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whatbritreads 's review for:
The Portrait of a Lady
by Henry James
Wow I loved this way more than I was expecting to. I borrowed the audiobook from my library and listened simultaneously while reading the physical book and had such a great reading experience.
If you’re looking for a classic with a whole lot of slow burn pining, multiple marriage proposals, drama and beautiful description you are in the right place. See also: strong female lead, disaster, scandals, American and English politics. It was so witty it made me laugh out loud and smirk so much while reading, it completely surprised me. The sarcastic tone of the book in several places really amped up the enjoyment for me.
I LOVED the characters so much. They were all so distinct, plus there’s only a handful of names in the books so you won’t get overwhelmed or confused. James does a great job of introducing each character gradually, with thorough description so you remember who he is referring to. They’re so easy identifiable. I loved the dynamics and character interacts, esp. Isabel, Ralph and Lord Warburton. Those three were my faves.
It had an easy to follow narrative, but as it’s quite a chunk of a book (500+ pages) the narrative was slow. There’s a lot of travelling, and internal monologue of characters. James is also heavy on the description constantly, though it is beautiful done. I feel like the language is pretty accessible for an old text, with some patience this is an easy read. I loved the political and social commentary throughout as well, in particular challenging the role of women in society and how they should choose to live their lives.
Petty one star taken off because it was just a tad too long (all that damn description n internal monologues haha) and the ending isn’t the one I wanted. It was a good ending, I’m just bitter.
If you’re looking for a classic with a whole lot of slow burn pining, multiple marriage proposals, drama and beautiful description you are in the right place. See also: strong female lead, disaster, scandals, American and English politics. It was so witty it made me laugh out loud and smirk so much while reading, it completely surprised me. The sarcastic tone of the book in several places really amped up the enjoyment for me.
I LOVED the characters so much. They were all so distinct, plus there’s only a handful of names in the books so you won’t get overwhelmed or confused. James does a great job of introducing each character gradually, with thorough description so you remember who he is referring to. They’re so easy identifiable. I loved the dynamics and character interacts, esp. Isabel, Ralph and Lord Warburton. Those three were my faves.
It had an easy to follow narrative, but as it’s quite a chunk of a book (500+ pages) the narrative was slow. There’s a lot of travelling, and internal monologue of characters. James is also heavy on the description constantly, though it is beautiful done. I feel like the language is pretty accessible for an old text, with some patience this is an easy read. I loved the political and social commentary throughout as well, in particular challenging the role of women in society and how they should choose to live their lives.
Petty one star taken off because it was just a tad too long (all that damn description n internal monologues haha) and the ending isn’t the one I wanted. It was a good ending, I’m just bitter.