cblueweaver 's review for:

The Bostonians by Henry James

3.0

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The Bostonians is remarkable in its psychology, shrewd in its bleakness, and downright silly in its politics. The charge of James's writing as landscape painting or vista isn't even particularly short of the mark; its insistence on portraits is in fact what sinks it. The women remain unfinished sketches; while the most compelling character, the most ludicrous, and the most inescapably, suffocatingly uninteresting character are united in Basil Ransom. And yet, the story isn't without craft or the small pleasures of good art. The characters just aren't big enough for the crafted environments.