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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perhaps Byatt's best so far.,
By peterb (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Still Life (Paperback)
Second in A.S. Byatt's ongoing Yorkshire quartet (the first and third novels are "The Virgin in the Garden" and "Babel Tower") I couldn't put Still Life down from the moment I picked it up. Tracing the Potter clan's lives through Stephanie's childbirth (and lingering chillingly on the degrading way mid-50's medicine treated expectant mothers), Still Life is one of the few books I've read in many years that brought me to the verge of tears. Strongly recommended.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must for Byatt Fans!,
By Dingbats "dingbats" (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Still Life (Paperback)
Still Life is the second of A.S. Byatt's sequenced novels that begin with The Virgin In the Garden. The novel continues to chronicle the Potter clan in the late 1950s. Can you dive into the second without having read the first? Probably. In the early part of Still Life, Byatt provides just enough background to situate the characters. Of course, "just enough" will never be the same as reading the first novel.Still Life reads differently from The Virgin in the Garden, the author less obssessed with moment-to-moment reporting through painstakingly-gathered details. It is more sprawling, emphasizing characters' growth over a wider span of time (relatively speaking). What hasn't changed is Byatt's love for and mastery of language, and concern for the life of the mind. The novel contains many passages where Byatt boldly, and almost intrusively, airs her provocative views on everything from writing, visual perception, love, to politics (i.e. delivered in the authorial first person instead of through a character's mouth or mind). But she is also an astute observer of the ordinary, whether depicting childbirth, adultery, or domestic vignettes. There's something for everyone here. The final section is a shocker. I finished the book not quite convinced that a freak accident belongs in a literary novel. All the same, be prepared to read some moving passages on grieving.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 1/2 stars; almost perfect,
By
This review is from: Still Life (Paperback)
This is a breathtaking novel. I was not that enthusiatic about The Virgin in te Garden but this book was amazing on every level. I love the development of these characters (who seem very real, very Known to me). Frederica is especially well developed. Her intelligence and lack of self-knowledge are an endearing package. I personally love the intricate explanations of ideas- it is refreshing to read about things that I think about and yet have never found elsewhere. My only real probelm with the book is that the author's voice intrudes too much; it isn't necessary to me to be AWARE of the fact that this is a novel. Byatt almost wants us to be aware that this is fiction when I would always rather be in that pleasant state of believing in the fiction. But overall, I couldn't put this book down; what happens at the end is shockingly sad. I wonder what book 3 in the series will bring.
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