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Description
A collection of short stories that are populated by erudite paranoiacs, witches, changelings, and the ghost of a dead child. The author of Possession explores the fragile ties between generations and the elaborate memories we construct against loss, resulting in a book rich in knowledge,... read more
Memorable Quotes
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“"She remembered Kekule seeing the answer to a problem of solid state physics in a metaphysical vision of a snake eating its tail in the fire. Why does condensation of thought have such authority? Like warning, or imperative, dreams. Mrs. Smith could have said at any time that of course all her ideas were part of a whole, they were all hers, limited by her history, sex. language, class, education, body and energy. But to experience this so sharply, and to experience it as intense pleasure, to know limitation as release and power, was outside Mrs. Smith's pattern. She had probably been solicited by such aesthetic longings before. And rejected them. Why else be so afraid of the bright books?" pp. 132-133, 'On the Day that E. M. Forster Died'”
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“"Autobiographies tell more lies than all but the most self-indulgent fiction." - p. 134 'On the Day that E. M. Forster Died'”
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“"Wolfgang came out of the kitchen, with rattling nails and serpentining, butt-waving body. After the weather-call, the walk. Wolfgang knew that. He opened his mouth in his paradoxical yawn of excitement, and a thin, tense, creaking came out of his throat." pp. 161-162 'In the Air'”
First Sentence
"When was it clear that Martha Crichton-Walker was the antagonist?"
Table of Contents
Racine and the Tablecloth - 1
Rose-Coloured Teacups - 33
The July Ghost - 39
The Next Room - 57
The Dried Witch - 85
Loss of Face - 112
On the Day that E. M. Forster Died - 129
The Changeling - 147
In the Air = 161
Precipice-Encurled - 185
Sugar - 215
Authors & Contributors
- A. S. Byatt (Author)
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