If you picked this up and read it in 1998 when it was first published, it may have had more relevance to you. But by 2009, Babel Tower has nothing left to offer.

Byatt's Babel Tower gains two stars for the sheer scope of it. Unfortunately, most of the sub-stories, and in particular the defenses of children's education and the tedious court room dramas, were so dry that I skipped through most of them. Most frustrating on this regard was that in the last 20 pages, new scenes and events were constantly being introduced.

A note on the other users comments of the inner book Babbeltower. It is most certainly not a fantasy novel. Unless you continue to call Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight fantasy, rather than to the Lord of the Rings or the Wheel of Time style that marks the genre today.

There is interesting material both in Babbeltower, and the character of Jude Mason but unfortunately, falls apart through the growth of Jude's character. Eccentric, dirty, and still wholly likable, Jude seemed to be a realistic character who degenerated into a 60s artist archetype. Likewise, Paul Ottaker, who is wholly insane and incredibly fascinating just becomes another character willing to dance in pigsblood. Yes, this event actually happens.

I did enjoy the cutting up of the lawyer's letter in Federica's book Laminations.

This was deep and moving and dreadful and wonderful. I am so glad that I decided to continue on with this series (albeit mostly by accident) because this installment contained all of my favorite features of A.S. Byatt's writing. It was literary and human, full of flawed and sympathetic (and also some very much not sympathetic) characters. It did a masterful job of exploring the heady and hypocritical political and academic spheres of the 1960s, and the characters all acted in believable ways. I have grown to love this series because of the interlinked communities it explores and how much depth Byatt gives these communities. I don't believe there is one character in here whose favorite book Byatt hasn't given some consideration. The characters are older in this book, in new places in life, and the progression for each of them seems perfectly natural (or, if not natural, then explainable). Nothing in here was shoehorned or surprising, other than events or choices that were meant to be shocking. I enjoyed getting to spend more time with these characters, and I especially loved how Byatt used the climate of the 60s to structure her plot; the whole book worked immensely well.

The one part of the book that I did not like when it began was the novel within the novel. I, like so many in the book, found it off-putting and, although we were told repeatedly that Frederica wasn't writing, couldn't find a way to write, I was worried that she was the author. When it became apparent that it was Jude's book, I felt much better about it, because it made absolute sense coming from him. And then, when it was brought to trial, I realized that we were also being asked to evaluate what we had read; we were being given an opportunity to be a part of the jury, to answer the charges with our own experience of reading the excerpts. That made me absolutely love those parts, not because I liked Jude's "novel" any better, but because the experience of reading it drew us into criticizing the same piece of literature as the characters. The whole structure of the book was absolutely fantastic. This book made me think, and I loved it.

I loved this book, but only with embarrassment. A book about art and literature and what they mean and when they're good. A book about the appeal and danger of 'unity,' appeal and danger of 'individuality.' Also about perversion and obscenity and innocence. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't game to read 600+ pages about ideas, but if that's your jam then check this out!

From BBC Radio 4 - The Frederica Quartet:

16/30: Frederica has given up her care-free, independent Cambridge lifestyle. Will settling down bring happiness? Stars Indira Varma.

17/30: Daniel gets an urgent phone call about his daughter and has to face up to the consequences of his actions.

18/30: Frederica's fraught marriage is put under even greater strain when she makes a shocking discovery.

19/30: Nigel goes in search of Frederica, who has left, taking Leo with her. But was that the correct decision?

20/30: Frederica visits the doctor and makes a major decision. Daniel learns the identity of his mystery caller.

21/30: Frederica's estranged husband Nigel demands to see his son Leo and she finds a new love interest.

22/30: Frederica discovers that her new lover, John, has an unhinged brother and Paul makes a dramatic statement.

23/30: The day of Frederica's divorce finally arrives and she learns whether she has won custody of her son, Leo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jsnk

Long, overly literary, worth it.

I was hoping this would be another Possession, which I loved so much. But this book was much more cerebral, and less passionate than Possession. I was interested in the lead female character, but I wasn't convinced by the rogue male character and his legal plight. Overall I found this dull and tedious.