Possession

Rating:
Summary: People Love It or Hate It: I Loved It!
Review: A quick survey of my friends who have read A.S. Byatt's novel "Possession" surprised me. Some absolutely loved the book; others could not get through it. This surprised me, because the novel quickly got under my skin and it stayed there. It read on so many levels that as I was progressing through the novel, I began to plan on how to re-read it. For example, there would be a re-reading that would concentrate on mythology and the connections of mythic creatures and stories to the worlds of "Possession's" Victorian and modern-day characters. Then there would be the reading that sought to understand what Byatt had to say about literary theory and constructs, such as postmodernism and poststructuralism; and how the choice of a "romance" served to explore (and explode?) these late-twentieth century phenomena. Or, there would be a reading that sought out all of the possible meanings of the book's title.

Then again, perhaps I will re-read the book just to enjoy it one more time. I found the plot to be -- excuse the word, but it seems so apt - exquisite. ("...marked by flawless craftsmanship or by beautiful, ingenious, delicate, or elaborate execution..." - Webster)

The book follows the literary research of Roland and Maud. They uncover an unknown love relationship between a colossus, if fictional, Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash and a skilled contemporary Christabel LaMotte. Working through clues and discovered letters, Roland and Maud are able to reconstruct the full depth and breadth of this relationship and begin to understand how this contributed to their poetry. Indeed, by the time the book concludes and the final bit of evidence is "unearthed" (pun intended), all of the mysteries - of which there were many - have been settled. All that is left is to find out what is to become of Roland and Maud. Byatt calls the book a "romance;" can you guess?

Aside from the juicy plot, what I found intriguing about the book was the centrality of poetry and the rediscovery, for me, of how the poetic vision can transform life. Life, relationships, and understanding are all heightened by the poetic connections that Ash and LaMotte are able to make as they move through their lives. Helping to illuminate this particular reading of the book is the philosophy of Giambattista Vico, whose book "The New Science" was the residence of the initial letters discovered by Roland. Vico's understanding of history and language and their connection to consciousness provide quite a nice framework from which to interpret Possession. I point readers to Lynn Wells fine article in the 2002 issue of "MFS Modern Fiction Studies", in which she indicates: "What Vico realized was that language was not just a practical medium of communication, but rather the formative element of a culture's basic concept of reality, its very consciousness." (673) As we delve deeper and deeper into the life, poetry, letters, and language of Ash and LaMotte, we come closer to understanding the consciousness of a different time.

Do not be fooled by Byatt's use of "romance" in the title. "Possession" is much more than a romance. It is a multi-layered work that demands multiple readings. Perhaps many books deserve a second reading; "Possession" will receive one from me because it had a plot that kept me turning pages, at the same time it had meat and substance that kept me thinking. To my great pleasure, it is the first book by Byatt that I have read. I plan on reading all of the work from this, one of my newly found, but favorite, authors.

Rating:
Summary: Aspern papers, sort of
Review: Roland Michell is a student of the life and criticism of the poet, Randolph Henry Ash. He has a girl friend Val who is also a literary scholar but less successful and performs temp work to keep them afloat. He was a good student but does not feel successful since he is not employed full time and scrapes by on a series of part time postitions. He commits a theft of a draft of a letter he finds in a volume of Vico owned by Ash. He reviews Crabb Robinsons's diary to try to determine what happened at a party because the draft of the letter contains a reference to a party.

Blackadder, the dean of Ash studies, is ensconced in the basement of the British Museum. He had been a student of F.R. Leavis. In 1959 Blackadder decided to do a complete edition of Ash's poems and plays. He thought it was a finite task.

The Crabb Robinson diary yields the name of Miss LaMotte. Roland consults a colleague about Christabel LaMotte and learns that Maud Bailey, head of a women's resource center at Lincoln University, knows all about Christabel LaMotte. It turns out that Roland and Maud are each studying the living parts of what has been left over from their educations.

A.S. Byatt's work is marvellous and funny. She portrays a Victorian poet and man of letters, a polymath. Ash, the poet, possessed a deep and fervent interest in natural history and the scientific advances of the times. Byatt uses the device of parallelism. The Victorian couple of the poets parallels the couple of Maud and Roland, the modern researchers.

