Hey Reading Buddies! Welcome to the discussion post for Possession by A.S. Byatt.
It’s a bit of a chunkster, and kind of dense at that, so I’m making my way through rather slowly. I’m about 200 pages in, right in the middle of the Ash/LaMotte letters, which I’m finding kind of hard to get through. Perhaps it’s just not the best bedtime book. I’d better get my butt in gear if I’m going to finish in two weeks, though. I’ll never do it at the rate I’m going!
So, I’d heard mixed things about Possession going in. Some bloggers have declared undying love for it, while others were sort of…meh. It’s far too early to form my own opinions on the overall book of course. I’m enjoying it, but I’m not totally hooked.
I quite like Roland. And Maud, and Joan, for that matter. I find all the poetry and such a little hard to get through, except for the few short stories we’ve gotten so far. Those I really like. It’s definitely not light reading though.
I think what’s kept me interested is that I cannot figure out where the story is going. A full-out Roland-and-Val drama? Not yet, at least. A Roland-and-Maud romance? Not so far. The uncovering of a secret set of letters? Well, yes…but that’s happened less than half way through the book. So I am quite curious to know where it is all going, even if the story itself hasn’t completely sucked me in.
That’s about all I feel I can say at this point. More in two weeks!
Your Turn!
If you’re reading along or have read Possession, what are your thoughts?
Keep reading, the ending is fantastic! I loved this book, and really need to reread it. It is really dense at times, but I thought it was very good!
This was one of my favourite books for ages; I don’t know if I would still love it just as much (her later books didn’t have the same intense appeal for me, although I’ve liked many of them), but I did love the shape of the novel and the bookishness of it and used to buy multiple copies of it because one just wasn’t enough (you know, so you can loan them out, and then not get them back)!
What luck! The last book for Reading Buddies is one I’ve read in the last year! Recommended by a friend whose absolute favorite it is.
I found Possession slow going for the first third as well, and being put off by the long poetic passages was part of it (a la Tolkien). But the story finally gains some momentum about halfway, and then I was hooked! 🙂