Customer Reviews

A.S. Byatt's Possession: A Reader's Guide (Continuum Contemporaries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm the first to admit that 'Possession' is a complex novel, but it's also one of my favourites. This guidebook might seem like an odd idea (why do you need a guidebook to a novel??) - having just finished it, though, I'm left feeling even more impressed by the novel, and itching to read it again. Dr Burgass writes clearly and is deeply knowledgeable about her subject. There are so many levels to this novel, so many nuances, and she captures most of them wonderfully. This is all in the main chapter of the book. The other material seems like a bonus: a brief history of Byatt's career and a great little section about how (and why) this clever novel sold so well. It's even current enough to have a page about the film adaptation, which as far as I know has not been released yet. But it sounds intriguing. Which is probably a good reason to read this book now - then you will know more about the novel when everybody starts talking about it again.

Reading A.S.Byatt's "Possession" can be a daunting task as the novel is not only interpersed with poetry and letters written by all the fictional historical characters, but is filled with allusions that only a lifetime afficiando of literature would understand. This little book by Ms Burgass will help the less erudite reader peel back the layers that comprise the entire work.
The guide is broken down into various sections that will answer questions regarding all manner of topics related to the novel. The author, the novel itself, the novel's reception, the novel's standing today, and a helpful list of study questions,further reading and websites round out the chapter topics.
I found the chapter on the novel sufficiently comprehensive to answer all my questions regarding the fictional works of Ash and LaMotte. Coverage of the novel's various themes was also extremely instructional.
I recommend this to all who enjoyed the movie and want to fully enjoy the book's entire experience.

I give this book 5 stars because it did what I hoped a book like this would do: It gives the reader more ideas, history, and perspectives from which to interpret A.S. Byatt's novel "Possession." This is not a Cliff Notes. It's more like if you invited a person who was way "too" smart and "too" informed to your book club discussion. Of Byatt she says, "She has worked assiduously towards encompassing what are frequently regarded as mutually exclusive states." And this is true in so many ways. Byatt takes on ideas that most people consider contradictory and challenges those assumptions capably.

There is a "signifanct part of the work (Byatt's fiction) which is semi autobiographical." "As the main title suggests, the novel is about possession, and in line with its complex form dramatizes multiple aspects of this theme, exploring the nature of possessive love and the contrary impulse to self-preservation; superficial possession - of things - and supernatural possession by ghosts, literal and metaphorical; the quest for knowledge (intellectual possession)," and "a degree of self-possession (pride)."

Catherine Burgass examines the book's form, plot choices, and language. She gives examples of the literary criticism and reviews the book has received from major media sources and different schools of thought (old and new). The book intrinsically asks how do contemporary focuses and forms interact with the considerations of the past and future? "Part of Roland and Maud's mutual attraction is, paradoxically, a shared desire for solitude."

When A.S. Byatt was asked if she was tempted to write biographies of other people, she replied, "I do not wish to spend most of my life on somebody else's life - not one other person's life. The words came to me long before the plot of the novel, Possession, and it was to do with being taken over - or alternatively, taking somebody over, depending on whether you're a sympathiser or a hunter."

Byatt's characters are beautifully complex. Ash is sensitive to past, modern, and possible future sensibilities. So "at one point in the novel, Ash considers the way to win Christabel: 'He would teach her that she was not his possession' (p.279)" or anyone else's possession for that matter. And in the end "She and Ash remain linked in their lifetimes, poignantly through this child, whom neither of them can publicly own." The "child" in the novel could be representative of many good things they shared, their literal child, their chemistry of ongoing communication, or the things their relationship created in the real world. The novel explores how and why both characters choose to hide or silence parts of their relationship.

Love that creates consistent beauty and quality is rare. Some people think it comes only once. Some believe they can experience it in several ways, at the same or different times. Some find it in art and work as much as they find it in other people. Regardless, it is rare for most people. And the novel and the Reader's Guide explore how seemingly contradictory loves may co-exist by reconsidering perceptions, definitions, and forms.

I wrote a review of the movie before I read Ms. Burgass' Reader's Guide. My review is on Amazon if you'd like additional perspectives. If you like the movie Possession or the novel, and you'd like to consider it further, I highly recommend this book. Ms. Burgass really cared about the intelligence, complexity, and work that went into creating the novel. And her Reader's Guide may open doors to considering the story in new and valuable ways.

Especially if you are in a book group that will be discussing "Possession", this is a thoughtful, comprehensive guide to that convoluted novel. It will ease the rather daunting task of taking in the nuances of A.M. Byatt's literary romance. Also included is a brief biography of Byatt. Recommended.

This is part of the "Continuum Contemporaries" series. It is a very useful resource for teaching/learning about A. S. Byatt's novel, POSSESSION, as well as about the author and the themes/issues in the novel. My only critique is that I wish it had a compendium that listed all of the different literary allusions in the book. Even without that, though, it is a helpful resource.

A friend told me about this companion book to A.S.Byatt's novel: POSSESSION. I bought both the novel and the reader companion as gifts for a friend. My friend has written to say how much she is appreciating both items...both purchased at Amazon. Thanks.