The Library Vault

Possession: A Romance By A.S. Byatt

Writing is a form of expression. Be it a novel, a text message, or a blog post. The art of writing is constantly evolving. It changes to match the needs of people. This mode of expression is slipping into a wave of constant contact, through a text or even sliding into someone’s direct messages on social media. It is the instant sensation. A dopamine we can’t scratch. When that notification comes across your screen from a friend, family member, or a romantic partner it releases a serotonin level that is incomparable. The art of writing through a screen is one-dimensional. This blog post is one-dimensional. It is when the writer puts pen to paper that makes the experience whole. It is the act of performing on paper rather than the clicking away on a keyboard. This month’s Wine & Words is a novel that brings us back to the art of writing.

When was the last time you received a letter or even card? That piece of writing had purposeful content directed to you. So much of our communication today is instantaneous. People can be reached at all hours of the day. It wasn’t that long ago that snail mail was the only method of communication. A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance is a novel that travels through time from the ink written upon the page to uncovering a lost love story hidden from history.

The story is of two academics who discover letters written between two Victorian poets. The content of the letters unravels a truth that was never brought to light. The two scholars follow the trail of letters and uncover a true passion between star crossed lovers that ends in despair, but opens the world to a glimmer of hope. While the scholars unravel the past, their own romance is explored through the pages. A.S. Byatt reveals truth between the relationship of people through the art of writing letters that transcend time.

A.S. Byatt guides the reader through a variety of mediums: letters, poems, dialogue and description through a historical narrative that explores a fictitious account in a modern work. Possession: A Romance won the Booker Prize in 1990. The title is curious. Byatt uses the word “possession” as an action. It is not a noun or state, but the act of. It brings to question who has the right to write “historical accounts,” determine their “value” and the “ownership.” A.S. Byatt brings together a fictional account hidden from light and would have stay haunted into the untold stories of the past. The medium of the writing is its own art form to reveal a truth that can only be perceived from the expression painted with words.  While writing is an expression painted with words, wine is an expression painted through taste.

There is an art to winemaking. The wine to pair with Byatt’s novel is a beautiful piece of art. It has exceptional taste that stems from region of Umbria in Italy. It is blend of the wonderful Sangiovese grape with indigenous varietals Colorino and Malvasia Nera. The wine is De Monaco & Holland – Rosso di Todi. It is perfect expression of the old world to showcase to the new. It has traveled through time to represent a dark and pure Sangiovese that will age to show a larger truth. De Monaco & Holland’s wine represents the beauty of wine making like Byatt’s novel represents the beauty of letter writing. It transcends the drinker to a time of natural blackberry, plum and fig aromas to alleviate the secrets the are found in Umbria. Just like the letters from Byatt’s novel this wine tells a hidden story of Umbrian wine. Dear reader, please read and pour yourself a glass of this red to allow the secrets of the past, come to life.