Reading the 20th Century discussion
This topic is about
Possession
Buddy Reads
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Possession by Celia Fremlin (May 2023)
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Possession sounds great, slight shade of Psycho in that mother?
I hope to find an affordable copy of Possession. For someone relatively unknown her books are worth a fortune now.
WndyJW wrote: "I hope to find an affordable copy of Possession.."I had such hopes too but, unfortunately, was unable to find an affordable copy of Possession. It started out at about $22 new in my Amazon cart and then over the past 5 month rose to over $30. Even used ones in good condition were going for more than I would pay. So I won't join this read ... at least for now.
However, I learned from my "Possession" experience. Today I just received my mail order from ThriftBooks of used copies of three Fremlins I hope to read with this group in the future:
Appointment With Yesterday;
Spider Orchid; and
Listening in the Dusk. All three are in very good condition and cost $19.77 for all three, with free shipping. For new editions on Amazon,
is $19.50 and
is $19.95These are the Fremlins left to read, counting this month's:
1969 – Possession
1972 – Appointment with Yesterday
1975 – The Long Shadow
1977 – The Spider-Orchid
1980 – With No Crying
1982 – The Parasite Person
1990 – Listening in the Dusk
1991 – Dangerous Thoughts
1993 – The Echoing Stones
1994 – King of the World
Since we've read The Long Shadow already, I now have copies of the next two Fremlins in publishing order.
Every now and then I search used book sites to see if there are any Fremlin available. We need an nyrb or Virago type publisher to reprint her catalogue.
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Roman Clodia wrote: ".They've been republished in the UK by Faber or Bloomsbury but presumably not in the US?.."Yes, it's the Faber ones that are so expensive - they are the ones I discussed in my post with Possession at $30 and the other two at $19+ dollars. I even show the Faber covers for Appointment & Spider.
I could not find new editions of the Faber Finds ones cheaper, as most book sites, including British sites such as Blackwells, don't even carry them. Even $19 seems expensive for what you get - and I do like Fremlin a lot.
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There is not a Kindle version of it available on Amazon U.S. I went on the Amazon UK site I saw the prices you mentioned for the Kindle and paperback. But when I logged into my account the Kindle was not available to me. And the paperback price increased. It said I had to get my kindles from Amazon US which has no Kindle of Possession.
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Still, I have this one and love the sound of it so will definitely be reading it.
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These Fremlin books aren’t cheap, but if I pay around $20 I feel the reading experience was worth the cost, even at under 200 pages. I do realize I’m in a privileged position of not having to choose between an overpriced book or a meal.
I just found about a dozen Celia Fremlin on World of Books www.wob.com for less than $14. I ordered The Long Shadow and The spider-orchid for $11.80 including shipping.
WndyJW wrote: "I just found about a dozen Celia Fremlin on World of Books www.wob.com for less than $14. I ordered The Long Shadow and The spider-orchid for $11.80 including shipping."I use WOB too and even have a used copy of The Stars Look Down that is "in transit" from them now. I looked at their Fremlins too but ordered from ThriftBooks as it had the next in line Fremlin Appointment With Yesterday.
My memory of reading The Long Shadow is that it was the best Fremlin I had read of the three I had read at the times and couldn't understand its low 3.46 GR rating. Hope you enjoy it too.
I find ThriftBooks is hit and miss with the condition of the book. A friend said she always has good luck with them though.
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Fremlin is expensive, but I do love her work and I am always nervous that books will suddenly vanish. I've had that experience before, when you are collecting an author's work and suddenly they are no longer in print. I find kindle more comfortable on my ageing eyes, so I will try to buy one of her books every now and again. I was happy that the rest of Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen books appeared on kindle finally and nabbed them quickly!
WndyJW wrote: "I find ThriftBooks is hit and miss with the condition of the book. A friend said she always has good luck with them though."That's good to know. I only started using WOB and ThriftBooks this year and don't have enough experience yet. Until recently I didn't order that many used books, but I currently seem to be running into books where that is the better option.
