I am truly floored by this work. It is writing of the absolute highest caliber. The way Byatt constructs the plot is simply remarkable. The various elements and events blend together in such a seamless and natural fashion. And when the crisis finally arrives, I find myself thinking, "That is just perfect." I have such a deep love for an author who is so unafraid to draw inspiration greedily from the greats like Tennyson and Dante. In fact, Tennyson himself is a character in the latter novella of this pair, with his friends and relations serving as main characters. It is truly a remarkable achievement. Brava!

Byatt's work is beautifully written and richly multi-faceted, just as I have come to anticipate.

However, I dare to say that because of these very strengths, the novella format doesn't truly do justice to her characters or her writing style. I have a great love for short fiction.

But since Byatt's storytelling often combines both breadth and depth, the full impact isn't achieved within the limitations of the novella.

I must also confess here that I know very little about poetry, even less about Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and virtually nothing about Swedenborg.

Consequently, most of the second story, "The Conjugial Angel," was lost on me. Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable read.

Despite the limitations of the novella format and my lack of knowledge in certain areas, Byatt's writing依然 manages to engage and captivate.

Her ability to create complex characters and weave intricate stories is truly remarkable.

Even when I didn't fully understand all the nuances, I could still appreciate the beauty and artistry of her words.

Overall, I found the collection to be a thought-provoking and enjoyable exploration of various themes and ideas.

I was very impressed. It seems that Byatt has clearly sold her soul to the devil. However, it must be conceded that these stories are not for the impatient.

Not everyone will be charmed by the endless descriptions of ant activity, Tennyson's poetry, Swedenborgian theology, and a rather unremarkable fable "written" by one of the characters. But everything comes together so neatly that you finally have to stand up and applaud.

Best of all, both stories conclude with happy, dare I say exuberant, endings. This kind of writing makes you want to thank those nuns who drilled you on your ABCs. It is truly a remarkable piece of work that combines various elements in a unique and engaging way.

The attention to detail and the seamless integration of different themes and ideas are what make these stories stand out. Despite the initial challenges that some readers may face, the final payoff is well worth it.

Byatt's writing style is both captivating and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. It is a testament to her talent and creativity as a writer.

I highly recommend these stories to anyone who is looking for a unique and engaging read.

The book Angels and Insects is composed of two novellas, namely "Morpho Eugenia" and "The Conjugial Angel."

"Morpho Eugenia" is what most people have in mind when they think of Angels and Insects, as it was adapted into a movie. Like all of Byatt's works, it is a complex tale. This particular one is about the Victorians, taxonomy, and sex. It is a story where the lives of humans bear a striking resemblance to the lives of the insects beneath their feet.

I read the novella and watched the movie while I was engaged in writing my dissertation, which focused on the Edwardians, genetics, and sex. Therefore, it resonated deeply with me. It was as if the themes and ideas in the novella and movie were echoing the very topics I was exploring in my research.

The connection between the two was both fascinating and thought-provoking, making me see the similarities and differences between the two eras and their respective attitudes towards science, society, and sexuality.

I only had time to finish the first story of the book, that which focused on the insects.

Byatt's writing is truly beautiful. Her storytelling has a mesmerizing quality that immediately draws the reader in.

I am extremely glad that I finally took the time to read her books. I have fallen in love with her stories, the way she so skillfully conveys her unique worlds, vividly describes the people, their complex feelings, and actions.

I really enjoyed the frame narrative of the first story. It was fascinating how the experiments and discoveries in the characters' real life were seamlessly interlaced into a wonderful little fairy tale full of mystery, magic, and mythology.

I hope to be able to read the second story as well at some point in the future. However, even based on just the first one, I would definitely recommend this book without hesitation. It is truly a lovely and enchanting read that leaves a lasting impression.

I truly desired to have a profound love for this book. The writing within it was undeniably beautiful, with words crafted in a way that could potentially draw one in.

However, as I delved deeper into its pages, I couldn't help but feel that it was rather dry. The story seemed to lack the spark and vitality that would have made it truly engaging.

The beautiful prose, while impressive, couldn't quite compensate for the overall lack of excitement. It was as if the author had focused so much on the aesthetics of the language that the essence of the narrative got lost along the way.

Despite my initial anticipation and the allure of the beautiful writing, I found myself struggling to maintain my interest in the book. It left me with a sense of disappointment, as I had hoped for so much more.

I really liked this book a great deal, but I find it extremely difficult to even start describing its charm. In fact, I may even consider picking up some works by Tennyson. Yikes! I chose this book initially because of its beautiful cover. Additionally, I had read Byatt once before, and the size of the book seemed quite manageable. The following commentator has pretty much summed up my feelings, so I'm going to borrow Paul's review. A big thanks to him, and I hope he doesn't mind:

Paul's review Sep 22, 13
4 of 5 stars
bookshelves: victorian-novels
Read in September, 2013

A S Byatt once again delves into the Victorian era that she describes so splendidly and combines two novellas. “Morpho Eugenia” and “The Conjugial Angel”. Both are exquisitely written, and as always, Byatt makes excellent use of poetry. In the second novella, Tennyson’s In Memoriam is particularly prominent.

Morpho Eugenia (the Latin name for a South American moth) is about William Adamson, an Amazonian explorer who has returned and is consulting with Lord Alabaster, a cleric who is not only obsessed with moths, butterflies, and insects but is also a generally obsessive collector. Adamson agrees to catalogue his collection and becomes embroiled with his family, eventually marrying one of the daughters. This is a fittingly gothic tale, layered with symbolism. Adamson himself becomes one of the specimens. There is intrigue and secrecy, and Byatt plays with the surname Alabaster, using the whiteness of Adamson’s wife’s skin to symbolize purity. She then explores the idea of the “purity” and the decay and degeneracy that lies beneath. This novella is also set around the time when Darwinian ideas and the debate about evolution are taking place, and the tensions surrounding these ideas underlie the story. There are fairly lengthy descriptions of the social life of ants, which are both gruesome and fascinating. Matty Crompton is an interesting character, and she serves as an intellectual foil to Adamson very well. It is a satisfying and intellectually stimulating gothic tale.

The Conjugial Angel examines the Victorian obsession with séances and the next world. There is a tenuous link between the two stories in the form of the sea captain. The main focus of the tale is Emily Jesse (formerly Emily Tennyson), Alfred Tennyson’s sister. The séances revolve around (amongst others) Arthur Hallam, the subject of Tennyson’s poem In Memoriam. Hallam was a close friend of Tennyson’s who died at the age of 22 and was also engaged to Emily Tennyson. The novella takes place many years after Hallam’s death and after the writing of In Memoriam. Byatt explores the persistence of love, memory, and the way the living hold onto and re-interpret the dead. It is also about the guilt of those who continue to live. There is a bleakness about the séances, and Byatt throws in some Swedenborgian theology to add some spice. There are some masterful touches that provide symbolism and humor, such as the pet raven and the farting dog! The use of the poem is excellent, and Byatt offers a master class in the meanings behind the poem.

Two very good novellas that provide a snapshot of the Victorian period and some of its eccentricities and hidden depths. The strong characters in these tales are the women; the men are mostly weak, led (though amiable), absent, opinionated, or villainous. The women have the inner strength and usually see the way forward. Byatt writes beautifully, and if you enjoy Victorian tales, this is definitely for you.

This has been my favorite book forever.

Well, ever since I was 17 years old, it has held a special place in my heart.

I won't go back and reread it because I'm afraid that my perception of it might change.

I prefer to keep it the way it is in my mind: a sacred and truly amazing book.

Uh... bugs, ant-farms, incest, shipwrecks, spiritual groups, love, and all that fun stuff?

It was absolutely mind-blowing.

The story was filled with such unique and captivating elements that it really kicked ass.

It took me on a journey through different emotions and experiences, and I was completely hooked from start to finish.

Even now, years later, I still think about this book and the impact it had on me.

It's one of those rare books that you just can't forget.

Morpho Eugenia.

I understood that Bayett is an intelligent writer and that she is very interested in Victorian theology. To be honest, I was a bit bored. I kept waiting for something terrible to happen, for one of the heroines in the Kafkaesque spirit to turn into a huge insect and bite off her lover's head. I was waiting for this until the very last page for some reason, and in the end, the actual ending was very predictable and dull.

The chapters about the ants are interesting.

Angel of the Marriage.

I don't really know much about Tennyson, so I was very confused at first. I really liked the spiritual séances and the suddenly biblically accurate angels. The chapters in which Tennyson himself appears seemed very bold, but the ending as a whole is very模糊.

Surprisingly, I didn't like this book after "Possession", which I simply devoured. There are also a lot of intellectual discussions there, but they are strung on a triple (quadruple?) detective intrigue, and it is a perfect novel in form. And these stories seem like such arabesques on a theme without a particular purpose.

I've given myself a day between finishing this collection of two novellas and writing a review. I'm conflicted in my overall experience, but looking back I realize just how profound it really was for me.

A.S. Byatt is an outstanding writer. Her sentences are often shockingly beautiful, constantly catching me off guard. This is a great book to read on an electronic reading device, unless you don't mind highlighting wonderful tidbits in your physical copy! And of course, the actual plots of the stories are just as inspired.

That being said, I found myself quite distant from how often Byatt conveys her love of writing and poetry in both of these stories. As a writer herself, it's clear she's passionate about what she does for a living. This is beautiful in its own way, but I found it interfering with my desire to follow the actual plot lines. And while I do have a place in my heart for poetry, when it's scattered throughout the story, it tends to take me out of the specific headspace I get into while reading a novel. I think I use a different part of my brain to process it. This is what brings my review down to three stars instead of four, as it happened often enough to become frustrating for me. This occurred less in the first story, which, if I were to rate them separately, I would give four stars.

