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A review by meatballhead02
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
3.0
An acquaintance recommended this book to me and I thought it was lovely; a beautiful and colourful description of a era gone by.
The novel's main concern and protagonists are the Wellwood family that reside in Todefright manor. Both Humphry Wellwood and Olive Wellwood are both successful writers, who live a somewhat Bohemian lifestyle with their seven children. Over the first half of the novel, there is a sense of secrecy hanging over the family, something dark and sinister is implied, until the revelation occurs throughout the second half of the novel, and it seems the family's once picture perfect life is shattered, and the description of discontent within the Wellwood family, and in their surrounding acquaintances and friends is what primarily takes over.
All in all, Byatt has effectively written a historically accurate novel, with important events of the late 1800's and early 1900's also given much prominence in affairs within the book. These events, such as the women's suffrage movement and the first world war make their way into the protagonist's lives, and help to propel the plot of the novel.
The novel's main concern and protagonists are the Wellwood family that reside in Todefright manor. Both Humphry Wellwood and Olive Wellwood are both successful writers, who live a somewhat Bohemian lifestyle with their seven children. Over the first half of the novel, there is a sense of secrecy hanging over the family, something dark and sinister is implied, until the revelation occurs throughout the second half of the novel, and it seems the family's once picture perfect life is shattered, and the description of discontent within the Wellwood family, and in their surrounding acquaintances and friends is what primarily takes over.
All in all, Byatt has effectively written a historically accurate novel, with important events of the late 1800's and early 1900's also given much prominence in affairs within the book. These events, such as the women's suffrage movement and the first world war make their way into the protagonist's lives, and help to propel the plot of the novel.