41st out of 207 books
—
159 voters
The American
by
Henry James
In this classic collision of the New World with Old Europe, James weaves a fable of thwarted desire that shifts between comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama.
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
January 4th 2005
by Signet Classics
(first published 1877)
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My first introduction to Henry James was having to read THE AMBASSADORS for a course in college. I wouldn't recommend starting his novels with that one. It's an exceedingly difficult book; thick prose with many clauses and asides, swimming in commas and dashes, to the point that one is easily frustrated and lost. You know it's supposed to be a classic, but who the hell cares anymore. Thankfully, years later, I decideded to give THE AMBASSADORS another read and actually enjoyed it. I then read TH...more
Christopher Newman, a wealthy, good-natured Western magnate, has retired to Europe in order to better himself. There he is introduced to Claire de Cintré as a representative of his ideal woman. He does prize her, and determines to marry her, though the nobility of her family, the Bellegardes, seems to preclude such a bond. His friendship with her brother and easy democratic feeling make Newman regard himself as “noble” as they, though of course he isn’t.
It’s quite a subtle and cleve...more
It’s quite a subtle and cleve...more
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I enjoyed this book, and actually stayed up until 2 am one quiet night to read the last 100 pages. As the title indicates, the novel is about "The American," who, while immersing himself in European culture as a change from making millions in industry, has the audacity to set his sights on marriage with a noble women. But the woman in question is not just noble in her character, she is "noble" in the sense of having a title. Her mother is a marquise, her brother is a count, a...more
This was a reread, I think the third time, but I haven’t read it since the mid-Seventies at the latest. Rereading, I must say, was a huge enjoyment. This is James at the best of his earlier period, where he was exploring the naïve American in Europe, packing enormous meaning in every sentence, but before he began with the super subtle detail and very long and complex sentences that characterize his later masterpieces like A Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golde...more
The American, not surprisingly, is a book about an American, who, having been successful in business all his life, goes to France to win over a wife. The hero is a good natured, self-made millionaire named Newman (get it?) who falls in love with the only daughter of a very old, aristocratic, half French have Anglo-saxon family. Initially, they are won over by his money, but, in the end, can not consent to let their daughter marry a man a business man of the nouveau riche. (This isn't a spoile...more
"The American" deals with - surprise, surprise! - James' perennial theme of the clash between the New World and the Old World, Americans and Europeans. Christopher Newman, a self-made man, a newly moneyed millionaire, has come to Paris to learn to enjoy himself and to become a man of leisure. Despite being neither an intellectual nor a man of culture, but being a democratic, easygoing person, Newman expresses an interest in everything and everyone around him.
When the novel...more
When the novel...more
I absolutely loved this book. It is slow, very victorian, yet a great read. I enjoyed every little bit of this novel by Henry James. He makes you love the main character: an American young man who has worked hard and made his fortune in the United States. A man who came from an unknown family and now travels throughout Europe and is introduced to the European upper class. Except in the European society of the Victorian days, if you didn't have a title you were nobody. This is a book about how...more
This is solid, early James. There's no over elaborate sentences here and it made the book enjoyable. The plotting is too frenetic and unrealistic to be taken on its face ---a sword duel, a flight to a Carmelite order ---so if you're reading it for logic, don't. James has some really astute comments on the American temeperament vs European, which is the basis of his book. But he also has within it a contest of human will and his frank, hard moral outlook is bad wins over good, but what good bring...more
I've learned with these older novels not to pre-judge. This cuts both ways though. For example I went into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey hoping for interesting novels full of wit, subtlety, and complicated observations concerning not only a certain England at a certain time but also a somewhat grander more pulled back vision of a developing empire consolidating its power over a (likewise) developing world.
What I instead read were two boring and incredibly underwhelming...more
What I instead read were two boring and incredibly underwhelming...more
Can't really decide how I felt about this. I enjoyed the comedy of manners in the first half, and the gothic horror/mystery of the second half, but the ending left me restless and dissatisfied -- but then again, perhaps that's how you're supposed to feel?
