Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Has anyone else read The Children's Book? I've read all of the Frederica series and liked them, but I'm really impressed by this one.

Oooh, I just got it from the Library and I can't wait to start it (after I get done with my current book!) I'm glad to hear it's worth it!

I read Possession a very long time ago. It was one of those books that I only thought was okay when I read it but afterwards, I found myself thinking about the book over and over again. It left an impression on me and I ended up really loving it for so many different reasons. If I ever see Possession at my nearby 2nd hand bookstore, it's a book I would love to own to re-read!

I have not yet had the opportunity to read this one, but I have read other works by Byatt, and I do really enjoy her style of writing and the research she puts into her books and to bringing to life a different period of time.

She can be tedious in her writing, but she puts together wonderful and intriguing stories with so much detail and intricacies in her characters and the plot.

I really enjoyed Possession, a wonderful book about modern day scholars hunting done a mystery wrapped around a fictitious famous Victorian poet. It is a literary mystery which travels back and forth between the past and present, and weaves an intricate story with a touch of sarcastic humor and reflects the influence the past has upon the present/future.

I loved Possession too, but after having struggled with The Virgin in the Garden for a while, I'm slightly afraid of picking up another of her books now. They just seem to long and wordy, like I'd never be able to finish them. XD

Try her Little Black Book of Stories. They are darker than anything in Possession, but rather quick reads (I believe there are five short stories total) and also quite interesting.

The Virgin in the Garden was delicious for it's mixture of science and literature! It's also the beginning of a trilogy (which ends as a quatrilogy (is that a word?)) that follows the sisters though their lifetimes...I do think that all of them are worth following!

I have read only one of her stories, a short story in a Pushcart or OHenry anthology, THE THING IN THE FOREST, and was intrigued by it and promised myself I would read more of hers. But I was not stopping by a snowy woods that day.

The Children's Book was a mostly excellent read although I do believe that she could have tightened the prose much more. I think that is why Possession is her best book. She's the type of author that has such an excess of imagination and erudition that I think it is hard for her to restrain herself from a 'everything but the kitchen sink' approach. The book was lovely and filled with detail and amazing imagerey but the emotional connection was not quite there for me because of so many diverging plot lines/ideas/images/people. But overall I was very happy to read it but can't imagine rereading it as I do Possession from time to time.

Karen wrote: "The Virgin in the Garden was delicious for it's mixture of science and literature! It's also the beginning of a trilogy (which ends as a quatrilogy (is that a word?)) that follows the sisters thou..."

I believe 'tetralogy' is the word:-) And yes, you are definitely right. Her prose is so lush and heightened, so multi-faceted and engaging. I loved her Possession, and I am looking forward to the Children's Book. It has been on my book shelf for a couple of months. It is high time to read it. And I LOVE big books.