Greetings,
You know what I like? Letters. Good, old-fashioned, handwritten letters. Like, on paper. Go ahead and Google those things, kids. I'll wait. You know what else I like? Poetry. I mean, I have published three books of it, so I better like it. So, what better than a book that has both of those things as its center? Not much. Therefore, today I will be discussing Possession by A.S. Byatt. Oh, and FYI, I know that Halloween is approaching, but this "possession" is not the kind associated with the scares of said holiday. I assume. Unless I missed something in the text. Anyway, let's get started.
Possession was released in 1990 and falls right about in the middle of the writing career of A.S. Byatt. Some people, apparently, refer to this as her masterpiece. Sure, why not? It is pretty good, and it is what I would call a reader's book. You know, not messing around here. And hardcore readers know what I'm talking about. So, how about that plot?
Well, I'm happy to say that we actually have two plots, intertwined through time and space. Oh, the joy. In present day, we follow Roland Michell, who is investigating letters he found written by a Victorian poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Of course, he's looking into them, since they hint at a hidden romance. What could be more intriguing? He suspects they may be written to another poet of the day, Christabel LaMotte, which leads him to Maud Bailey, an expert and distant relative of LaMotte. The two set out to reveal the secrets of these past writers, as are others in the field, and they end up finding out far more than they ever imagined possible.
Meanwhile (I love a good "meanwhile") we also follow the mysterious relationship of Ash and LaMotte. It is a relationship that not only affects them, but many people that surround them. As they tend to do. And being that they are in the Victorian era, there may be a few or more things about this pairing that the public at large would take issue with. Oh, who am I kidding? Some of us would still find problems with it. But their initial secrets leads to more secrets and a legacy which takes a winding road to the future.
And when the two timelines make their way to each other, we begin to find out things that neither we, as the audience nor the characters themselves ever would have known. Frankly, this book is a mystery novel. Just a poetic one, which certainly makes it stand out in the crowd.
Good times, indeed!
So, what is it about this book that I really like? Remember how I said that it centers around letters and poems? Well, all of those are within the text of the book. Yes, the author does not just talk about the poetry and say nothing more than it exists, and also does not give us Cliff's Notes versions of what is in the letters. It's all in there, my friends. This is actually something that Possession has been much praised for, and a lot of the richness of the writing comes from what is in those poems and letters. It's rather amazing to commit to the characters, as well as their stories and feelings, so fully.
I must say, even though in the grand scheme of literature, Possession is fairly young, it feels more classic than it actually is. I think that's a good thing. It makes it far more timeless than books written by "authors" who clearly don't care as much about the words. Just the words themselves. This is a book that reminds us exactly how valuable they are to all of us.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
