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3.25 AVERAGE
3.25 AVERAGE
A bit hard to read with odd pacing and dialogue. Tells rhe story of a man who meets a very passionate young woman while on his travels. He becomes fond of her before learning of her frivolous personality and behaviors, soon becoming disinterested as she pursues the attention of another man. Short story that you can get through in one sitting but is very cumbersome.
A great little read! The plot isn't very revolutionary in this age, but it's still extremely well written and a really enjoyable story that is masterfully and tastefully presented.
So brief that it's hard to know whether it's a novella or a short story: however James sets out his elements as though he is writing a novel, and then leaves them aside when it feels that the story is just getting started. Daisy Miller is an exploration of manners: Daisy is a very pretty, gauche and innocent American girl, who struggles to navigate the social mores of the wealthy American tourists who live in Europe. Winterbourne, another American, is fascinated by her, but also repelled by her lack of tact and self-insight. I felt that James was setting this up to be a much longer story, but in fact he cuts things off before we can get any true insights into any character but Daisy, and the story ends up feeling slight and incomplete.
What happens when an American expatriate is smitten by a nouveau riche American girl in Europe? In (refreshingly) clear prose, Henry James deals with quite a number of issues: class, America vs. Europe, men vs. women. Despite its short length, I was infuriated with the book, and completely understand why there were "Daisy Millerites" and "anti-Daisy Millerites" when the book first came out.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
When I started this I didn't realize it was so short. Filling a whole fifty pages in my edition. But brevity is no impediment to this story. Throughout the short novella important issues are raised, critiques are made of people and society as a whole, and a complete, entertaining tale is woven. I am always impressed when authors have the ability to cram so much into so short a time, because I find it so difficult. Henry James is a master at this, with some of his best and most well known work in the short form.
A wealthy expatriate named Winterbourne is at a resort in Vevey, Switzerland when he happens upon Daisy Miller, a beautiful, young, nouveau riche, flirt from Schenectady, New York. Despite impropriety Daisy agrees to allow him to accompany her to the castle at Chillon. When Winterbourne must soon absent himself Daisy pouts but asks that he visit her in Rome. When the two meet again, in Rome, Winterbourne finds himself still entranced with Daisy, despite her having tarnished her reputation by spending time with Italian men, particularly one called Giovanelli, alienated herself almost entirely from the aristocratic expatriates of society.
I recently read a historical fiction book about Edith Wharton and, unsurprisingly, Henry James played a part. At one point they were talking about their work and their fans and Mrs. Wharton said something along the lines of "Everyone wants to be your Daisy Miller". Not having read the book yet, I glazed past it. But now I say; What? Who on earth would want to be Daisy Miller? She's not a bad sort, really. She's probably much more modern than her time. But despite Winterbourne's fascinating with her, which stems (I believe) mostly from her beauty, there's not much to recommend her. She's rash, she's gauche, she's reckless, and her end is not happy. She's sort of a tragic character. But then, there is a lot of discussion that could be applied to her. Does she deserve her fate? Could it have been prevented? The story, and Daisy herself along with it, is interesting and certainly exists in a time and place, but I can't imagine scores of Victorian or Edwardian women clamoring to be her. Then again, Mrs. Wharton, I can't imagine people were eager to be Lily Bart either.
One thing that this story did do for me, that was interesting, was that it led me to look up Roman Fever. A deadly strain of malaria, Roman Fever effected Rome through several periods of history. It was thought the disease was contracted at night, therefore it was dangerous to go out of doors at night in Rome.
This book was good, of course. It's hard for something to be remembered for over a hundred years if it doesn't have merit. I haven't read much James, just this and The Beast in the Jungle, but it's clear I should search out more which shouldn't be tough, as I have several of his books sitting on my book shelves waiting to be read.
A wealthy expatriate named Winterbourne is at a resort in Vevey, Switzerland when he happens upon Daisy Miller, a beautiful, young, nouveau riche, flirt from Schenectady, New York. Despite impropriety Daisy agrees to allow him to accompany her to the castle at Chillon. When Winterbourne must soon absent himself Daisy pouts but asks that he visit her in Rome. When the two meet again, in Rome, Winterbourne finds himself still entranced with Daisy, despite her having tarnished her reputation by spending time with Italian men, particularly one called Giovanelli, alienated herself almost entirely from the aristocratic expatriates of society.
I recently read a historical fiction book about Edith Wharton and, unsurprisingly, Henry James played a part. At one point they were talking about their work and their fans and Mrs. Wharton said something along the lines of "Everyone wants to be your Daisy Miller". Not having read the book yet, I glazed past it. But now I say; What? Who on earth would want to be Daisy Miller? She's not a bad sort, really. She's probably much more modern than her time. But despite Winterbourne's fascinating with her, which stems (I believe) mostly from her beauty, there's not much to recommend her. She's rash, she's gauche, she's reckless, and her end is not happy. She's sort of a tragic character. But then, there is a lot of discussion that could be applied to her. Does she deserve her fate? Could it have been prevented? The story, and Daisy herself along with it, is interesting and certainly exists in a time and place, but I can't imagine scores of Victorian or Edwardian women clamoring to be her. Then again, Mrs. Wharton, I can't imagine people were eager to be Lily Bart either.
One thing that this story did do for me, that was interesting, was that it led me to look up Roman Fever. A deadly strain of malaria, Roman Fever effected Rome through several periods of history. It was thought the disease was contracted at night, therefore it was dangerous to go out of doors at night in Rome.
This book was good, of course. It's hard for something to be remembered for over a hundred years if it doesn't have merit. I haven't read much James, just this and The Beast in the Jungle, but it's clear I should search out more which shouldn't be tough, as I have several of his books sitting on my book shelves waiting to be read.
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes