Possession AS Byatt

[garlictwist]

Am currently reading this (so no spoilers please!). I'm enjoying it but finding I'm quite bored by all the Victorian letters and poetry parts and keep skipping them . I assume they are integral to the plot.

Just wondering if anyone else has read it and had the same experience?

It's years since I read them, but yes, they're integral to the plot. I remember loving it as a novel. Avoid the film adaptation which is an embarrasment.

I must admit when I read it I did miss out the poetry..Still thought it was really good.

That book is my nemesis. I love reading highbrow arty farty books that get nominated for/ win literary prizes. I read the blurb on the back and I’m like, yep, sounds like my ideal book.
I’ve tried to read it twice and only made it to about page 50. Maybe I’ll give it another go next year.

I love that book - I think it's my all-time favourite. It repays re-reading too, so don't worry if you skip the poems. Stick with the letters though - they're worth it.

Yes, they are integral to the plot. I loved the book when I read it amilluon years agobutif you are not enjoying it then stop and find something to read you do enjoy.

They are integral, though more the letters than Ash’s poems at least — or maybe I just found LaMotte’s work more palatable than pastiche sort-of Browning. I loved it, though haven’t reread it in a long time — it’s the dream of every academic who’s ever gone into an archive and realised all the really key stuff is destroyed or missing!

But if it’s not for you, don’t force it.

i skipped the poems but not the letters (I read it years ago and loved it).

And I echo a pp in saying that the film is beyond bad. I think I watched it in a spirit of bewildered disgust.

I love that novel. I've reread it a few times but not for a while. You can probably skip the poetry but you need to read the letters.

Please persevere with it, if only for the final chapter which is just beautiful.

One of my favourites, but haven't read it for years. I think there is one pivotal plot point in one poem, but I can't quite remember!

The book fills me with awe - it's so incredibly well crafted. Definitely one of my favourites. And yes, the poems are integral.

I finished it last night - really enjoyed it. I read all the letters but I did skip the poems, however!

I love the end! So brilliantly constructed - she must have worked the whole thing backward to set up that denouement.

I read it years ago, I remember found it heavy going at times, but as it drew to an end, I'd quite fallen in love with it. I will always remember it as a beautiful book.

One of my very favourite books ever.

I love it - one of the few books that I widely recommend.

I admit I didn't read much of the poetry, especially not the epic poems, but the letters are crucial!

@Nuffaluff I could have written your post word for word, I unpacked my copy of it today and put it to one side as a ‘maybe this year I’ll crack it’…but I don’t think I will!

I love this book and have read it several times, poetry and all.

I love this one too - and The Children's Book