The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt - the discussion

[Carol]

Amazon will ship it in Feb. 2012 for $13.13 if you pre- order

[Sue]

I downloaded a free ebook of some norse myths to check out.

[Brian]

I found The Children's Book extremely interesting. I felt that it was complex and nuanced. It invited the reader to live in another world for awhile and savor being part of the characters' lives. Its leisurely pace seemed to me to be a virtue.

I'm curious to know if one of my impressions of the book was shared by other readers. I frequently found myself categorizing many of the characters in terms of their resonance with fairy tale archetypes. These resonances were fluid evocations rather than exact correspondences. Nevertheless, I frequently found myself thinking of Olive as the evil stepmother; Phillip Warren as the changeling; Bernard Fludd as the evil wizard; Charles/Karl, with his dual identity, as the trickster; Imogen as the peasant girl who marries the King; Pomona as under a spell; and so on. Some of the other characters, Dorothy for example, either didn't have a correspondence with a fairy tale archetype or the correspondence eluded me.

The book stood on its own quite independently of these "resonances," but my impression was that Byatt was using these evocations as a way to enrich the book.

Also, anyone interested in a good cultural history of this period might want to check out The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914. It uses the Paris World's Fair as an anchor point and has a particularly strong chapter on the British Suffragette Movement.

[Sue]

Brian wrote: "I found The Children's Book extremely interesting. I felt that it was complex and nuanced. It invited the reader to live in another world for awhile and savor being part of the characters' lives. I..."

I hadn't specifically seen the correspondences Brian but I'm not surprised that you would find them. Fairy tales and myths seem to be very important to Byatt as is obvious from the central placement of all types of tales in The Children's book, including Olive's tales for her own children. Byatt's next book is based in Norse myth.

I also appreciated the "leisurely pace" which I believe allowed all the details to unfold fully, in a way the reader could absorb.

[Dottie]

Excellent post Brian -- and I can see those connections now that they are voiced. The book keeps pulling me back and I appreciate both your post and Sue's in the ongoing thread on this one. I am a huge fan of Byatt's and this one did not diappoint.

[Ruby]

Since this discussion, I've been keeping an eye out for Byatt, and finally found one today. It was a second hand copy of Possession - but I couldn't remember what had been said about that one! The cover blurb didn't really grab me, whereas the discussion of The Children's Book had me deeply intrigued. Is Possession a good starting point do you think? Or should I hold out for The Children's Book?

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Possession was the first of hers I read. I think you'll probably like it. It's been years since I read it, but I remember it had two stories--one in the past, and one in the present. You really felt immersed in each one. And, if I remember correctly, I loved how the stories resolved.

[Sherry, Doyenne]

Here's a copy of our discussion from the WayBack Machine. I had read it BEFORE this, so I don't think I said much:

http://web.archive.org/web/2007083116...

[Mary Ellen]

I enjoyed Possession as much, or more, than The Children's Book. I think it's worth a look.

[TheGirlBytheSeaofCortez]

I liked The Children's Book a little more than Possession, but I can't see many CRs not loving Possession. I think they're both wonderful.

[Ruby]

Thanks so much for posting that, Sherry. I skimmed the thread a bit, as I didn't want to know too much about the actual story, but I think it told me what I need to know. By the sounds of it, Possession may be a bit heavy going, at least to start with. I think to convince myself it's worth sticking with, it might be best to read The Children's Book first. I'm intrigued with that story and with several of the points raised in this discussion - Brian's comment about fairy tale archetypes also piques my interest. I think that extra level of enthusiasm might be necessary to motivate me to stick with the style of prose!

I have loaded up a bag of books to go to the book exchange (after having piles of books fall on my head twice!) so I can grab the copy of Possession that's there anyway.