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A review by juliabristow
After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 for personal enjoyment, would give it a 4 for my overall opinion of it-
This was an interesting read for me, because I always love genre-defying novels, and to my knowledge, nothing has ever been done quite like this, so I have to give it props for that alone. The actual experience of reading it, though, was clunky and a bit difficult for me at times. I don't know if that's due to the wealth of literary and historical references, or the prose itself - probably both. There were several times where I had to re-read sentences and struggled to understand what I was supposed to be taking away from it. But at the same time, I think in at least some cases that was intentional, as part of the point of the stories, especially towards the first half, was to show how discreet sapphics and women in general had to live their lives in the 19th and early 20th century.
I did quite enjoy learning about all the women laid out here, and I've added quite a few things to my reading list from them. I also had no idea Virginia Woolf was queer?? and I feel like a bad lesbian for that.
Anyways, "becoming Sappho" was a really interesting concept, and to see how she inspired so many of the queer women to carve out a space in literature for themselves was, frankly, inspiring. And even though there were points where it seemed that all of the work was for nothing (during the Fascist era), the figures were undeterred because they knew no matter what they would always have Sappho, and if they needed to, they could go back to living under her guise, with more resourcefulness but equal happiness.
The last few chapters I really enjoyed as it turned almost meta, with Woolf's inception of the fictional biography and writing "little pieces of life," as she would call it. It tied together not only all of the past vignettes and fragments together, but also the novel itself, as the author seems to have taken quite a bit of inspiration from Woolf and the other writers used as characters.
Finally, one of my favorite fragments was also one of the earliest - "there are always those rare few that 'the applepickers forgot-/no, not forgot; were unable to reach'"
This was an interesting read for me, because I always love genre-defying novels, and to my knowledge, nothing has ever been done quite like this, so I have to give it props for that alone. The actual experience of reading it, though, was clunky and a bit difficult for me at times. I don't know if that's due to the wealth of literary and historical references, or the prose itself - probably both. There were several times where I had to re-read sentences and struggled to understand what I was supposed to be taking away from it. But at the same time, I think in at least some cases that was intentional, as part of the point of the stories, especially towards the first half, was to show how discreet sapphics and women in general had to live their lives in the 19th and early 20th century.
I did quite enjoy learning about all the women laid out here, and I've added quite a few things to my reading list from them. I also had no idea Virginia Woolf was queer?? and I feel like a bad lesbian for that.
Anyways, "becoming Sappho" was a really interesting concept, and to see how she inspired so many of the queer women to carve out a space in literature for themselves was, frankly, inspiring. And even though there were points where it seemed that all of the work was for nothing (during the Fascist era), the figures were undeterred because they knew no matter what they would always have Sappho, and if they needed to, they could go back to living under her guise, with more resourcefulness but equal happiness.
The last few chapters I really enjoyed as it turned almost meta, with Woolf's inception of the fictional biography and writing "little pieces of life," as she would call it. It tied together not only all of the past vignettes and fragments together, but also the novel itself, as the author seems to have taken quite a bit of inspiration from Woolf and the other writers used as characters.
Finally, one of my favorite fragments was also one of the earliest - "there are always those rare few that 'the applepickers forgot-/no, not forgot; were unable to reach'"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Misogyny