The childrens book is a novel of extravagant language and layered descriptions,a visually rich treat with striking backdrops and a wealth of flawed and intriguing characters, of generations that rise and diminish in the natural order of things. It follows the adventures of several interrelated families, adults and children, from 1895 through world war i. This novel follows the lives of several english characters for twenty years, between 1895 and 1915. When i bought it my very knowledgeable daughter said that she had tried some of ms byatts books and struggled but had read this one and had not found it easy,and she has a degree from cambridge. She lives in a perfect house for a writer at once so enchanting and so down to earth. Byatts intricate novel tracks several british households joined by an ardent belief in art and. About this guide the questions for discussion and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of the childrens book, a. The end of the gods 2011 and the short story sea story 20. The childrens book made the shortlist for the 2009 booker award, and i certainly can understand why. The childrens book is a fanatically detailed recreation of the years between 1895 and 1919.
Certainly one fruitful approach to the richness, denseness, and complexity of byatt s the children s book 2009 is to examine it as in part a response to murdoch s writing and more specifically to her late novel, the good apprentice 1985. Scotland on sunday easily the best book byatt has written since the bookerwinning possession. Penny becomes a child psychologist, while primrose holds a series of odd jobs before settling down as a childrens storyteller. Somewhat based upon the life events of famous childrens author e. Mar 02, 20 byatt has never been the kind of author to wear her learning lightly but while in possession this slips by fairly effortlessly due to the academic setting, the childrens book does suffer from its didactic tone. That byatt marries this novel of ideas with such compelling characters testifies to her remarkable spinning energy.
Byatt herself is a prodigious, even compulsive, conjurer of worlds within worlds, and the childrens book bulges with descriptions of puppet shows, stage plays, art exhibitions and craft. Nov 03, 2009 the childrens book is a consummate work of art. One could say, in the survivors parade that forms the very final pages of the children s book, that byatt provides us with glimmers of hope. May 08, 2009 one could say, in the survivors parade that forms the very final pages of the children s book, that byatt provides us with glimmers of hope. One of these stories says the most, i think, about what byatt achieves in the childrens book. The childrens book by a s byatt victoria and albert. From the renowned author of possession, the childrens book is the absorbing story of the close of what has been called the edwardian summer. Possession is a book about books, about the study and love of literature and the intricate obsession with the lives of literary figures shared by academics, historians, and the randomly curious public. Splendid in themselves, these stories comment on the novel at large.
Loosely based upon the life of children s writer e. Byatt, an awardwinning author who has accrued international fame for her novels and short stories. Lorna bradbury is delighted by a s byatts the childrens book, a vivid novel about children damaged by their parents creativity. The childrens book by as byatt as byatts charged account of the perils of artistic creation chills alex clark. Byatt has never been the kind of author to wear her learning lightly but while in possession this slips by fairly effortlessly due to the academic setting, the childrens book does suffer from its didactic tone. Apr 24, 2009 the children s book tells the story of the lives of a group of fabian families from the closing years of the 19th century to the end of the first world war. The story of a young girl growing up in the shadow of a dominant father, byatt s first novel, the shadow of the sun, was published in 1964. Byatt writes about english society at the end of chrysalid stages theres a naturalist metaphor im sure she. Nesbit there are secrets slowly revealed that show that the families are much more creatively formed than first guessed. They run into each other while looking at an old book on display.
I suggested to her that there was something witchy about the name todefright and she immediately put me right. This historical fiction novel was originally published during 2009 and was later published during 2010 by vintage. She has written a novel, in the childrens book, that rivals her earlier booker award winner, possession. It can be argued that the figures who are present in the projected world of a novel as objects filling the. Light and lustrous, commanding and transporting, the children s book is superb. She was appointed cbe in 1990 and dbe in 1999, and was awarded the erasmus prize 2016 for her. When the book begins in 1895, the principal characters are children, growing up in a golden agetheir parents, many of. Byatt summons up a whole era, revealing that beneath its golden surface lay tensions that would explode into war. From the booker prizewinning, bestselling author of possession. The childrens book is set at the end of the victorian era a time when literary writing was. The functions of flanks and ficelles magdalena kuzniar the present study will focus on the role of secondary characters in relation to their prominent figural counterparts from the foreground. The childrens book, then, as primarily a novel of ideas, an exploration of those debates in fictional guise. Her novel the game 1967 charts the dynamics between two sisters, and the family theme is continued in her quartet the virgin in the garden 1978, still life 1985, babel tower 1996, and a whistling woman 2002, still life winning the penmacmillan. Byatts lengthy 2009 family saga the childrens book engagingly rectifies this emphasis by looking at a large clan and their friends involved with the fabian and arts and crafts movements from the 1890s through the first world war.
It is always foolish to care about what one cant help. I loved this book, i remember though that i didnt quite understand where it was going for the first while then all of a sudden it comes together with a final section that i. She writes literary fictionthis being on one hand a catchall phrase for any book that doesnt fit conveniently into a genre designation, and on the other, a term that generally implies particularly good writing, often accompanied by unique insight and acute perception. I wanted to strangle several of the characters, though. Byatt s lengthy 2009 family saga the children s book engagingly rectifies this emphasis by looking at a large clan and their friends involved with the fabian and arts and crafts movements from the 1890s through the first world war. It is not a coincidence that the first two words of this remarkable novel are, the book. Apr 24, 2009 the children s book is filled with emotion and into it is woven, discreetly and obliquely, one of the central emotional facts of byatt s own life, the loss of her son in a car accident when he. Her book, the childrens book 2009, was shortlisted for the 2009 man booker prize for fiction and won the 2010 james tait black memorial prize for fiction. So wellresearched that the childrens book could well have been a consummate history of the edwardian era. In the children s book, the characters are closely drawn and beautifully consistent with themselves over time, while remaining surprising on occasion. The book was thick and black and covered with dust. One line in the game became my meditation for the results of the 2010 election.
