Declare Regarding Books The Golden Bowl
| Title | : | The Golden Bowl |
| Author | : | Henry James |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Penguin Classics |
| Pages | : | Pages: 591 pages |
| Published | : | May 7th 1985 by Penguin Books (first published 1904) |
| Categories | : | Classics. Fiction. Literature. American |
Henry James
Paperback | Pages: 591 pages Rating: 3.79 | 10554 Users | 368 Reviews
Commentary As Books The Golden Bowl
'A thing to marvel at, a thing to be grateful for.'A rich American art-collector and his daughter Maggie buy in for themselves and to their greater glory a beautiful young wife and noble husband. They do not know that Charlotte and Prince Amerigo were formerly lovers, nor that on the eve of the Prince's marriage they had discovered, in a Bloomsbury antique shop, a golden bowl with a secret flaw. The superstitious Amerigo, fearing for his gilded future, refuses to accept it as a wedding gift from Charlotte. 'Don't you think too much of "cracks,"' she is later to say to him, 'aren't you too afraid of them? I risk the cracks...' When the golden bowl is broken, Maggie must leave the security of her childhood and try to reassemble the pieces of her shattered happiness. In this, the last of his three great poetic masterpieces, James combined with a dazzling virtuosity elements of social comedy, of mystery, terror, and myth. "The Golden Bowl" is the most controversial, ambiguous, and sophisticated of James's novels. The text of this World's Classics paperback is that of the first English edition (1905). James's Preface is included, and a new introduction, notes, and selected variant readings.Be Specific About Books During The Golden Bowl
| Original Title: | The Golden Bowl |
| ISBN: | 0140432353 (ISBN13: 9780140432350) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Prince Amerigo, Maggie Verver, Charlotte Stant |
Rating Regarding Books The Golden Bowl
Ratings: 3.79 From 10554 Users | 368 ReviewsWrite Up Regarding Books The Golden Bowl
Generally speaking Henry James was not a novelist of ideas. Later on, however, his prose style would grow into a philosophy unto itself. The Golden Bowl is the apotheosis of late James. In many ways this is a strange and off-putting book. For one thing, what kind of name is Fanny Assingham? The characters seem to do nothing but endlessly circle and interpret each other, and it's not always clear where one ends and another begins. Evil does not emanate from some demented subjectivity, but ratherWhat a tour-de-force this book is! Even more so than in any of the other James' novels I've read, there is the story on the surface and the story underneath -- or maybe even stories. Near the end I found the story underneath very chilling, though very subtle. The power of this one scene could change your thought process about what you thought was going on previously. How James gets into the heads of these individuals is amazing -- or should I say masterful, as he is in complete control, and all
Henry, I love you, but get to the freakin point!I like a long, baroque, convoluted, labyrinthine sentence as much as the next guy and usually enjoy unpacking the types of twisty phrases and syntax James is known for, along with coaxing out the meaning of said sentences that illustrate complex characters and their even more complex relationships. I've enjoyed several other Henry James novels quite a bit, especially The Portrait of a Lady and The Wings of the Dove. But the writing in this one
I spent almost a month reading this book and not because I was lingering over it in a state of pleasure. The language is dense, the characters are mostly flat, if you asked me to give personality traits for any of them Im not really sure I could, and the sexual politics are extremely dated. This book is a classic but it is certainly one I would advise skipping.
The Golden Bowl is a wonderful novel. Through his usual beautiful but convoluted and sinuous prose that swims around itself again and again, Henry James tells us the story of four people, two men and two women, and two marriages. These two marriages, whose essence holds secrets and truths, is the heart of its plot. Yes, it seems a simple enough plot and it revolves around the most basic human shortcoming that is adultery; and the relationships that are instigated by these four individuals.Adam
I love Henry James. I do. Wings of the Dove and Portrait of a Lady are two of the coolest books ever, populated by some of the most memorable, complicated characters in literature. Kate Croy? Merton Densher? Isabel Archer? Madame Merle? GIMME. Gimme those long, languid afternoons in someone else's enigmatic mind, making unexpected choices, saying unexpected things in unexpected, lyrical ways. Take me back.But this one? God. The characters are so boring. The plot is so... the kindest thing I can
He tried, too clearly, to please her to meet her in her own way; but with the result only that, close to her, her face kept before him, his hands holding her shoulders, his whole act enclosing her, he presently echoed: See? I see nothing but you. This late work (1904) of James is one replete with echoes: on the local level characters repeat each others words, giving significance to changes of emphasis within repetition; on a meta-textual level, this book replays themes and relationships which
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