It turns out that at one point the dying poet's wife held the truth of the outcome of the relationship of Christabel and Randolph and she elected to bury the information with her husband. An absurd and interesting disturbance of the dead plays a role in the novel. It seems that Blanche Glover, Christabel's great and good friend, approached Ellen Ash prior to her death by suicide, a la Mary Wollstonecraft. Mrs. Ash had felt compelled to ask her to leave.

In the end Roland receives offers of employment at universities in Amsterdam, Hong Kong, and Barcelona. He plans to proceed to one of them in Maud's company.

Rating:
Summary: The right way to write serious light fiction
Review: A.S. Byatt's "Possession" intends to be an entertainment with both wit and bite. Although it features many of the conventions that make other novels predictable--the "historical story within the story" conceit, the "foibles of modernity and of modern academics" riffs, and the "social message in social context" challenges, the book quite simply is an old-fashioned good read.

The plot revolves around the discovery of materials which hint at a relationship between two 19th C. poets. Elements of mystery and suspense genre fiction pop in and out, with the author conscious of and constantly referring to her influences.
The satiric sections take on generally easy targets (literati collectors, American provincial university acquisitiveness), but the tone is so breezy it causes no offense. The natural comparison has been to Umberto Eco's work, because this work seeks to drop one into a dense set of ideas, without explaining all the contexts of each. Some will see this as a Wodehouse or Waugh type farce. Some will see this as feminist parable. Some will see this as densely layered historical fiction.

I see this as a simply solid entertainment. Those who find themselves bored with literature about literature will be bored here. Those who find themselves in search of work which is relentlessly profound should stray elsewhere. Those who do not wish novels to contain both rough and smooth are best suited in works of lighter comedy or deeper despair.

But those who want to take a keen wit, and give her a literary kaleidoscope, and see what will happen--read this. Byatt is arguably not for everyone, but she is certainly right for me.

Rating:
Summary: my favorite book in the whole wide world
Review: okay, so i skipped some of the poems. I did that in Lord of the Rings, too. Does that make me a bad reader?
I have read this book (minus some of the poems) several times. I LOVE it. It is a lovely, beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful, perfect. It's not one to attempt if you are seeking immediate gratification or you don't want to think--it is not a summer read or a fun romance novel. It is a book about scholars and writers and the differences between their worlds. It is also a book about love, in both the Victorian world and in modern times. It is a book about mythology and poetry and storytelling. It is a mystery; I remember being tickled by that because it related to something a prof. said that i can no longer remember--something about why "The Scarlet Letter" was subtitled "a romance" as well, but it was also a mystery--my brain fails me, i think the terms might have once been interchangeable or something. I love the small characters in this book--Val, Nest, Sabine....I can't believe someone could just write this--that it was rolling around in their head. It makes my mind reel. The movie isn't bad, either, although no where near as intricate and amazing.

Rating:
Summary: A real stinker
Review: Here's another one of those prize winning books that leave you wondering....

Why?

Rating:
Summary: Forgotten passion
Review: "Possession" is far above and beyond the kind of books usually labelled "romance." It's lushly written, with exquisite characters, great poetry and interweavings of legend and myth. It's almost chastely erotic, mysterious and dripping over with Victorian-era romance. It's hard not to be drawn in.

A young scholar, Roland, stumbles accidently on an old letter from acclaimed poet Randolph Ash. He soon has reason to believe that the letter was to Christabel La Monte, a lesser-known "fairy" poet -- except Ash was happily married, and La Monte was single all her life. Roland and the chilly fellow scholar Maud investigate caches of hidden letters, poems, and diaries by the lovers, wife, friends and relatives.

In the past, the cordial letters of Christabel and Randolph blossomed into love and passion. They vanished for a short, blissful time together. But what happened to Christabel and Randolph's love, and why did Christabel leave England, while her companion Blanche committed suicide? And how do these events somehow involve Roland and Maude's own growing attachment?

