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Possession
Possession
Aug 26, 2025 7:47 AM

Author:A. S. Byatt,Philip Hensher

Possession

When mild-mannered and unremarkable academic Roland Mitchell stumbles upon a letter written by Victorian poet Randolph Ash to a mysterious woman with whom he seems to be infatuated, he is determined to uncover the truth.

Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize, Possession defies categorization. Rich in symmetry and symbolism, brimming over with myth, poetry and fairy tale, Byatt's masterpiece is part literary detective story, part academic satire and part historical novel. At its heart, however, is a compelling romance that draws the reader into the mirrored worlds of two couples, past and present, and explores the nature of obsession, possession and love.

Reviews

Possession is eloquent about the intense pleasures of reading. And, with sumptuous artistry, it provides a feast of them

—— Sunday Times

The best thriller since The Silence of the Lambs... Green River Rising is a brilliant entertainment...a powerful novel that will shock, and sell

—— Daily Telegraph

Gritty...brilliant...a compelling story of gripping pace and brutality, a thriller in the true sense of the word

—— GQ

This book should carry a warning: don’t bother reading if you’re afraid of being unable to put it down before the final page...a compelling, nightmarish canvas, marvellously painted... Green River Rising has the sure touch of a real craftsman

—— Publishing News

Maybe the best prison novel ever

—— James Ellroy

The best thriller since The Silence of the Lambs

—— Daily Telegraph

Savage, detailed, engrossing and guaranteed to leave a great livid bruise

—— Sunday Times

A razor-sharp critique of the absurd expectations that, these days, have come to stand for ambition, "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" is wrenching, riveting, and still manages to be great fun. This is a wise, intimate chronicle of one family's struggle to take off their masks and live in the place they most feared: the real, imperfect world

—— Meghan Daum, author of 'The Quality of Life Report'

Rarely does a first novelist write with such confidence and grace. 'All We Ever Wanted Was Everything' is a marvelous book

—— Ayelet Waldman, author of "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

Hill's taut prose exudes a constant darkness... you are left unsettled and haunted by the seeming inevitability of their troubled lives

—— Stylist

Taut, tense story, written with that unsparing economy which is such a feature of Hill's recent fiction

—— Matthew Dennison , The Times

The versatile Hill tells a perfectly judged story of people living hard, narrow lives

—— Observer

So well-written, so deeply imagined, that the reader will find delight even in the encircling gloom. Love may not conquer all, but Art can

—— Scotsman

[Hill] does what all good writers must set out to do: she made me read until I had the answer

—— M J Hyland , Guardian

Hill’s sparse style provides the perfect medium for exploring this family’s predicament

—— Matthew Dennison , The TImes

Hill does a wonderful job of evoking life in this enclosed community

—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent

A masterpiece of economy and control

—— Good Book Guide
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