Erin Reads – Page 16 – Notes on Books & Life

Reading Buddies Discussion: “Possession” by A.S. Byatt

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?

Reading Buddies Finale: “Possession” by AS Byatt

Hey Reading Buddies! As you may know, July will be the last month for this program, at least for now. We’ve chosen a great book to finish up with, and I hope you’ll be able to read along!

We’re reading A.S. Byatt’s Possession, which you can find out more about here. It’s a hefty tome, compared to some of our other reads, so to give us a little more time, I’ll be posting the discussion on July 20th and the wrap-up on August 3. I’m about 75 pages in and very much enjoying it so far!

If you’d like me to email you should I bring Reading Buddies back, just let me know in the comments. (If you already expressed interest on a previous post, I’ve already got you on my list!)

I’m looking forward to this one last read with all of you!

Reading Buddies Wrap-Up: “Year of Wonders” by Geraldine Brooks

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (cover)

Welcome, Reading Buddies! Just a reminder that next month, for our last RB read (at least for now), we’ll be tackling Possession by A.S. Byatt. Hope you can join in for a last hurrah!

As always, spoilers are fair game here. I’ll get into some major ones later on, but I’ll warn again before those pop up.

Okay, so Year of Wonders. This was my first exposure to Geraldine Brooks, aside from the first disc of People of the Book on audio. (I stopped because the narrator didn’t work for me.) I am feeling simultaneously impressed by some things and unimpressed by others.

We’ll start with the impressive. I think Brooks mostly did a nice job developing Anna, the narrator. As I mentioned in my discussion post, I didn’t 100% buy Anna’s narrative voice, and that never changed. But I thought she had decent depth as a character. I also really liked how Brooks took an actual historical village that did what Anna’s village did — cut themselves off from the outside world to prevent the Plague from spreading — and wrote a story around it. I usually enjoy when authors root their fiction strongly in historical events. And third, I do think Brooks explored very intriguingly what might happen to an isolated village struck by something like the Plague. She traced the unraveling of almost every facet of life, exploring the medicine and religion of the time along the way.

I know spoilers are fair game in these Reading Buddies posts, but these ones are major, so I’ll mark them.

SPOILER ALERT!

I did not, however, feel that any character but Anna was particularly well developed. Most seemed like stock characters with predictable (if any) twists. I knew who the “ghost of Anys” was from the first charm. Elinor, the good and saintly wife, had a sordid past I didn’t find particularly surprising. We knew from the start that she would die before the year was out, but I suspected it would not be from the Plague — that would have been too straightforward. And yeah, Michael took a bit of an odd turn at the end — he was probably the least predictable character for me — but I didn’t believe much of what happened with him after he kissed Anna for the first time. It all just seemed…weird.

So yes, the ending. What? Everything from that kiss scene on just seemed ridiculous to me. After 250 pages of horrible but practical and realistic things happening, Anna sleeps with the husband of her dear recently deceased friend, discovers he’s nuts,delivers a baby for a woman she despises while hiding from said friend’s husband, saves said baby from drowning, offers to run away with said baby forever, avoids a pursuer, sails to a foreign country, and…joins a harem? Of a doctor, who lets her practice medicine? Huh?

You know what it reminded me of? Ann Patchett’s novels. Every one of hers I’ve read except for The Magician’s Apprentice managed to completely sever my connection with the characters in the final pages of the book by turning to some ridiculous stunt ending like Anna’s. I’d rather have seen the rector starting to come around, the people of the village beginning to rebuild their lives, and just left it at that.

Aaaaaand I’m done ranting.

So, I’m glad I finally read Geraldine Brooks. I can’t say I’m itching to pick up another of hers right away, but I’d give her another chance.

How about you? What were your thoughts on Year of Wonders? Did the ending bother you as much as it bugged me?

Reading Buddies Discussion: “Year of Wonders” by Geraldine Brooks

Welcome, Reading Buddies! (If you missed my announcement last week, be sure to check it out.)

