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aliteraryprincess's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
bookherd's review
2.0
This is a cerebral novel about (narrated by) a graduate student of literary analysis who decides he wants to work with "things" instead of in the conceptual stratosphere that he has been used to so far in his academic career. So, he takes up the idea of writing a biography of a celebrated biographer from the beginning of the 20th century whose magnum opus is the 3 volume life of an 18th century British traveler with an absurdly long and disparate list of accomplishments. He begins his research, finds some initially interesting documents and connections, and then (to my mind) allows himself to be derailed.
I recognized some elements from other A.S. Byatt novels in this one: a crisp, white bed from the novel Possession, a sort of personification of Vera, one of the narrator's love interests, and the scent of sweat from Fulla, the other love interest, straight out of Angels and Insects. I think these two love interests are supposed to be complementary to each other, and each of them does fulfill the narrator's desire to work in the realm of "things" in different ways. I wished that these love interests were not set up this way, though, because it made me lose interest in the story--I thought it was a cop out.
The narrator comes to the conclusion that his biographical work is turning out to contain more about himself than about his subject, and there's a suggestion that all biographers' work is that way. He seems to give up the biographical work and turn to assisting his love interests (separately, and it is implied, each without the knowledge of the other) in their work, which in both cases in scientific and involves "things."
There are sparks of interest in this novel, but overall I thought it was a disappointment.
I recognized some elements from other A.S. Byatt novels in this one: a crisp, white bed from the novel Possession, a sort of personification of Vera, one of the narrator's love interests, and the scent of sweat from Fulla, the other love interest, straight out of Angels and Insects. I think these two love interests are supposed to be complementary to each other, and each of them does fulfill the narrator's desire to work in the realm of "things" in different ways. I wished that these love interests were not set up this way, though, because it made me lose interest in the story--I thought it was a cop out.
The narrator comes to the conclusion that his biographical work is turning out to contain more about himself than about his subject, and there's a suggestion that all biographers' work is that way. He seems to give up the biographical work and turn to assisting his love interests (separately, and it is implied, each without the knowledge of the other) in their work, which in both cases in scientific and involves "things."
There are sparks of interest in this novel, but overall I thought it was a disappointment.
fkgaddie's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
misajane79's review
2.0
One of those books that I generally enjoyed while reading it, but never felt that urge to get back to it. Layers of biography--the narrator, the biographer, the biographer's subjects, with some quirky British characters thrown in. Honestly, I was expecting a bigger payoff at the end, after slogging through Byatt's use of "primary" sources.
None of her books have quite lived up to Possession.
None of her books have quite lived up to Possession.
willowsfair's review
5.0
A complex read about the journeys one disillusioned academic must take that lead to unexpected discoveries about himself and things he thought he knew. As always, Byatt never disappoints; her own diligently investigated topical research is woven into the backstory with a fine hand, and her ability to make odd characters engaging with a delightful resonance left me smiling happily at the end of this book.
mepresley's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I can't say that I particularly enjoyed this book, though it is in many ways a brilliant reflection on post-structuralist theory and the death of the author, and on the relationship between biography and fiction and fact. Reading The Biographer's Tale will teach you a fair amount about Linnaeus, Galton, Ibsen, and bee taxonomy.
Fulla was an amazing character. Puck's Girdle was fabulous. I also don't deny relating to Phineas--to a growing disenchantment with scholarship, a dawning epiphany that in many ways it is neither 'real' nor useful, to the discovery of how to live in the "real" world and find pleasure there, when previously those experiences were mediated through books, through reading.
I really liked Byatt's decision to frustrate Phineas' attempts to learn anything about Destry-Scholes or solve the riddle of Destry-Scholes' project, and also her refusal to do the typical closure for a novel by having Phineas choose between Vera and Fulla.
Fulla was an amazing character. Puck's Girdle was fabulous. I also don't deny relating to Phineas--to a growing disenchantment with scholarship, a dawning epiphany that in many ways it is neither 'real' nor useful, to the discovery of how to live in the "real" world and find pleasure there, when previously those experiences were mediated through books, through reading.
I really liked Byatt's decision to
letsreadmorebooks's review
2.0
i was excited to read another a.s. byatt novel because i loved possession, but meh, this just didn't do it for me.
morlyre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0