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  • Possession

  • A Romance
  • By: A. S. Byatt
  • Narrated by: Samuel West
  • Length: 21 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (98 ratings)

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Possession cover art

Possession

By: A. S. Byatt
Narrated by: Samuel West
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Booker Prize 1990

Possession is an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once a literary detective novel and a triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars investigating the lives of two Victorian poets.

Following a trail of letters, journals and poems they uncover a web of passion, deceit and tragedy, and their quest becomes a battle against time.

Cover illustration © Aitch.

©1991 A. S. Byatt (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about Possession

Average Customer Ratings
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Fantastic book

Great storyline. funny romantic. My new favorite book, I'm going to reread it again and again.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A linguistic delight

Loved this! Excellent narration and a wonderful tale, part love story, part detective novel, brimming with linguistic exquisitness.



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    5 out of 5 stars
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Possessed of greatness

This is a truly marvellous performance of a work of intense depth and beauty - my very favourite 20th-century novel.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Baffling

Baffling because I closed it and sought to return within a few chapters. The language and the poetry... annoying. A while later I persevered, still disliked the oratory nature of the prose and found annoying the jumps from so varied points of view. It cannot be 'light listening', one must be immersed. Only then is it magnificent and pulls you under.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My review of Possession.

A haunting novel, beautifully written. easy to see why it won the Booker Prize for 1990.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Obsessive

Had I read this book myself I would not have continued. As I listened, however, I was drawn in and could not put it away until I heard the end.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Possession by A. S. Byatt

I should like Samuel West to know that I found his reading nuanced and very fine.
Possession is an extraordinarily accomplished novel.
The whole experience was a thought-provoking joy.

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excellent

both the book and the delivery are so very well done, both. a high bar for audiobooks.

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Samuel West brings AS Byatt’s literary masterpiece to life

Written and narrated with equal beauty, brilliance and tenderness. Not the easiest of reads, but soon found myself smirking, sighing, sleuthing, and slowly falling in love with the novel.

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Possession

I love this book. I read it 20 years ago and it is still as compelling. A fantastic book

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5 people found this helpful

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