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If you don't have time this month, there's a second change in June with her Some Tame Gazelle. Really, Excellent Women is so different from dreary Quartet which I couldn't bear to read! I really loved her humour and characters in this one, it's very dry and a bit sly.
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Quartet and Excellent Women almost don’t feel like they were written by the same author.
Wndy, I presumed that having publishers rejecting your books for 15 years and a stroke will change both you and your writing themes and approach.
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I am starting this and already it has captured me.
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That's a high bar, Susan! I hope to start over the long weekend.
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Will wait before saying more but yes, definitely one of her best.
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I’m only half way, but I just love Fremlin. If I have to mortgage my house I will have every novel she wrote. I love that she unapologetically celebrates the life of the traditional housewife and mother and the housewife striving to be a modern woman and modern mother who is not Possessive with a capital P. I love the catty gossip and petty jealousies and competitions between the mothers. Fremlin books are campy and fun and she succeeds in building tension.
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I also think Clare is interesting as she's so hung up on being 'modern' and understanding Freud, and not being 'possessive' that she almost goes too far in the other direction, though unintentionally.
And the ineptitude and helplessness of men is jaw-dropping. When Clare has to rush out and her husband can't even manage to take a baked potato out of the oven for himself!
At what time do men start to realise that cooking for themselves and even their families on odd occasions is ok?
That said, when I was a child my dad rarely cooked and when he did it would be things like eggs and bacon or his famous omelette that was actually a cross between an omelette and scrambled eggs!
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Fremlin's books are set in that era when you never saw men at the school gates or in the kitchen, but it was definitely a generational thing.
The ending is SO creepy. I loved Peggy and Liz and the comedy of those kitchens and girlfriends and constantly frying bacon.
This was my least favorite, but I still love reading it. I too loved the Hardwicks! What is our next Fremlin? Whatever it is, I hope it’s soon!
If it's the next in chronological order, according to the Wikipedia list I posted in Message 9, it would be Appointment With Yesterday Since the continual Fremlin Buddy Read is following the reading plan proposed by Susan, she should final say over the book and month.
But since we can provide 'input' to Susan, I will second Wndy's request that we do a Fremlin fairly soon, but will add the caveat that it not be too soon. I am fully scheduled for both June and July, But any month from August on looks good although I also have 3 RTTC reads in August.
Perhaps Appointment With Yesterday in September and then The Spider-Orchid in November or December or even January? In between those two, if she wants, Wndy could arrange a Buddy Read with those who missed the The Long Shadow read.
Interestingly, the 6 reads already scheduled for September through December are all by female authors while the 6 reads already scheduled for January to June of 2024 are by male authors. Ok, just 2 male authors, but it still looks to me like that period of 2024 could really use some Fremlins and/or Highsmiths scheduled for balance.
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Yes, we could have some Fremlin - and possibly Bowen - for the New Year, although I don't really think about whether an author is male of female to be honest.
Susan wrote: "Yes, we could have some Fremlin - and possibly Bowen - for the New Year, although I don't really think about whether an author is male of female to be honest...."I do when I can use it for my own purposes to foster the reading of books I want to read. I'll have to remember your author sex blindness when making future attempts to influence.
But RC is intentionally reading more woman this year so I can still try using that approach on her.
And I mentioned Highsmith not Bowen. While you're always free to schedule Bowen I'm still waiting to read The House in Paris to see if my evaluation of Bowen improves.
Reading the 20th Century
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A few of us have really enjoyed reading through Fremlin's catalogue and this is the next on our list.
Possession was Celia Fremlin's seventh novel, first published in 1969. Middle-class mother Clare Erskine initially thinks it a great stroke of luck when her 19 year-old daughter Sarah becomes engaged to a young man with a steady job. However Clare's betrothed, Mervyn Redmayne, has a notable black mark against him: a widowed mother with a petulant, inescapable grip on her son.
Looking forward to this one. Everyone is welcome to join in.