All in all, I did truly enjoy the vivid and passionate moments of both stories. Byatt is a remarkable writer, and I plan on reading more of her work.

*I also remember really enjoying the movie adaptation, which I'm excited to watch again after reading the book!

I quickly skimmed the first page of the other reader reviews of this book and discovered that my opinion in comparing the two novellas that comprise it is opposite of most readers. It seems most readers (from the top page, at least) prefer the first novella, "Morpho Eugenia" (the "Insects" section) to "The Conjugal Angel" (the "Angels" section).

For me, "Morpho Eugenia" was a little disappointing. I don't always need to be surprised by what I read, but the characters in this novella were a bit too derivative, the family secret incredibly obvious. Well, actually, the whole plot and most of the characters were either obvious or one-dimensional. While I am utterly in awe of Byatt's ability to replicate Victorian prose debates about science and religion, I have to admit that, unlike her equally brilliant (but also beautiful and highly readable) faux Victorian poetry and fairy tales, I did not want to read her faux-Victorian debates. Ultimately things felt too simplistic; the story just didn't hang together for me.

So why the four stars? Well, part of it has to do with "The Conjugal Angel," which I'll get to in a minute. But part is that, despite my problems with the plot of "Morpho Eugenia," I have to admit that much of the imagery of the story has stuck with me. Especially the parts where human and insect sex and reproduction are compared. Ew, but also very haunting.

"The Conjugal Angel" I thought was completely brilliant. This could be my own personal bias in favor of stories about spiritualism, but in any case, I really loved it. It was different from any story I've recently read about spiritualists, in that it takes the idea seriously. To make it that much better, one of the main characters is Alfred Tennyson's sister. So there's lots of poetry and interpretation to boot, plus a beautifully imagined inner life of several historical figures. This novella, to me, approaches the achievements of Possession more nearly than the first. It is a gorgeous meditation on grief and love, the burdens of the past and how we idolize the dead, and how what is unseen to others can strangle us. Plus, lots of commentary on poetry and wordplay, and I love getting lost in Byatt's twisty sentence structure.

Well. This is it. My first review written since the Electoral College decided that the will of the people didn't mean a thing. Am I scared? Yes. Am I angry? Absolutely. Will this interfere with my reading? In terms of ratings, probably. However, in terms of my reading habits, I've been practicing avoiding literature authored by white males for so long that I can't make as dramatic a shift as I could have a year or two ago.

I could start dedicating successive reads to authors whose communities will have even bigger targets on their backs in the coming years if those Electoral College types decide to go along with it and target the people that Trump and Pence have professed a hatred for. Between the two, there's a wide range to choose from: black people, women of color, women, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQIA+ (with an emphasis on trans people), poor people, Latinx, and those are just the ones I can think of based on the speeches whose transcripts I've read. So you better add Jewish people and populations of countries that don't have a lot of white people within their borders. Compared to many people I know, A.S. Byatt is in a better position, but the fact that she writes about Victorian times doesn't mean she wants to return to them.

I have memories of being so completely enthralled by "Possession" that I spent literal hours transcribing the reams of poetry that peppered that supposed novel of prose. This time, whether due to the lack of a modern-day looking-back-to-Victorian-times structure in this bifocal piece, or my own enhanced analytical abilities when it comes to the Gothic novel, I admired it from a greater distance. There's also the fact that, where once I overlooked the peripheral glimmers of worlds beyond England and their merry whites, I now take significant notice whenever "bronze" or "gold" related to skin color are mentioned, every moment in which the wealth that riots across the page is delicately traced back to the blood and guts and exploitation of an empire on which the sun never sets. The fact that I didn't lower the rating much for this rather glib coverage of 99% of existence was probably more due to aesthetics than anything else. After all, how exactly do you quantify a white person covering the experiences of those who are not white in a way that both seriously acknowledges yet leaves the main spotlight to be filled by those who, on a hereditary level, actually have the right to know what they're talking about? In a word, you don't, but you keep an eye out for the stuff that looks good and listen to the experts telling you what's good, and eventually you'll come to a world of writing where it's real human beings out there, not your goddamn fucking metaphors that convince cohorts they can elect an orange ball of genocide and make it all better by making it all go away.

Anyway. If you know anything about what's going on in the US, you know people are going to be watched, tracked, and hunted down a lot more these days. The same goes for the Internet. Considering the things I've put up here for public viewing, I can't promise that I won't take some or all of it down one of these days, depending on how much the public puts its activism into action. Reading and writing are all well and good, but we don't remember "Les Misérables" for the barricades. We remember the barricades because all that is worth living for depends on them.

\\n  You are accompanied through life, Emily Jesse occasionally understood, not only by the beloved and the accusing departed, but by your own ghost too, also accusing, also unappeased.\\n