the virgin in the garden

the heroine of the first of the quartet of novels by a s byatt is a teenager who reminds me of a few girls i know- fiercely independent, intelligent, well read- who are able to see themselves constantly as performers in a case study of a greater theoretical premise. they know the theory and critique it through the practice of their own lives and seem torn between the complex emotions that they genuinely feel and the analysis of the reasons for them that they have heard through second hand sources.

to all of us who were too dim in our teens they might seem precocious, sometimes annoying for throwing in our faces the facts of our own incredible ignorance; but I think this discomfort might lie in the unease that we have with women who exude power in domains that we consider the prerogative of the male.

like all the other byatt books i have read, beautifully written, modes of language are flirted with ridiculous ease; the descriptions of the everyday are painstakingly detailed and tiring and the character sketches are spot-on; extremely literary the book is difficult, long and rewarding.