Possession by A.S. Byatt


My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This book was a struggle to get through, even after I saw the movie. Basically, there are two love stories going on in this book...the modern-day romance of two literary researchers who discover a hitherto unknown love affair between two poets.




I will say this, the author worked very hard on this book...she used different voices for the different characters, and even for the different writings of the poets. She put a lot of effort into this book.




But the book was so long, the modern day love story was frustrating, because you were sort of like, get it together already! And I suppose there was supposed to be an air of mystery, because the researchers are working to prove that the two poets knew each other, but, and maybe it's because I'm not an academic, I was sort of like, who cares? I mean, I just have a hard time understanding why someone would spend so much time researching stuff that was already written (then again, I've never liked research...if YOU want to know something, YOU look it up; don't bother me with it).




Thinking maybe I was missing something crucial, since this book came so highly recommended from a trustworthy source, I did some of my own research (see, when I want to know something, I will go ahead and look it up myself!). Basically, what I found is that people either LOVED or HATED this book. People either found the story line beautiful, the poetry moving, and the imagery fabulous, or they were like me and just wanted to get on with it. I didn't find anyone who felt the book was "pretty good."




So, my advice is, if you like research, or poetry or reading journals from the 1860s, you might enjoy this book, but if you don't, or if you are frustrated by would-be lovers who can't figure it out, then you'll probably not enjoy this book.






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