From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Possession

A.S. Byatt

Start date: August 1, 2018

Finish date: August 31, 2018

Discussion: 2018 RT Tournament of Books

Why we're reading this: This is a contender in our 2018 Tournament of Books, round G
[close] This is a contender in our 2018 Tournament of Books, round G

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What Members Thought

Aug 08, 2018 El rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001-books-list, 20th-centurylit-late, big-effing-books, library-borrow, poetry

When I was in college I met a person who told me this was her all-time favorite book. We became pretty good friends which was great until it wasn't anymore, and long story short, our friendship ended on somewhat weird terms. And because of that strange interaction, I kind of put this book on the back burner because I didn't want to really get into something that made me think about all of that.

In spite of all that, this book should have blown my socks off. It's a hefty book, it's got a beautiful When I was in college I met a person who told me this was her all-time favorite book. We became pretty good friends which was great until it wasn't anymore, and long story short, our friendship ended on somewhat weird terms. And because of that strange interaction, I kind of put this book on the back burner because I didn't want to really get into something that made me think about all of that.

In spite of all that, this book should have blown my socks off. It's a hefty book, it's got a beautiful cover (oh, we all do it, don't @ me), it's smart, it's Victorian, there's a mystery. It should be absolutely gorgeous and delicious. But then there's really gorgeous writing that makes me want to wrap myself up in the pages:

The blue silk collar was dampish too. THe whole thing appeared in this half-light to be running with water, all the runnels of silk twisted about her body by the fiercely efficient knot in which she had tied her sash. Below the silk hem were the ruffled mundane edge of pink winceyette and slippered sharp feet.
(p163)

WINCEYETTE. SLIPPERED SHARP FEET.

You know which other book I felt similarly about? Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. And it turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of my reading career.

This wasn't quite as disappointing, but I never felt a connection with the story, even though all of the right elements were there. The epistolary nature of the novel should have been fine, but I found it borderline annoying and tedious after a while. Same with the poetry. I know people say it's okay to skip the poetry, but there are clues within the verses and I'm a completer anyway, so I can't just skip things like that.

The story is about two academics (win!) as they research the love life between two fictional poets (win!). It bounces between modern day (well, the book was published in 1990, so...) and Victorian era (win!) and... that's about as enjoyable as it was for me. I do adore the concept. How else can I say that none of it came together in the end or that it left me feeling disappointed.

Except for how I giggled to myself every time the character Blackadder appeared. The only Blackadder I can take seriously is Rowan Atkinson.

What this book made me do is think about that old college friend. Regardless of everything (and her possible questionable choice in literature - she also didn't like Grapes of Wrath), I wish her well. I will continue to always think about her anytime I see this book on a shelf.

Oh, another friend today told me the movie version of this sucks. So I guess I'll watch that and see how I feel about it. ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Sep 30, 2011 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, 1001-books, all-time-favorites, booker-prize, poetry, 500-women, infp

I don't claim to be a poetry person, but the Victorian-styled poetry worked well here as a vehicle for theme, emotion, plot, everything really. I fell into this book and resurfaced days later, unsure of where I was or how much time had elapsed...

Actually, I have a few minor quibbles about some of the plot conveniences at the end (a certain windstorm comes to mind). But there was so much more here to love. I especially liked the mirroring of the two plots. Almost every character has a counterpart ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 15, 2016 Lise Petrauskas rated it really liked it

Shelves: novels, 500-women, 20th-century-fiction, britain, the-novel-a-biography

Byatt kicks some serious literary butt in this complex and absorbing novel! I'm so glad I finally read it! ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2018 Irene rated it really liked it

This literary mystery has two 20th century British scholars in hot pursuit of newly discovered correspondence between two 19th century British poets. Access to these letters appears to be radically consequential to the world of scholarship since others are equally desperate to own these documents. Byatt is a fantastic writer. From excerpts of these poets’ over, to 19th century love letters to 20th century academic discourse, she displays a terrific range. Unfortunately, I found the ultimate reve ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2025 Pamela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001-read, guardian-1000-read

A book of two halves for me. I found the beginning very slow and painfully dull, I’ve abandoned it twice before and it took me at least 300 pages before I began to engage with the story. The second half was more enjoyable. Although the story was quite predictable, I still wanted to find out what happened and liked how it was revealed.

This is the story of two romances - the first between Victorian poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte, the second between modern academics Roland and Maud ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 30, 2012 Camelia Rose rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, location-uk, contemporary-fiction, booker-prize

Possession has everything I love in a book - beautiful proses, emotionally engaging story, lively characters and a background of lush mysteries.

I read poetry. I have no problem reading poems in Possession. Together with diaries and letters from the main characters, the poems add rich textures to the story and plot.

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2018 Christopher rated it liked it

Shelves: 500-pages-or-more, 20th-century, british, epistolary, fiction, metafiction, historical-fiction

This is a review in which Chris Winters, Reviewer, says several times, I liked it, but...

I liked it, but the author ruined it at the end with a romantic comedy ending. (view spoiler)

I liked it, but the author ruined it by breaking the rules of the epistolary format. (view spoiler) ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2013 Heather(Gibby) rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-to-read

It is with such relief that I finally clicked off "I'm finished". This book took forever to get through. It gets more interesting as it goes along, but I found the poetry, the long,long explanations of the scenery, to really bog the book down. I can appreciate that great writing skill, but that does not make up for the laborious job handed to the reader. It has an interesting story, with interesting characters, unfortunately they get a bit lost among the weight of everything else.

...more

1 like · Like · see review