I began reading Possession on a long airplane flight. Otherwise, I might not have finished it. The first 1/3 of the book was too long, too complicated and too boring. The novel would stand fine without it.

The story is about the love affair of two fictional Victorian poets, and the often questionable research of two modern literary critics. Most poetry leaves me cold; so a book about poets and literary critics is probably not the most natural choice for me. The more poetically inclined might appreciate the first 1/3 of the book more than I did. I've heard through the grapevine that comparing the poems of the two Victorian poets is interesting and adds to the story -- I, however, skipped all the poems because I am impatient.

The last 2/3 of the book were marvelous. The story was interesting and engaging from that point on, as the poets' letters were read and the critics' relationship unfolded. I appreciated the mystery and intrigue surrounding both the historic and current characters in the book. The end does wrap up neatly, but this is after all a romance and Byatt claims a great deal of literary leeway for Romances that are not allowed in straight Novels. I rate the book a '0' because I found it to be uneven (I'd definately rate the last 2/3 a ').

Note: one thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the description of Roland's experiences with academia. They almost exactly describe my own experience -- how grad school felt and my own sucess in it