The novel itself invites an interesting comparison between Europeans and Americans, old money vs. new money, tradition vs. unconventionality, and I suppose it's valuable as an exploration of identity in the nation's early days. The con...more
The novel itself invites an interesting comparison between Europeans and Americans, old money vs. new money, tradition vs. unconventionality, and I suppose it's valuable as an exploration of identity in the nation's early days. The con...more
I'd only read 'the Europeans' of the early James before this. That was good, but hey, it's really short, not much he could do. This is justly celebrated. Not one to read if you're after a black and white morality tale about the evils of American Commercialism - which does end up looking a bit empty - or the evils of European stuffiness - which does end up looking more than a bit evil; or the great goodness (both also look good in their own way) of either of them. And that's what the book is abou...more
Henry James writes beautifully and entertainingly. The book is very slow to unfold and at times tests one's patience, but is ultimately rewarding. It is, on the surface, a comedy of manners about the culture shock experienced by an American entrepreneur in Paris. At a deeper level, it is a sharp analysis of the American psyche - about boundless (and perhaps unmerited) optimism, about persistent egalitarianism in the face of rigid social structures, and ultimately about a folly of innocence and n...more
I'd like some great film director to put her mind to transforming this novel into a grand cinematic period piece with magnificent costumes, etc....then, even when the plot is slow moving and the turns visible a few miles away, it wouldn't matter because I'd be busy enjoying the scene. Maybe she could even play with it, telling it from the point of view of Mrs. Bread, or the young wife of the Marquis de Bellegardes or better yet, Madame de Cintre. I found James' depiction of the Carmelite nuns ...more
This was not my favorite Henry James novel. That said, the book did have its good qualities, one of which being James's exploration of the differences between America and Europe (it's what he does best, after all).
The book was rather slow, and I could swear the first two hundred pages were completely plotless. The romance didn't become romantic until it became tragic, and the big family secret didn't seem as gruesome as it was hyped up to be. So those interested in plot alone will fi...more
The book was rather slow, and I could swear the first two hundred pages were completely plotless. The romance didn't become romantic until it became tragic, and the big family secret didn't seem as gruesome as it was hyped up to be. So those interested in plot alone will fi...more
Having lived in Europe, I enjoyed the exploration of the differences between "old world" European culture and "new world" American thoughts and attitudes--even if this did take place 150 years ago. In the end, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the book. Sometimes I got lost in the two or three page paragraphs, but yet every sentence was packed with weight and meaning. The story itself was slow, melodramatic, and rather sad but ultimately satisfying. Perhaps I'm dissa...more
After you've read The Ambassadors and Portrait of a Lady, I think this is the next James novel to read. (I remember liking Washington Square too, but it's been so long.) It becomes clear early on that things will not turn out for our American in Paris, but despite this shadow of inevitability, the book is deeply pleasurable. The mysterious, intractable differences between the French and the American minds, between the old ways and the new, are not to be overcome by love. For such a happy tale, g...more
It starts off as an amusing illustration of the differences in standards and customs between the New World and the Old World. James’ language is easy to follow in this book and is often quite humorous. He gives a very perceptive description of how Americans are perceived by the Europeans and vice versa. But towards the end of the book James clearly is on the side of the American, the French are exposed as untrustworthy and the American turns out to be honourable and intent on doing the right thi...more
"You are different. You are a man; you will get over it. You have all kinds of consolation. You were born—you were trained, to changes."
Madame de Cintre to Newman
If any novel highlights the differences between old world European culture and American culture, The American by Henry James is it. Mr. Newman, a millionaire who worked his way from nothing to millions, arrives in France with all the easy American confidence and determination in the world, with the goal of m...more
Madame de Cintre to Newman
If any novel highlights the differences between old world European culture and American culture, The American by Henry James is it. Mr. Newman, a millionaire who worked his way from nothing to millions, arrives in France with all the easy American confidence and determination in the world, with the goal of m...more
In a way, it's a bit sad that I knew The American would rate only three stars when I picked it up. Yet, I did enjoy this book, its characters, and the story more so than would be suggested by a three-star rating.
The book itself is a small bubble of 1870 Victorian life, preserved and unaffected by time. The characters may have been melodramatic in their dialog and actions but they were also the wealthiest people of the Victorian era; an era where class distinctions were communicate...more
The book itself is a small bubble of 1870 Victorian life, preserved and unaffected by time. The characters may have been melodramatic in their dialog and actions but they were also the wealthiest people of the Victorian era; an era where class distinctions were communicate...more
"His eye was of a clear, cold grey, and save for the abundant droop of his moustache he spoke, as to cheek and chin, of the dry matutinal steel" (4).
