Possession

Rating:
Summary: Possessed-- appropriate title for reader as well as story
Review: In this novel, Byatt keeps the reader entranced with the developing mystery/romance of two couples from differennt eras. This reader read eagerly and sometimes impatiently for the outcome of the love "quadrangle" of sorts that occured between R.H. Ash, LaMotte, Miss Glover and Ellen Ash. The ending was supremely satisfying both in regards to the Victorian Era story and in the parallel investigation taking place in the modern day England of the 1980's. What sometimes hampered the story were the intersperal of large tracts of poetry and correspondence laden with mundane philosopical discourses on whatever interested the poets of the Victorian age. Perhaps on a historical level this would have been fun and interesting to read... but to someone who was interesting in "getting on with it" , this reader often felt irritated at the prospect of reading yet more obstacles hindering the eagerly awaited reward at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Yawn - a Waste of Time and Energy
Review: An amazingly boring book about obscure, tedious Victorian poets and the obscure, tedious modern-day academics who study them. As parody, it is about 500 pages too long. The author is apparently paid by the word. Life is too short to waste on this book. Read "The French Lieutenant's Woman" if you want a juxtapostion of Victorian and modern times. Unlike this book it's actually engaging.

Rating:
Summary: Can someone give me information on "Lilith" on pge 333.
Review: This is the second time I have read this book and it was a better read the second time around. I have a question on the mention of "Lilith", Adam's first wife, as mentioned in the book. This is the second time I have come across the mention of Lilith in this vein. I can find no supporting evidence of the story of Lilith as Adam's first wife. Did the author, Byatt, create this person to get the point across or is their a story about Lilith? Would someone please enlighten me. I have asked quite a few people and they have never heard of Lilith in this manner. I also checked with a friend that has a master's in religion and philosophy and he could find no reference to Lilith as Adam's first wife. It makes an interesting perspective and I would love to know more.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing-a mystery and romance in one.
Review: At first, I found this book difficult to begin reading, but once the main characters began their search for the answers to a mystery more than 100 years old, I was engrossed. I found myself thinking about the characters and their situations when I was not reading the novel, and finished it quicker than I expected to. The literary style required intent concentration (which usually was not hard to manage) and sometimes I found the poety interspersed to be a nuisance, as I wanted to continue with the romance and mystery of the novel. Overall, however, a spellbinding novel. Well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: One of the two best books I read in 1997
Review: POSSESSED and Keith Thomas's RELIGION AND THE DECLINE OF MAGIC were my two favorite books that I read in 1997. As a former grad student (Yale and University of Chicago), I can attest that the intellectual milieu was quite familiar and accurately treated. What impressed me about the book was the way that it managed to get better and better as the story progressed. And the last four pages were as good as I have ever encountered (only Henry Green's LOVING and Dostoevsky's THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV had final pages that I loved as much). I would recommend any serious reader getting this book immediately, but especially anyone who has had to trudge through grad school in the humanities. A truly fine novel.

Rating:
Summary: A Bit Much...
Review: Byatt, being a literary critic herself, set out to show how a great novel should be constructed. This she accomplishes with amazing clarity. The novel trapses between two periods, the Victorian and the modern and unravels a mirrored story about two poets and the scholars obsessed with them. Using letters and poems Byatt surrounds the reader in what we are suppose to believe is the glory and brilliance of the novel's hero poets. Bravo and congratulations on the mechanics. The problem with "Possession" is that it utterly lacks any passion. There is so little character development that I was left untouched by both the good and bad that happened to the main characters. We are supposed to believe that Ash and LaMotte are such brilliant Victorian poets and yet I doubt whether the poems in this book could stand literary criticism on their own. The story line is also quite predictable. Very little happened in this book that left me surprised or even a little stunned. It is not to say that this books isn't excellent, it just isn't as excellent as everyone else seems to think it is. A fabulous work but a bit over the top!

Rating:
Summary: Worth the effort
Review: Despite slow going in the first 50 pages, this book is deserving of the reader's time and tenacity. An intricate and lovely duo of stories, both reflective of and on their periods. Byatt's literary characters and their works are so convincing, one can forget that they are as imagined as the rest of the book's characters.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite reads of all time!
Review: Although at times I questioned whether I was even going to make it through this book, it became one of the most rewarding experiences of my reading life. Byatt weaves a classic love story that becomes a complex tapestry of utter delight. One of the most rewarding chapters in the novel was one that I approached with much trepidation--the multiple-page chapter of the correspondence between the 2 19th century lovers. I was plowing through it, when suddently I became utterly absorbed and amazed at what Byatt was doing--going from cold respectability to intense and troubled passion is simply astounding. A. S. Byatt is truly in total charge of her medium in this wondrous novel.

Rating:
Summary: Totally engrossing...completely charming.........so romantic
Review: Within the first 10 pages of this book, I was drawn in to a Victorian world of intrigue, romance, and intellect. The story is beautifully complex - seamlessly transporting you into and out of 2 separate worlds. I've never liked novels with a Victorian "sensibility"; this one was wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: I found this book completely enchanting and didn't tire of it in the least. I was drawn in from page one and loved every bit of it!