Possession: a romance by AS Byatt #booker
August 24th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
willpower to get through it – just like The Children’s Book did. I
shan’t be inclined to pick up a Byatt again willingly! In Possession, we follow two academic authorities on two nineteenth
century poets (Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte) as they
uncover evidence that links the two poets and search to find more
pieces of the puzzle. The book is full of potential, but seems to be too ambitious, or
rather, too sprawling. It isn’t the length I mind – I read Lord of the
Rings on an almost annual basis, and I steamed through Wolf Hall. It’s
more that the story seems so fragmented. There’s a page about thirty
from the end in which one of Byatt’s characters outlines the
through-line of the narrative to other characters, which serves to
highlight just how meandering a story Possession is (in the way that
it deviates from this through line). But it isn’t this somewhat
short-sighted approach that I find really irksome. The real problem is the tone – Byatt writes much of Possession as
though it is an academic paper. Granted, academics are, to an extent,
the subject matter, but it feels like Byatt actually wants to write
the papers that explore liminaity, gender politics, and so on. The
novel seems like a vehicle for covertly expounding some theories and
playing with some very academic notions, but it isn’t engaging.
Moreover, it is at odds with the story, which is more fantasy than
reality – something Byatt seems to excuse by calling it a romance. The
strange, neat, happy ending ‘adventure’ of the story jars with the
sophistication of the intellectual discourse – give me either, and I
can judge it and be satiated – give me both, and I’ll just be
irritated.
Having now forced myself through two of her novels, I think I can
safely say that Byatt isn’t for me. Instead of heart, her novels have
a sledgehammer of an intellect.
The sea, the sea by Iris Murdoch #booker
August 24th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
An evening of ManBooker with Nottinghamshire libraries
August 6th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
No doubt you are as excited as me about this year’s ManBooker award. If you are in the Nottinghamshire locality, then put the 12th October 2010 in your diary and head on down to Arnold library for a stimulating evening of bibliophilia!
A panel of esteemed cultural figures will be matched up with their perfect book from the shortlist by Sheelagh Gallagher, Nottinghamshire libraries own Book Doctor. The panel includes Radio show host Frances Finn http://twitter.com/francesfinnshow, writer Nicola Monaghan http://nicolamonaghan.blogspot.com/, Literature specialist at the University of Nottingham Peter Preston http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/English/People/peterjd117, proprietor of independent bookshop and organiser of Lowdham Book Festival Jane Streeter http://www.thebookcase.co.uk/, writer and books editor for Left Lion James K Walker http://www.jameskwalker.co.uk/, and me. No joke!
There will of course be wine for the cultured audience we’re expecting, a professional actor will be reading from the shortlist, and we have a live link-up for the announcement of the winner at 10pm on the night. Truly, this is an event not to be missed!
So I’ll be polishing my best shoes, and eagerly awaiting my perfect book match. Bookworm accolade for you if you can correctly predict which book I’ll be recommending…




