tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post6040063976420807751..comments2023-08-21T04:21:28.626-04:00Comments on The Beautiful Necessity: PossessionGracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01961174973796318673noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-65533870929533957102008-05-01T10:57:00.000-04:002008-05-01T10:57:00.000-04:00Byatt's work can be a bit of a slog, but it's alwa...Byatt's work can be a bit of a slog, but it's always worth it. It helps if you've got the background (the essentially Victorian breadth of knowledge Byatt packs into her novels) and like reading for style and depth rather than just for story. I was a bit impatient the first time I read it (I kept "spoiling" it for myself by reading ahead). But once I knew what happened, I could sit back and really enjoy how well she writes and how much she clearly knows about the period. The film version was well done, indeed, but the book --when given a leisurely enough read--is better. The sheer texture of the story is well worth savoring.Owlfarmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15373358232893937182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-16172855437951494832008-04-17T20:17:00.000-04:002008-04-17T20:17:00.000-04:00Guilty, as charged! :PGuilty, as charged! :PAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-875134116692001412008-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:002008-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:00Aurora you butterfly collector you. :) I do want...Aurora you butterfly collector you. :) I do want to see the movie...I want to see Possession and Angels and Insects both. So many interests, so little time!!Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961174973796318673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-42062072235709879482008-04-17T06:41:00.000-04:002008-04-17T06:41:00.000-04:00(As an interesting aside...the original novella of...(As an interesting aside...the original novella of Angels and Insects was called "Morpho Eugenia", after a butterfly that is brought back from South America. The morpho familiy of butterflies makes for fascinating reading...being one of the few butterflies with iridescent wings...and living out it's life above the tree canopy of the rainforests. I have one morpho, myself--although not the one I especially want--a morpho aurora! :D Sadly, it's not as pretty as the common morpho I have, but still--I *ought* to have one, don't you think?! ;))<BR/><BR/>Do some reading on morphos! It's good stuff! :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-20696413538563906832008-04-17T06:36:00.000-04:002008-04-17T06:36:00.000-04:00I haven't read Angels and Insects, either, due to ...I haven't read Angels and Insects, either, due to my figuring that AS Byatt was just one of those Modern Writers whose style I don't care for...but I can tell you that the movie version was fantastic! (Although unlike Possession, it IS full of pretentions--very self-conscious comparisons between people and the insect world. Now me, I love that sort of thing, if done well...and they did it beautiully. There's an opening ball scene, where all the women are in hyperreal colored gowns--all recognizable as being based on butterfly wings...the mother of the large family is made to look like a huge queen ant, doing nothing but eating and breeding...oh--it's delicious! :D)<BR/><BR/>(Wasn't it originally released as Morpho Eugenia?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-40717660363252156632008-04-16T21:55:00.000-04:002008-04-16T21:55:00.000-04:00I saw in a passing review on Amazon that someone e...I saw in a passing review on Amazon that someone else said that Angels and Insects was really good as well. I may try it out eventually.<BR/><BR/>All in all I enjoyed reading it, definitely!Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961174973796318673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-48686932568633617872008-04-16T20:53:00.000-04:002008-04-16T20:53:00.000-04:00Hands down, this is one of my favorite books (ment...Hands down, this is one of my favorite books (mentioned on my blog <A HREF="http://preraphaelitesisterhood.com/?p=156" REL="nofollow">here</A> and <A HREF="http://preraphaelitesisterhood.com/?p=178" REL="nofollow">here</A>.<BR/><BR/>I was 17 when I first read it. I read it all the way through and loved it, but I know that I just didn't "get it all" on the first read. <BR/>I re-read it all the time. That, and Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier are probably the two books that have meant the most to me in my life.<BR/><BR/>Have you read other A.S. Byatt books? Her short stories are brilliant. I love her novella, Angels and Insects.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-49599974835865740502008-04-16T17:12:00.000-04:002008-04-16T17:12:00.000-04:00What an interesting idea for a book! It does sound...What an interesting idea for a book! It does sound a bit complicated, though.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07197591307149394913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-16798957373087718932008-04-16T15:11:00.000-04:002008-04-16T15:11:00.000-04:00Meredith, that is a bit of serendipity! Let me kn...Meredith, that is a bit of serendipity! Let me know what you think of the book!<BR/><BR/>Aurora, I know exactly what you mean about the tone of the book, because I noticed it too. That's why I much preferred the segments about the actual poets to the ones about the scholars studying them today.Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01961174973796318673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-79482063866681799942008-04-16T07:44:00.000-04:002008-04-16T07:44:00.000-04:00Interesting review...I might check this out again....Interesting review...I might check this out again. I tried it years ago, when it first came out, and couldn't make it past the first couple of chapters--it was heavy with that cloying sense of *something* that I find in so many Modern Literature. (And yes, those caps are intentional. Lesser fiction is not so encumbered with literary fads. ;))<BR/><BR/>I have since read a few books where, if I can sit through chapters and chapters, there's some sort of payoff for that dark cloak of deadness (is it despair? lack of hope? I don't know--but it's prevalent in Modern Literature!)--but at the time, I couldn't be bothered, so I perhaps missed a good book.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, the movie is a visual treat--and completely lacking in pretensions. It's just your standard costume drama, with lots of PRB nods in it. (Not to mention the dishy Jeremy Northam. ;)) It's not deep, but it's very enjoyable...and very, very pretty. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3857988142747792755.post-89833431914414319522008-04-15T17:37:00.000-04:002008-04-15T17:37:00.000-04:00Strangest coincidence! I check your blog everyday ...Strangest coincidence! I check your blog everyday (big fan, by the way). I tried to read "Possession" as a teenager but I wasn't ready. After reading your blog, I made the decision to give it another try. About an hour ago, I was at a neighborhood sandwich shop and went to the bookshelf where local library used books are sold, and guess what book should be there? For only a dollar, I now own a copy!Terra Firmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00333105571250196822noreply@blogger.com