Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
Basil Ransom is such a pathetic annoying misogynistic twat!! but oh my god can Henry James write, yeah it’s a boring book but Jame’s descriptions make it worth it
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fuck, man.
This is billed as a tragicomedy, and it is funny-to be sure-but to modern eyes it reads much more as a tragedy than a comedy.
This was my first James, and I was pretty wowed by it. The writing is sharp and musical, and the digressions into setting never take over the novel, always serving to enforce or enrich a scene. Additionally, the character writing for Ransom and Olive is some of the best character writing I've read in a long time. In terms of creating distinct, believable people? They're both done very, very well.
I am less sure about Verena. She seems more like a tentpole used to prop up the story than a real person, only gaining a personality and opinions very late in the book. This is, seemingly, by design, but I don't think it works so well.
Overall, very very good. Will probably read more James in the future.
This is billed as a tragicomedy, and it is funny-to be sure-but to modern eyes it reads much more as a tragedy than a comedy.
This was my first James, and I was pretty wowed by it. The writing is sharp and musical, and the digressions into setting never take over the novel, always serving to enforce or enrich a scene. Additionally, the character writing for Ransom and Olive is some of the best character writing I've read in a long time. In terms of creating distinct, believable people? They're both done very, very well.
I am less sure about Verena. She seems more like a tentpole used to prop up the story than a real person, only gaining a personality and opinions very late in the book. This is, seemingly, by design, but I don't think it works so well.
Overall, very very good. Will probably read more James in the future.
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Words jumping up, flying off into the Blue, sentences expanding, contracting.
I don't know if I think this is satirizing, let's see. It is a bit of a romp, no, a waltz
through New York and Boston. You just don't know with James where he is.
This one is thinking about that one, thinking about the other one.
Maybe it is a romp
I don't know if I think this is satirizing, let's see. It is a bit of a romp, no, a waltz
through New York and Boston. You just don't know with James where he is.
This one is thinking about that one, thinking about the other one.
Maybe it is a romp
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book because I just moved to Boston and hoped it would give me a sense of atmosphere, which it did. I was not expecting it to be as hilarious as it was. Unfortunately the humor tones down a little bit after the first hundred pages. It starts out absolutely ruthless but then you get the sense he maybe relented a little, because after all he loves these Bostonians, doesn't he? And so do we. (Or if you don't, you might be heartless.) Anyway, as the humor starts to fade the book becomes completely gripping in a dramatic way, so it is a win-win. Have you ever had friends or maybe even people you don't like very much who, for some reason, enter your consciousness such that even their smallest gestures or off-handed comments seem extremely significant, even urgent, fraught with a kind of meaning that points way beyond themselves? That's how these characters are, I think. (Maybe all Henry James?) And I guess I could see how it could get tiresome for some people, but I disagree with them. So, anyway, I read this book on the edge of my seat and was blown away at the end.
Quite an interesting book to read for one of my English literature modules whilst studying in the UK. One of the most intriguing moments for me in this book was the concept of 'Boston Marriages' and its relation to homosexual relations for women in the 19th century.
Another interesting thing about it was the idea of bisexuality that is presented within the book through the character of Verena and how it ties bisexuality with political ideologies of conservatism and liberalism.
Yeah, I had to read this for class but I didn't expect to truly use for an English final essay for my module. Regardless, I'm glad that studying English literature in the UK has allowed me to broaden my reading
Another interesting thing about it was the idea of bisexuality that is presented within the book through the character of Verena and how it ties bisexuality with political ideologies of conservatism and liberalism.
Yeah, I had to read this for class but I didn't expect to truly use for an English final essay for my module. Regardless, I'm glad that studying English literature in the UK has allowed me to broaden my reading
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes