A.S. Byatt
1978
Around 430 pages
Iris Murdoch was her mentor, so A.S. Byatt already had a heavy advantage coming into this List. Unfortunately, I found this to be bloated and difficult to get through, but I know Byatt has better novels down the pipeline.
In Yorkshire, the Potters (the non magical ones, sadly) are preparing to celebrate Elizabeth II’s coronation. Stephanie is tired of their overbearing father and resolves to marry the local curate. Marcus gains a crazy new teacher and suffers increasingly disturbing visions. And Frederica has a love affair with a young playwright.
I had to look up where Byatt went to school, because I just knew it had to be Oxford or Cambridge. Turns out, it was both, which I didn't think was legal in England. She writes exactly as a university student would. While I appreciate allusions as much as the next nerd, it does feel like she is trying to impress her professors. I would want to impress Iris Murdoch too, so I get it.
We were almost getting into Umberto Eco territory with how much work that was to read. Looking forward to better Byatt to come!
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
In a 1998 interview with Philip Hensher, published in The Paris Review in 2001, Byatt commented on a piece which John Sutherland had written in The Bookseller claiming that The Virgin in the Garden was "completely unreadable, and that he and a colleague of his and mine at University College had a bet about whether any of them could finish it and none of them could! He actually published that. So I'm always deeply surprised when anyone says anybody is reading it."
UP NEXT: Yes by Thomas Bernhard
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