I am glad I read this before I listened to it.

This is a tour de force from a superb author, brilliantly narrated. But it is a very difficult listen. The sections of Victorian poetry are very inaccessible, although superbly read by Samuel West. I am glad I read and loved the book before I started to listen to it. In the reading I was able to skim through the poetry, which is not possible in a narration. It might have benefitted from some editing, although of course that is against Audible’s philosophy. But I am so glad I persevered!

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Fantastic Listen

Hard to put into words how brilliant this is - both as a book and as a performance. Samuel West’s narration is pitch-perfect, enhancing understanding and clarity without ever drawing attention to himself. A wonderfully subtle and sensitive reading.

As for the book it self…I really regret that I didn’t read this when it came out. It’s been sitting there in the dark, waiting for me to discover its depths and riches, all those years, and finally discovering is like a revelation. It’s full of wonderful writing, ideas about reading and writing, and pulls off its meta-narrational tricks with tremendous skill. It’s a fantastic read/listen, and a reminder of why I fell in love with all those Victorian novels and poets when I first started exploring the world of literature. A detective story, a love story (stories) and an intellectual journey, all in one.

Marvellous. I envy you if you haven’t read it yet.

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Absorbing

Great writing and a touching story. Samuel West's reading is perfect. May need some second listening to appreciate the poetry.

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Wonderful narration

Samuel West's performance is wonderful. The story is excellent. Most memorable moment for me was the postscript.

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Already love the printed book

So would I love the audio? Absolutely. Very well read by Samuel West. if you’re dithering as to whether or not to buy, I’d say go ahead, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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A Tour de Force

This is an absolute tour de force of English Literature, perfectly narrated by Samuel West. A S Byatt has created from scratch two Victorian poets, one male, one female, and weaves her tale around their story. The primary action centres around a group of modern academics—some with questionable ethical standards—and their attempts to uncover the mysteries associated with the poets after a previously unknown link between them is discovered.

The novel contains many pages of the poetry of 'Randolph Henry Ash' and 'Christabel LaMotte', the poets in question, and positively drips with literary and classical allusions—some of which I was able to understand. It does have a plot, both in the present and in the Victorian times of the poets, and there is a definite feeling of wanting to know what happens next. All is revealed eventually, but very slowly. This is not a book for the impatient.

On the way there is a very great deal of poetry to listen to. In as much as I can judge, I thought a lot of it (the poetry) was very good , and a considerable achievement on the part of the author. I will admit to a few occasions when I said “Enough already!”, but only a few. There were also two magical retellings of Brothers Grimm type fairy stories, quite beautifully rendered.

This is a long book and I have noted elsewhere my difficulties with many novels. But its length and depth are entirely justified by the beauty and elegance of the language, and the magnificence of Byatt’s creative achievement.

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Stunning

A great romantic novel. The poetry was intense and at times sort of washed over me, but I’m sure added to the ‘feeling’ of the characters. Love encapsulated in words, a real feat.

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Intricately woven story, superbly read

A great pleasure to delve into this story. Depth and twists and turns. I get a sense of the 19th century events and feel the grumpiness of the 80’s again.
Samuel West delivers the story perfectly.
I would give more stars if available. Enjoy.

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I was enveloped by this novel !

This is an intricate and expertly constructed novel with writing that is rich and substantial. There is a love story, (actually more than one), suspense and mystery with beautiful poetry, woven into the prose and I felt myself enveloped by events, as she reconstructs a Victorian age, flashing between the current and the past. The writing both challenges and respects the reader; a hard copy would be easier, and initially I had to put together a list of characters so that I could follow the structure better. The narration is excellent.

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Great to revisit this fascinating book

Really enjoyed Sam West’s sensitive and expressive reading of Possession. I liked this complex novel when I first read it almost 30 years ago. Then I found the poetry quite difficult though and it sometimes slowed the story too much - but this time listening to the poetry made it so much more alive. SW’s voicing of the dialogue is also pretty much spot on and nicely revealed the subtleties that Byatt writes into all the characters. There is a central mystery gradually revealed which keeps you wanting to know more. Really loved the way the Victorian and 20th century lives are compared through the interweaving of the plot too.

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