The Virgin in the Garden by A. S. Byatt
The Virgin in the Garden is a moderately long, complex, well-written, and to me ultimately not very satisfying book. It describes the activities of members of the Potter family: Bill, a fanatic atheist, his wife Winifred, their two daughters Stephanie and Frederica, and their son Marcus. The other principal character is Alexander Wedderburn, who is inspired to write a play in verse about Elizabeth I. The play is performed, in grand style, in summer of 1952, the year of the coronation of Elizabeth II, and the action of the novel revolves around the producing, rehearsing, and performing of the play, which turns out to be a success.
Both sisters are attracted to Alexander, but Stephanie instead marries Daniel Orton, a curate, despite Bill's loud protests. Marcus becomes involved with Lucas Simmonds, a biology teacher, with whom he engages--or is pressured into--absurd mystical rituals that lead in the end to insanity for Lucas and illness for Marcus. Alexander pursues Jenny, a married woman with a small child, but though he gets her to bed he doesn't succeed in making love to her. Frederica (the virgin in the garden?) pursues Alexander, bent on losing her virginity to him. She does eventually lose her virginity, but not to Alexander.
My problem with the book is that I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting or engaging, nor did I care much what happened to them. It is easy to imagine that the author didn't care much either, judging from the inconclusive final sentence of the book: "This was not an end, but since it went on for a considerable time, is as good a place to stop as any."
The writing, however, is interesting. A. S. Byatt is imaginative and well read, and there are many literary allusions--to Shakespeare, Racine, and others, and there are vivid descriptions and conversations, which hold a reader's interest. So, although I was not especially enthusiastic about The Virgin in the Garden, it is not at all a boring book.
Both sisters are attracted to Alexander, but Stephanie instead marries Daniel Orton, a curate, despite Bill's loud protests. Marcus becomes involved with Lucas Simmonds, a biology teacher, with whom he engages--or is pressured into--absurd mystical rituals that lead in the end to insanity for Lucas and illness for Marcus. Alexander pursues Jenny, a married woman with a small child, but though he gets her to bed he doesn't succeed in making love to her. Frederica (the virgin in the garden?) pursues Alexander, bent on losing her virginity to him. She does eventually lose her virginity, but not to Alexander.
My problem with the book is that I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting or engaging, nor did I care much what happened to them. It is easy to imagine that the author didn't care much either, judging from the inconclusive final sentence of the book: "This was not an end, but since it went on for a considerable time, is as good a place to stop as any."
The writing, however, is interesting. A. S. Byatt is imaginative and well read, and there are many literary allusions--to Shakespeare, Racine, and others, and there are vivid descriptions and conversations, which hold a reader's interest. So, although I was not especially enthusiastic about The Virgin in the Garden, it is not at all a boring book.