In The Master, award-winning author Colm Toibin captures the extraordinary mind and lonely heart of a great writer, the novelist Henry James, a man whose forays into intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love.
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In The Master, award-winning author Colm Toibin captures the extraordinary mind and lonely heart of a great writer, the novelist Henry James, a man whose forays into intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Master to cart. $71.55, good condition, Sold by Foggypaws rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sonoma, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Blackstone Pub.
First off, know that I did not finish the book. One hundred pages in I decided I'd rather read something that seemed to be heading somewhere. I was hoping for something with more depth, more character, more intrigue--more James, actually. I didn't necessarily care that it was slow moving; but I did care that there didn't seem to be any progress toward something. All it seemed to be was snippets of James' life with no real development, no plot, no question. Perhaps it was going to be like some sort of pointillist painting that only made complete sense once all was said and done and you stepped back, but I didn't make it to the end. And if you can't get the reader to the end, what's the point?
AmateurHistorian
Apr 1, 2007
Henry James' stunted emotional life
An intriguing novel about Henry James, his preoccupations, his work, and ultimately, his inability to involve himself emotionally in others and the aspects of life that could have provided full satisfaction to himself. Toibin is masterful in using a tone that reflects James' own, and in depicting a man who wrote about life rather than living it. The book is not for fans of fast cinematic cuts or fast-moving narratives. This is a book for the patient reader--for those who have tried enough Henry James to know that there is depth there, even if they find it maddeningly obscured by the long sentences and hyper-refined elocutions. For one who has basically given up on James work, I found this novel quite valuable to read.
