A.S. Byatt

[Flower]

I have recently read a good review of A.S. Byatt's latest novel "The children's book" but have never read her myself before.

Anyone read her books and care to share their experience?

A S Byatt - Home

 

[Liam]

Anyone read her books and care to share their experience?

I have, of course, read most of her books since she's my favorite contemporary author.

In terms of recommending a perfect "intro," it would depend on how much time you currently have at your disposal. If a lot, start with Possession, and then read anything and everything that strikes your fancy.

Speaking for myself here, I really enjoyed Still Life, Babel Tower, The Biographer's Tale, Little Black Book of Stories, The Children's Book, plus her beautifully written book of essays On Histories and Stories.

I did NOT care much for The Game, A Whistling Woman, the short-story collections (with one exception), and the rest of her criticism.

On the other hand, if you don't have much time to spare, I'd suggest that you read the first novella (Morpho Eugenia) in the Angels & Insects collection and judge, on the strength of that single work, if Byatt is for you. You could also subsequently rent the movie (with Patsy Kensit), which is quite beautiful.

 

[Mirabell]

*is not commenting see how silent and polite and not-crazy he is just sits here and does not comment*

 

[Bubba]

Don't understand why Mirabell is refraining from commenting. Does he perhaps dislike Byatt violently and fear that his violent dislike will be taken as a sign of madness? Does he not he realize that a violent dislike of Byatt's work is, in fact, fairly good evidence of relative sanity? (I mean, look at me: I can't stand Byatt and I haven't been committed yet.)

I'm not being entirely fair, I suppose, since I've read only a few pages each of Angels and Insects and Possession and can remember only that those few pages were enough to repel me irremediably.

Oddly, I very much enjoy--and even admire--her sister Margaret Drabble's stuff, especially the books from the seventies and the early eighties.

 

[Flower]

Thank you, Liam!

Once again we seem to have the same taste in literature!

I don't have much time right now but I will add her to my to-be-read pile and maybe try out what you suggest.

The review of her recent novel "The children's book" somehow intrigued me without really knowing why.

 

[lionel]

I've never been able to get into any of A.S. Byatt's books, although I've tried, but in three words: boring, boring, and boring. Drabble, on the other hand, has a slightly better effect on me - as with her politics.

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[Flower]

I have just finished "The children's book" and I loved it!

I find Byatt to be a great storyteller and the book is rich with details, intelligence and depth.

It is certainly not the last book, I shall read of her's.

 

[lionel]

What I don't like about A. S. Byatt:

1. Her books
2. Her politics
3. The permanent plum in her mouth.

What I do like about A. S. Byatt:

1. Her brother-in-law
2. Her sister.

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[Flower]

I have just been to an arrangement at our Royal library with A.S. Byatt. See link in English: http://www.kb.dk/en/dia/forfatterscene/index.html

She was talking about her latest novel "The childrens book" and how she actually does research and the way she thinks etc. Also she revealed information about the novel she is working on at the moment. Listening to the talk, I noticed all the layers in her book more clearly and the way she has made them come together.

She read aloud from her novel and also from a piece that she was asked to write; a collection of myths written by different authors. She chose to write about "Ragnerok" and the Nordic Gods. I dunno when this collection will be published though and who the other authors will be.

Afterwards she signed books and I managed to get her to write a personal message to a dear friend of mine! Up close she has a very strong energy about her sitting there with her wild grey hair. I must admit she scared me a bit. But I love her writing.

 

[mesnalty]

My guess would be that this is the Canongate Myth Series. If so, a number of books have already been published, including a retelling of the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view by Margaret Atwood (The Penelopiad), and a controversial take on Christian mythology by Philip Pullman (The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ). Some other big names have contributed, including Victor Pelevin and Jeanette Winterson.

 

[Flower]

Thank you, Mesnalty!

I have just read about the series and only knew of the Phillip Pullman novel.

Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canongate_Myth_Series

It looks like an interesting project!

 

[Rhoda]

I happen to be reading Byatt recently. I like Possession, especially the postscript. The Biographer's Tale also provides food for thought. But Still Life really appalled me. On the whole I find reading Byatt an enjoyable experience.

 

[Eric]

Rhoda, what appalled you about "Still Life"?

 

[Rhoda]

It is a general impression I should say. I guess, first, the detailed descriptions of child birth. I know that she has her design there, calling people to face life and death directly maybe. Yet I am personally not strong enough for that. Also, the promiscuity of Frederica.

Perhaps it appalled me mainly because of the discrepancy between my expectation and the actual reading experience. I felt tricked by the title.

 

[Eric]

The title can be read as a pun:

- There is still life.

- A still-life painting.

- The implication of a stillborn baby.

From what I remember, I found the book rather moving. We're all part of that biology of childbirth, and you don't normally want to read about the biological details every day, but it will have been autobiographical on A.S. Byatt's part. One of those erstwhile babies is now - or was until recently - a leading officer in the literary section of the Arts Council of England, and is also called Antonia Byatt like her famous-author mother.

As for her politics, which Lionel disapproves of, I was always under the impression that she was a Labour supporter. I am not, but when reading literature there has to be a broad church. Otherwise the Left would never read Balzac, Céline, Hamsun, or Vargas Llosa, and the Right would never read Neruda, Saramago, Gorky, and all those other writers with Communist sympathies, from East and West.

 

[Rhoda]

Thank you for your explanation of the title and the biographical information, Eric. I have not thought of the implication of a stillborn baby. That's very insightful. As to the author's politics, I must confess my ignorance (and indifference). It is impossible of course to isolate a piece of literary work from its "external relations" like authorial and social background, etc, yet the works themselves are the focus.

 

[Liam]

The implication of a stillborn baby.

I don't remember there being a stillborn baby in the book, but I could be wrong. Still Life is my second favorite A. S. Byatt novel, after Possession. The Children's Book is also not to be missed.

 

[Liam]

No definitive cover for this one yet, but at least we get a date: Sep 08, 2011.

Get ready for Ragnarok: The End of the Gods.

Recently evacuated to the British countryside and with World War Two raging around her, one young girl is struggling to make sense of her life. Then she is given a book of ancient Norse legends and her inner and outer worlds are transformed. Intensely autobiographical and linguistically stunning, this book is a landmark work of fiction from one of Britain's truly great writers.

Intensely timely it is a book about how stories can give us the courage to face our own demise. The Ragnarok myth, otherwise known as the Twilight of the Gods, plays out the endgame of Norse mythology. It is the myth in which the gods Odin, Freya and Thor die, the sun and moon are swallowed by the wolf Fenrir, the serpent Midgard eats his own tale as he crushes the world and the seas boil with poison. It is only after such monstrous death and destruction that the world can begin anew.

This epic struggle provided the fitting climax to Wagner's Ring Cycle and just as Wagner was inspired by Norse myth so Byatt has taken this remarkable finale and used it as the underpinning of this highly personal and politically charged retelling.

Not sure if the serpent eating his own "tale" is a typo or a deliberate pun, .

 

[Flower]

Thanks, Liam for letting us know! Sounds like an exciting book!

The serpent eating its own tale is a symbol from the Alchemical world and Jung speaks of it also. Cannot give the full understanding at the moment as I have forgotten the details and is too lazy to look them up while having my morning coffee.

 

[Liam]

The serpent eating its own tale is a symbol from the Alchemical world and Jung speaks of it also.

Oh, I knew that much (I'm a Jung junkie also, remember?), but in that case it should be tail, not tale. Eating your own tale means consuming your own story, which is why I wondered if it was a pun or an honest mistake on the part of the person who wrote the mini-review.