"He was large, smooth and pink, with the air of a successfully potted plant" (14).
"A beauty has no faults in her face; the face of a beautiful woman may have faults that only deepen its charm" (37).
"M. de Bellegarde's good wishes seemed to flutter down onhim from the cold upper air with the soft s...more
"He was large, smooth and pink, with the air of a successfully potted plant" (14).
"A beauty has no faults in her face; the face of a beautiful woman may have faults that only deepen its charm" (37).
"M. de Bellegarde's good wishes seemed to flutter down onhim from the cold upper air with the soft s...more
Definitely not one of Henry James' best novels but it is still a great pleasure to read. It tells a tale of an innocent, naive' but essentially good-natured American businessman venturing to Europe, falling in love and finding himself defeated in an ambitious attempt to marry a beautiful French woman of blue-blooded aristocracy. In a sense, it's a romance novel, but the book brims with irony and comedy. In the novel, the material self-satisfaction of the American came to crash with the polish...more
This book was just what I'd been looking for. It "hit the spot" if you will. I wanted something Austen-ish that I hadn't already read, and it was fabulous. A rags to riches American man decides to visit Europe, then meets and falls in love with a young countess. Her family has reservations about him being too "commercial" and not "nobility". The story unfolds how he handles the situation. Loved the main character and thoroughly enjoyed this read. I'd give it ...more
Early Henry James, and while it can't compare with The Wings of the Dove or the Golden Bowl (what can?), I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's set in Paris, and the noble French family The American falls in with, and the courtesan-on-the-make he picks up at the Louvre are described with eerie accuracy. Our hero is a bit vapid, but his dilemma is real enough, and the denouement suitably unAmerican. Recommended, especially as its faults of youth make you want to read more and more mature HJ.
A tale of the rich American retiring/escaping the life of industry in search of his fantasy of Parisian culture. He ends up madly in love with a lovable but weak lady of high status. She falls for him, but abandons the chance to marry him to be a nun in a convent, as her odd defiance to her evil mother and brother's protest at the marriage. It's kind of fun, but the characters' assumptions and approach to life feels outdated and therefore somehow exaggerated.
James is not my favorite American writer because his prose can be really long. . . but this is absolutely one of my favorite books by him. I loved the view of who we are as Americans and how we are perceived by others. I think that so many of his insights about us are still so accurate. It tells the story of a self-made American trying to figure out the older culture of Europe with its barriers and stereotypes. A great classic and totally worth reading.
Another great psychological read. Full of social nuance and not at all predictable. It's not my favorite James, but I did really like it. I'd strongly recommend avoiding the preface (and possibly introduction) until after you read the book. There is heavy literary analysis and comparison that will prejudice you too greatly, not to mention reveal a lot of the plot.
Has a very odd quality, a sort of pleasant drifting. There's a great ending and a number of witticisms. Plus, the cover of this edition has a picture of Matthew Modine (Christopher Newman, the titular American) looking quizzically at something out of the frame, and the severe mug of Diana Rigg (Madame de Bellegarde) glares off the spine.
An American man goes to Paris to be "entertained" and to become more sophisticated and becomes engaged to a woman whose family will not allow her to marry him because he is a "commercial" or business man and he is so beneath her. Had to kind of wade through a lot to get through the plot and it ended very abruptly.
i decided to read henry james one summer a few years ago, and decided to approach him with one book from each 'era': early, middle, and late. this was the early. actually an easier read than i thought, i understand it is an early version, a draft, of james' architectonic and archetypal story: contrasting the innocent, honest, open american, with the various layers of corruption of the old world, of europe. some readers really like this motor for the plot, and find james' as an engaging storytell...more
Another great Henry James novel; this one was new to me. James likes to examine the impact of social class on human relationships; here, a nouveau riche American pursues a poor, but titled, French/English woman...it doesn't end well, I'm afraid, but was a fascinating read.
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Henry James, OM, son of theologian Henry James Sr., brother of the philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James, was an American-born author, one of the founders and leaders of a school of realism in fiction. He spent much of his life in England and became a British subject shortly before his death. He is primarily known for a series of major novels in which he portrayed the ...more
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“Intelligent, unscrupulous, determined, and capable of seeing a man strangled without changing color.”
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“It had come back to him simply that what he had been looking at all summer was a very rich and beautiful world, and that it had not all been made by sharp railroad men and stock-brokers.”
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