"The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald

Footnotes & Tangents' final "slow readalong" of the year is "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald.  We started Nov. 3rd and will end our discussion the week of Dec. 15th (I read on ahead!).  

Published in 1995 to much critical acclaim, "The Blue Flower" is set in late 18th century Germany, and is based on the true story of Fritz von Hardenberg -- later renowned as the Romantic poet Novalis -- a recent university graduate, who falls instantly, madly in love at first sight with 12-year-old Sophie von Kuhn and becomes engaged to her, much to the consternation of his family and friends.  

(Many modern readers share their feelings. 12 years old??  Really??)  

But then the story takes an unexpected turn...

The writing is great, if a little dry and restrained -- there's a lot of subtle humour, especially in the first half of the novel -- and some of the characters are wonderful, especially the women. Many of us (myself included) loved "the Mandelsloh" (Sophie's older married sister, Friederike von Mandelsloh), as well as Karoline Just, the daughter of a family friend who pines with unrequited love for Fritz. 

But overall, it wasn't a book that really grabbed me. I doubt I would have picked it up on my own -- and I'm grateful (as always) for Simon's expert guidance in his weekly summary posts, and the insightful comments of my fellow readers, who picked up on themes and nuances that went totally over my head. 

3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads.  

This was Book #36 read to date in 2025 (and Book #1 finished in December), bringing me to 80% of  my 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 6 books behind  schedule to meet my goal.  :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2025 tagged as "2025 books." 

You can learn more about the F&T slow readalongs planned for 2026 in this post.  I'm not sure I'll be taking part in all of them, but I will definitely be doing some! and I highly recommend the experience! (If you've ever wanted to read "War and Peace," there is no better way to do it!)  

(The first book of 2026 will be "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie. I've never read any Rushdie, and I'm debating whether to join in. Anyone read it and have an opinion, one way or another??)