But more than that, byatts book is an astute moral lesson. This was a time of technological innovation and social change, with a particular focus on the changing role of women. If youre one of those who feel, justly or unjustly, that her fiction gets bogged down by the. Byatt i read this last year, in between finals and seminar papers and the million other things that crop up at the end of a semester, and so kept getting distracted and forgetting what was going on in the book. About this guide the questions for discussion and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading group s discussion of the children s book, a. Based loosely on the life of childrens book author e. The childrens book holds a mirror to the new middle class during an era of growing appreciation for children and greater sexual freedom for women and for the love that dares not speak its name. It s a typical byatt story in that it starts with the characters, from which all else builds. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the childrens book by a. In 2008, the times newspaper named her on its list of the 50 greatest british writers since 1945. The childrens book is a novel published in 2009 by british writer a. Byatts novel the childrens book is an imaginative masterpiece. The childrens book is the fifth standalone novel by british author, antonia s.
One of these stories says the most, i think, about what byatt achieves in the childrens. I am not sure if i can describe although i will try all my thoughts about this amazingly complex, detailed, beautifully written and knowledgeable novel, which is at the same time an epic portrait of a generation, a study of an era, and a cornucopia of great characters and attitudes. The childrens book is filled with emotion and into it is woven, discreetly and obliquely, one of the central emotional facts of byatts own life, the loss of her son in a car accident when he. Oct 11, 2009 byatt herself is a prodigious, even compulsive, conjurer of worlds within worlds, and the childrens book bulges with descriptions of puppet shows, stage plays, art exhibitions and craft. Feb 05, 2016 the childrens book is a novel of extravagant language and layered descriptions,a visually rich treat with striking backdrops and a wealth of flawed and intriguing characters, of generations that rise and diminish in the natural order of things. The children s book holds a mirror to the new middle class during an era of growing appreciation for children and greater sexual freedom for women and for the love that dares not speak its name. Firstly, byatts writing style frequently employs the omniscient narrators meditations and ruminations on a variety of topics related to the plot. Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers. The big theme of the childrens book is the loss of innocence. She has written a novel, in the children s book, that rivals her earlier booker award winner, possession. Byatts genius lies in combining these big ideas with a story that, although farreaching and in many ways unconventional, is nevertheless a ripping good tale of a familys journey.
Byatt s dazzling, epic story of family, art, class, and betrayal. Byatt has been quoted as saying she prefers the midvictorians of possession to the latevictorians of the childrens book, but im the opposite. Certainly one fruitful approach to the richness, denseness, and complexity of byatts the childrens book 2009 is to examine it as in part a response to murdochs writing and more specifically to her late novel, the good apprentice 1985. Still life is the second volume of byatts tetralogy centred around the potter family and mainly frederica. It has the shape of the socalled family saga, 614 pages, covering three decades but its not like any of the genre that ive ever taken on a.
Byatt is a spinner of multiple tales, adding gorgeous layers and dimensions to this fictional world. In the childrens book, the characters are closely drawn and beautifully consistent with themselves over time, while remaining surprising on occasion. Her novels include possession winner of the booker prize 1990, the frederica quartet and the childrens book, which was shortlisted for the booker prize and won the james tait black memorial prize for fiction. The childrens book tells the story of the lives of a group of fabian families from the closing years of the 19th century to the end of the first world. The childrens book by as byattas byatts ambitious novel is fl awed by her need to educate her readers, says adam marsjones. The children s book is a 2009 novel by british writer a. The childrens book is a 2009 novel by british writer a. About this guide the questions for discussion and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of the children s book, a.
Its a typical byatt story in that it starts with the characters, from which all else builds. This is the sweeping saga of a cast of characters from several families, and follows them through. One could say, in the survivors parade that forms the very final pages of the childrens book, that byatt provides us with glimmers of hope. Cunning also applies to the novels stories within stories. I have to admit that,prior to happening upon the children s book,i had never heard of a. Byatt s novel the children s book is an imaginative masterpiece. It tracks the lives of several interconnected families between 1895 and world war i. Byatt s publisher is keen to present the childrens book, her first novel for seven years, as an equal to possession, the work that secured her reputation and her massmarket appeal nearly 20. Light and lustrous, commanding and transporting, the childrens book is superb. Byatt is a novelist, shortstory writer and critic of international renown. The children s book made the shortlist for the 2009 booker award, and i certainly can understand why. It is a masterclass, in fact, of characterdriven story over plot. This novel spans about a quarter of a century, starting in 1895, and tells the story of childrens author, olive wellwood, her extended family, friends and. Somewhat based upon the life events of famous children s author e.
Byatts the childrens book, a rich, sprawling chronicle of characters and ideas set in the edwardian. Ive read several of her novels, but the childrens book is my favourite for the way it vividly evokes bohemian life at the turn of the 20th century in england. A spellbinding novel, at once sweeping and intimate, from the booker prizewinning author of. Byatts booker winning possession and her booker shortlisted the childrens book are very different, and liking, even loving the former doesnt guarantee a reader will like the latter at all.
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