Year of Wonders is the first novel by Geraldine Brooks I’ve actually stuck with. I tried People of the Book a couple of years ago and just couldn’t get into it. I’m happy to report Year of Wonders is going better.

I’m about a third of the way through — just over 100 pages in. I think what I like best is how the novel focuses on a single ordinary character’s experience of the Plague. There’s no concrete king in this novel, no castle or nobility or monastery or any of the other mainstays you tend to find in a novel set during a similar time. That different perspective makes the book stand out to me. I’m interested to read more.

At first I did have some trouble adjusting to Anna’s voice. She seemed far too articulate to be a poor servant girl. A little of her educational background — spotty though it was — has been filled in at this point, and I’ve grown accustomed to Anna’s narrative voice, but I’m still not sure I believe it 100%. We’ll see how I feel in another 200 pages!

Besides those two points, I don’t have much to say about Year of Wonders. I”m curious to see where Brooks takes the story, but I’m not terribly attached to it. It’s interesting without being completely absorbing.

If you’re reading along or have read Year of Wonders, what were your initial impressions? Did you believe the main character’s voice? Anything else you’d like to add?

Reading Buddies: July Pick and an Announcement

Just a reminder that there’s still plenty of time to jump on board for our June read, which is Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I started it last night, and I’m definitely interested already. It’s my first of Brooks’ books.

July’s book won with a landslide! We’ll be reading Possession by A.S. Byatt. I’ve meat to read this one for a really long time, so I’m glad you guys picked it. Here’s a taste, from the Goodreads description:

“‘Literary critics make natural detectives,’ says Maud Bailey, heroine of a mystery where the clues lurk in university libraries, old letters, and dusty journals. Together with Roland Michell, a fellow academic and accidental sleuth, Maud discovers a love affair between the two Victorian writers the pair has dedicated their lives to studying: Randolph Ash, a literary great long assumed to be a devoted and faithful husband, and Christabel La Motte, a lesser-known ‘fairy poetess’ and chaste spinster. At first, Roland and Maud’s discovery threatens only to alter the direction of their research, but as they unearth the truth about the long-forgotten romance, their involvement becomes increasingly urgent and personal. Desperately concealing their purpose from competing researchers, they embark on a journey that pulls each of them from solitude and loneliness, challenges the most basic assumptions they hold about themselves, and uncovers their unique entitlement to the secret of Ash and La Motte’s passion.

“Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize–the U.K.’s highest literary award–Possession is a gripping and compulsively readable novel. A.S. Byatt exquisitely renders a setting rich in detail and texture. Her lush imagery weaves together the dual worlds that appear throughout the novel–the worlds of the mind and the senses, of male and female, of darkness and light, of truth and imagination–into an enchanted and unforgettable tale of love and intrigue.”

Because it’s longer, and because there’s that holiday weekend in there, I’ll be posting about Possession on July 20 and August 3. That gives us an extra week, which I know I’ll probably need!

The Aforementioned Announcement

So. As I wrote about recently, I’ve kind of been exploring new directions. I launched a new, differently focused site and stopped writing “book thoughts” altogether. It’s been just Reading Buddies posts, and it will continue to be that way. (For the full story, check out the post I originally wrote explaining this shift in focus.)

After much thought and agonizing, I’ve decided that July will be the last Reading Buddies read, at least for the time being. Erin Reads will stay up, though I’m giving myself permission to step back for as long as I need to and won’t be posting much, if anything. I need the space, or I fear I’ll burn out and never, ever want to come back.

The June and July reads will happen as planned. If you’d like to be notified if/when Reading Buddies is up and running again, leave me a note in the comments and I’ll add you to a list that will ONLY be used for that purpose.

I love the book blogging community and have enjoyed being part of it so very much. I’ll still be around…just not actively posting for the moment. Thanks to all of you who have made Erin Reads the fun, thriving little community I never imagined it could become.

Happy reading, all!