Book Review: Possession, by AS Byatt

Rating: 3/5

What saved this book from a 2 rating was the last few chapters.  They were well done, and there was closure for characters and readers.

The author, Byatt, struck out on an ambitious undertaking, and I admired her effort.  But I think she over did it by inserting herself into the narrative and laying it on thick with her own descriptive powers.

Byatt likes a lot -- and I do mean a lot -- of minute, detailed, useless hyphenated descriptions.  For example, one can't just sip a cup of coffee in this novel, one must sip a cup of "walnut-colored Nescafe."  I don't know about you, but I have never seen another color of Nescafe other than the walnut-colored kind -- not without adding a lot of creme anyway.  But whether there is or there is not, can't we all just sip the coffee and assume it's the color of every other cup of coffee we have ever laid eyes on and get on with the story? Over describing once or twice is a foible; lots of times is a neurosis.  Byatt is a flaming neurotic. 

Byatt's writing sometimes reminds me of a leisurely stroll in the park when one has no particular place to go.  Except Byatt does have a particular place to go.  In fact, she has an entire story to tell, and she needs to get on with it.  Maybe she has all day, but I don't.  I suspect you don't either.

I never complain about the length of a book.  My book-philosophy is all good books are just the right length, while all bad ones are never the right length.  At least that's how I've always seen it.  But now  that I've read Possession, something needs to be said about its length.  It's too damn long.  It's way too damn long.  It's so way too damn long that this reader will never use a hyphen again.   Nor will he use another adjective to describe anything (after this review of course).  Nor will he take another stroll in the park.  See what overuse of description can do?  It can turn your readers into neurotics.  Maybe thats the point.  Why go through a neurosis alone when one has followers?

PS:  I thought about telling you what the story is about, but I'm too lazy.  Besides, you can find that a gazillion places.

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