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and in "Possession" it's a valuable historical tool. When words are hidden or read, it can change perceptions and even lives. Byatt's own words are wonderfully lush, dreamy and vivid. Given the rather formal language and writing, it almost seems like a nineteenth-century novel, as if Byatt got so swept up in the characters that she started writing like them.

Byatt has an excellent eye for the language of the era. The letters, poetry and fiction of Christabel and Randolph have a very authentic feel. Especially since Byatt manages to change tones for different people's writing (Christabel's poetry was a bit reminiscent of Emily Dickenson's). The only problem is when the book veers into long tangents; Byatt seems to get a little off-track there. But most of the time, the richness of Breton legend adds depth and mystery to an already beautiful novel. The sunken city of Is, the legend of Melusina, and many others are here.

Byatt gives us an amazing look at the ill-fated lovers, Christabel and Randolph; you can feel their passion and love. They aren't just attracted to each other, but drawn together in the mind and spirit. The supporting characters, such as the artist Blanche and devoted, wistful Ellen Ash, are equally well-drawn; you can't dislike any of them. Roland and Maud seem a little anemic by comparison, but they are still compelling characters, caught up in a love affair from over a hundred years ago.

After taking the recommendation of a good friend, I found that "Possession" is the kind of genuine, heartwrenching romance that you don't see much of -- meetings of minds, genuine passion and love. It's a beautiful thing, and something to be deeply treasured.

Rating:
Summary: A rich, involving novel
Review: This is a wonderful book. The writing is dense and slow, but wonderfully so-- this is a book that forced me to take my time. Byatt's weaving of history, poetry, mystery and romance creates a wonderful web of characters; the modern hero and heroine are especially well-crafted, and their relationship forms a nice counterpoint to that of the mysterious poets. I can't say enough about this novel-- I am amazed by its richness of detail and creativity.

Rating:
Summary: I too have tried...
Review: After devouring Colleen McCullough's wonderful Masters of Rome series, I was looking for something light, like romance. "Possession" seemed promising: forbidden love. And winner of Booker Prize.

I was wrong. It was pure torture. But unlike one of the reviewers here, I managed to finished it, but not without difficulties.

While struggling to read this, Dorothy Parker came to mind. She once said: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

I have tried to like this book, I really have.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Read
Review: At first, I found Possession incredibly dull- I was hard put to keep my mind on it, but after a few pages, I was caught.

The concept is intriguing, the writing, for the most part, is beautiful. However, there were several sections that I just couldn't read through, no matter how hard I tried. There is a chapter comprised of the correspondence between Randolph Henry Ash and Cristobel LaMotte that could've been taken out entirely without doing any damage to the novel. The dialogue is unrealistic and an eyesore to read- it's almost as if the characters either can't let each other finish their sentences or don't know how to speak in full sentences.

However, those criticisms aside, it's a good choice if you're looking for something to read on a long plane/car/bus ride, but don't pick it up if you're looking for a bit of light reading to loose yourself in after a long day.

Rating:
Summary: I have never been more bored nor enjoyed reading less
Review: Once I start a book, I always finish it. Always. Once I am more than 10 pages into a novel, I feel guilty if I don't follow through. It's a huge pet peeve of mine.

I didn't finish this book.

I tried! Trust me, I tried! I had heard such amazing things about it. I was convinced that it was going to be one of my all time favorite books. Everything about it seemed something that I would love! The time period, the history, the romance... everything.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. I wanted to finish it, I did, but reading it was like a chore! I have never felt like that about a book, ever. Yet I felt obligated to keep reading. I kept thinking about all the awards it had won and how many people raved about it, and how I didn't really appreciate good literature unless I read and fell in love with this book. I kept telling myself eventually I was going to just love it, so I kept going. I kept going until I was well over page 200.

I never loved it.

I don't really know how to rate this novel because I didn't actually finish it, and even writing that, admitting that fact to the world, I feel bad. I feel as though I am not quite as literary as I had presumed. Maybe I just don't know good writing, but I felt as though I was reading a history textbook. A BORING history textbook.

Can someone please explain to me what is so fantastic about this novel? I really thought I would love it. I wanted to love it. I tried to love it.

Instead I was bored out of my mind.