A review by tsiegman
Still Life by A.S. Byatt

3.0

I didn't realize this book was the second in a series until I was halfway through it. Perhaps I should have read the first book first. Parts of this were fantastic stories with great characters - Frederica is at the cusp of the sexual revolution and one of the few females at Cambridge, figuring herself out. Stephanie has pushed aside her Cambridge education and is dealing with domesticity only to be forced to deal with the family psychological outcasts. The minor characters develop too and become more important as the story develops. The parts of the book that become a little tedious are the expositions on art, light, and Vincent van Gogh. Alexander's plays are interesting only as much as they advance the story. I love art and art history, but these are not integrated into the story well (enough). In the beginning of the book, I was simply confused. After I finished the book, I reread the first few chapters once I knew who all the characters were, and they made a lot more sense.