Saturday, September 03, 2005
Possessed
I've neglected my homework, my chores, sleep, all for a book- AS Byatt's Possession.I can scarcely articulate its effect on me. I wrestled with the intellectual meat of it, balked at the polysyllablic -isms and name-dropping and quotations in foreign languages, resentful of having my ignorance highlighted. Chippy. Slashed my way through the poetry at first, then slowly began to revel in it, my imagination fretful at being woken after so many years in hibernation. Then entangled, moved, moved to the point of tears, indignation at the injustice, exasperation, desperate pity.
I'm not sure if will become one of my favourite books, spiky and tearing as it is. The description-heavy verbosity and academic jargon and too-sharp observation are not easily loved. But it's one of the few books that I've read lately that has touched both intellect and emotions.
# posted at 3:29 pm
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