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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Really enjoyed the book. Somehow it drags one in. James' prose verges on slightly too convoluted for my taste, but other than that it is a surprisingly fascinating story for how relatively bare-bones the architecture of the plot is.
slow-paced
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Disappointing. I might want to skip to the late baroque James to see his value. This is emphatically not a classic novel -- the proto-psychology, proto-feminism, proto-modernism, none of these things add up to an enduring worthwhile experience in comparison to Austen or Ibsen on similar subjects. James' primary thing seems to be exploring the differences between upper class Britons and Americans, as meaningless a distinction as you could find. Still, it was a pleasant enough read before I realised it wasn't going anywhere impressive. Not recommended.
I liked this book, but not as much as others that fall into the same vein. This one, in my opinion, is much too long. There’s some interesting dialogue about liberty toward the beginning.
“I shall always tell you,” her aunt answered, “whenever I see you taking what seems to be too much liberty.”
“Pray do; but I don’t say I shall always think your remonstrance just.”
“Very likely not. You are too fond of your liberty.”
“Yes, I think I am very fond of it. But I always want to know the things one shouldn’t do. “
“So as to do them?” asked her aunt.
“So as to choose,” said Isabel.
“I shall always tell you,” her aunt answered, “whenever I see you taking what seems to be too much liberty.”
“Pray do; but I don’t say I shall always think your remonstrance just.”
“Very likely not. You are too fond of your liberty.”
“Yes, I think I am very fond of it. But I always want to know the things one shouldn’t do. “
“So as to do them?” asked her aunt.
“So as to choose,” said Isabel.
As I started "The Portrait of a Lady," I felt as though it was thoughtful writing about shallow people, but as the story advanced, it took me in. And by the end, I was completely emotionally invested.
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes