This collection contains two excellent novellas. The first, "Morpho Eugenia," is about a naturalist, back from a research expedition in the Amazon and staying for a while with an aristocratic family in England. He falls in love with and marries the eldest daughter, Eugenia, and his scientific inquiries blind him to the secrets held by his new family. The tale was pretty good but all of William's writings about insects and religion grew stale. However, a fairytale/myth written by one of the other characters was quite good. As in 'Possession,' A.S. Byatt shows off her knack of creating fictional masterpieces by her characters.

I enjoyed the second tale more and found it easier to get through. In "The Conjugal Angel" a group of spiritualists -- one of whom is the sister of Alfred Lord Tennyson -- awaken a spirit. Perhaps because I love Poe and Tennyson (both of whom are referenced often and quoted prodigiously), I also loved this story. It was resonant and ended on an uplifting note. The only weakness I discern is the reappearance at the very end of a sailor presumed shipwrecked. I didn't find it believable and his continued disappearance was more moving and haunting than this (somewhat trite) ending.

A couple decades ago someone gave me A.S. Byatt's Possession, which I loved. I'd never before or since read a book that was as good a piece of literary history as a whodunnit. And beautifully written. So you'd think I'd have gone through a bunch more of her books since then, but honestly I never touched another one.

Recently I thought I'd remedy that oversight by picking up this one. And it delivered the same magic as the first novel, though this time in the form of the two novellas. I was immediately captured by the first novela, Morpho Eugenia, which returned to her favorite era of Victorian country life. She chose a (now) classic theme of the Darwin-admiring naturalist trying to fit in with proper English society, and having a rough go of it. But as she tells the tale you don't even realize she's sucked you into a Victorian style as well, of polite but keenly observed insights, long sentences with lots of clauses. But these sentences don't make it hard going as much 19th century writing does. Instead, her prose sails along, until at times it culminates in beautiful long lists that I had to stop and read over again slowly just to savor the rhythm and the images portrayed.

"Her shoulders and bust rose white and flawless from the froth of tulle and tarlatan like Aphrodite from the foam." "Under his gaze the whole wood-floor became alive with movement, a centipede, various beetles, a sanguine shiny red worm, rabbit pellets, a tiny breast feather, a grass smeared with the eggs of some moth or butterfly, violets opening, conical entrance holes with fine dust inside, a swaying twig, a shifting pebble." If found it mesmerizing.

The second novela, The Conjugial Angel, then turns to another classic Victorian theme, the seance and Swedenborgian efforts to contact the dead. It's tangentially related to the first tale, but heads off in a different direction. This one required a bit more taste for Victorian poetry than I've got, and I confess to skimming a few pages where a character debates precisely the right image or word for a poem.

So my decades-long wait was rewarded, and hopefully I won't wait so long to read another.

Mira que 'Posesión' es uno de los libros que más quiero, pero no hubo manera de terminar 'Ángeles e insectos' por más que lo intenté. Sin embargo, no descarto volverlo a intentar en el futuro.

I read Angels & Insects because I quite enjoyed the mid-90's film of the same title, based on the first of the two novellas featured in this book.
Now that I've finished both novellas I feel like I've just returned from a battle. Fatigued, limping, bleeding (if I were smarter I would make an ant analogy here; but I'm not).

This has been quite an unusual experience...whenever I thought I couldn't go on, something would appear and pick my interest enough to go on. I'm talking mainly about The Conjugal Angel here, the 2nd novella. I nearly abandoned the thing cca the first third in.

Morpho Eugenia is a pleasant enough story, quite easy to read, apart from the excerpts from the written work of the characters. I suppose it ads a little...colour, but for me, too little to merit their inclusion.
I saw someone point out in their review, that especially Matty's fairytale towards the end absolutely annihilates the flow of the story. I suppose I do see why the author included it, but at the same time I definitely could have done without it, let alone some those philosophical bits preceding it in the novella (let's just say our hero wasn't a very riveting author...).

The Conjugal Angel was a less enjoyable experience. Reading it I periodically went through bouts of interest and despair. I didn't find the style of the prose (actually different to the one used in ME) easy at all, had to re-read passages and sometimes go way way back.
You see, I'm not a native English speaker. I know of Tennyson, but never read any of the poems (and can't say I'll be hurrying to do it now, to be honest). Hallam I'd never even heard of until this book, and for a while got confused and thought he was Tennyson's brother, and not Emily's. So a mess, partly brought on by my ignorance, partly because the style didn't exactly help people like me, who had barely any knowledge of the basic facts it was referring to.

A note:
But good on Byatt for sneaking some gay into this book. Yay for gay.

Morpho Eugenia: 2/5. Enjoyed (the naturalist) parts of it, but the twist was unexpected, perhaps even unnecessary???? after reading other reviews, why are people so taken by it??

The first Novella was amazing...