The Master: A Novel | 
pickThe private James is fearful of the extrovert, audaciously gay Wilde in Tóibín‘s novel. Wilde is both diametrically opposed and yet strangely similar to James: both are queer, Irish & expat. A decisive interpretation of what occurs in the scene in which Holmes & James share a bed is impossible, which is deft as James left no evidence! I hated Tóibín‘s implication that Wilde‘s sons inspired the Turning of the Screw, BUT that was my only gripe.
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A novelistic reimagining of the life of Henry James, which selects certain key episodes of the writer's life in an attempt to understand the man behind the work.
There's great pleasure to be had in Tóibín's subtle accounts of the gestation of masterpieces like The Turn of the Screw or The Wings of the Dove, and this reimagining of an inner life made me feel I understood James in a way that few biographies have ever done.
pickAn exquisitely written book! Toibin‘s writing is at its best here. Such vividness in its scenes, such poetry in the narrative thread. It‘s absolutely beautifully written, painting the portrait of a man that never lived. “He needed then to watch life [...]” - this quote sums him up. James kept everyone at a distance. Missed chances to take a risk, to live life - what a waste it seems to me! And his treatment of women.... ugh. Still, a great read.
Don‘t ask me why I‘m reading a book about Henry James, whose work I never liked (though I read most of it) but I‘m doing it. As always, Mr. Toibin‘s writing is fascinating. I wonder how much of the real Henry James he managed to capture because what I‘ve been reading so far makes me ask some serious questions.
To this point I have failed to read Henry James. And so far this book is fascinating... but I am not sure how well I would have liked James ifToibin has his character right. #1001Books #Reading1001
Third time reading this novel and it never ceases to amaze how beautifully this scene is in dialogue with the ending of The Age of Innocence (and Edith Wharton was a great friend of Henry James - I wish I knew more about their relationship).
Henry wondered too what life would have had for her and how her exquisite faculty of challenge could have dealt with a world which would invariably attempt to confine her. His consolation was that at least he had known her as the world had not, and the pain of living without her was no more than a penalty he paid for the privilege of having been young with her.
Colm Toibin here writing as Henry James with one of the best evocations of a particular moment - a girl-child made to feel a gendered, sexual shame in an act of casual cruelty by an adult. It's queasy and haunting.
panI love Colm Toibin, he‘s a fantastic writer. However, I can‘t stand Henry James so a novel about James, written in his style was not for me. If you like James, you may be interested in this novel based on his life, which details the people, places and events that inspired him.
Went to return library book....they were having a sale ...I couldn‘t help it🙀
Going to hear Colm Tóibín read tonight at Ohio University. Cannot wait! 😃😃😃
If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, do it.
Happy St. Paddy's Littens! I'm listening to Van Morrison, making Irish Lentil Guinness Stew and thinking about all the great #IrishWriters. My favorite is Colm Tóibín. Who's your favorite?
pickThe portrait of a gentleman who is also one of my favorite 19th century writers. I'm pretty sure repression, denial, and calmly delivered sarcasm were hallmarks of James' fiction, so it is perfect that a fictionalized narrative of his life would contain all of these elements.
"He had failed, he realized, to take the measure of the great flat foot of the public, and he now had to realize that nothing he did would ever be popular or generally appreciated."
