struggles against legal and cultural constraints, from restrictive marriage laws to the limitations placed on their artistic ambitions. Yet, rather than focusing solely on oppression, Schwartz celebrates these women’s resilience, passion, and creative brilliance.
For readers interested in the history of lesbian identity and artistic defiance, After Sappho is a deeply resonant work. It positions these women as part of a continuum, a lineage of queer creativity and feminist resistance. The novel does not just recount their lives; it envisions them as part of an ongoing movement, a collective force that persists into the present.
Challenging yet rewarding, this was a beautifully crafted, intellectually rich novel—a stunning tribute to the enduring power of women’s voices and queer creativity.