[.ca] Blue Flower (ISBN 0006550193)

From Amazon.com:
Penelope Fitzgerald wrote her first novel 20 years ago, at the age of 59. Since then, she's written eight more, three of which have been short-listed for England's prestigious Booker Prize, and one of which, Offshore, won. Now she's back with her tenth and best book so far, The Blue Flower. This is the story of Friedrich von Hardenberg--Fritz, to his intimates--a young man of the late 18th century who is destined to become one of Germany's great romantic poets. In just over 200 pages, Fitzgerald creates a complete world of family, friends and lovers, but also an exhilarating evocation of the romantic era in all its political turmoil, intellectual voracity, and moral ambiguity. A profound exploration of genius, The Blue Flower is also a charming, wry, and witty look at domestic life. Fritz's family--his eccentric father and high-strung mother; his loving sister, Sidonie; and brothers Erasmus, Karl, and the preternaturally intelligent baby of the family, referred to always as the Bernhard--are limned in deft, sure strokes, and it is in his interactions with them that the ephemeral quality of genius becomes most tangible. Even his unlikely love affair with young Sophie von Kühn makes perfect sense as Penelope Fitzgerald imagines it. The Blue Flower is a magical book--funny, sad, and deeply moving. In Fritz Fitzgerald has discovered a perfect character through whom to explore the meaning of love, poetry, life, and loss. In The Blue Flower readers will find a work of fine prose, fierce intelligence, and perceptive characterization.

The Emperor has no clothes:
I remember when this book was first published and made the cover of the New York Times Book Review under the caption "Romanticism breaks out!" or something of the sort. Romanticism does NOT break out in this book. The very fact that it can be characterized as such shows us just how far we've come from the Romantic era.-All that "breaks out" in this novel is meticulous descriptive writing of the late 18th Century German milieu, in all its mundanities and shoddiness. In other words, the book is ANTI-ROMANTIC. The only Romantic passages are the quotes from Fitzgerald's straw man/main character Novalis and they are always quoted in a context that makes them appear misguided and silly. I'm sure Fitzgerald could have done the same thing with Keats, who grew up as a stable boy. Romantics are easy to comedize, because they take everything seriously. In doing so, they express our greatest longings and highest aspirations as well as the depths of human despair. I'm too depressed by this book and by the reviewers and critics who have fooled themselves into thinking something deeper is going on here to say anymore. But I'll end with a riposte quoted from Novalis on p.157 (and, of course, made by Fitzgerald to look ridiculous in the context in which she places it): "Courage is more than endurance, it is the power to create your own life in the face of all that man or God can inflict, so that every day and every night is what you imagine it. Courage makes us dreamers, courage makes us poets." Have the courage not to go along with the fickle sheep of reviewers and critics on this one. Have the courage to see the book for what it is: An old, learned woman's meticulous sneer at the visions that make living on this earth worthwhile.

Yes, it is a masterpiece:
This is a book that captures a time and place and sensibility that is vastly different from our own. Fitzgerald's ability to transport us fully to that world is nothing short of astonishing.

Very interesting, but unsatisfying, metaphysical love story:
Penelope Fitzgerald's Booker prize-winning novel THE BLUE FLOWER is the story of Friedrich "Fritz" von Hardenburg, who later became the Romantic poet Novalis, and his love for Sophie, an adolescent with whom he has little in common but who illuminates the world for him. Among the book's strengths is its vivid depiction of life in late-1700s Germany. Much of THE BLUE FLOWER is concerned with mood and the inner lives of its characters, and may disappoint those who favour a smooth and moving plot. The ending is particularly abrupt and I didn't find it satisfying. Among common criticisms of the book is that the issue of Fritz's consuming love for Sophie is unrealistic because they have nothing in common, and in fact Sophie is quite a dullard. Nonetheless, every man has at times fallen in love with some woman who may display few intellectual qualities but who is beloved because she is a glass through which the universe is seen. Thus, Fritz calls Sophie his "Philosophy. Plus, there is much emphasis on the fact that it is Sophie's mysterious aura, not her mind, that is the real draw. Fritz cannot help but love her. THE BLUE FLOWER raises some interesting questions to ask of oneself, although after the reading it is somewhat forgettable. Nonetheless, it's a quick read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who might find the setting interesting. I should mention that the book does change a few details of Novalis' life, so if you are already acquainted with the poet it may annoy you.

Not half as interesting as the ratings suggest:
On the strength of the ratings and the fact that she won the Booker I bought the book. It really wasn't an interesting read and the character development seemed pretty poor. I, like many of the other reviewers, wouldn't recommend it.

An amazing book:
The more Penelope Fitzgerald I read, the more I believe that she must be ranked with Iris Murdoch and Anita Brookner as the best writers the last fifty years have produced. This book is unlike anything I have read, and within the conventions of the novel, Fitzgerald's mind takes yours down little alleyways where you see things in a completely new way. I was reminded of 18th century portraits with the sitters and their surroundings come to life; and of a tiny, exquisite music box opened to entertain and edify. Every character is beautifully depicted, every scene has meaning and beauty. I love this book.