What Maisie Knew
by Henry James
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 325)
Read in July, 2007
It feels like it took me forever to read this. Finished at last! And the payoff was good enough (that James was a wry one), but I have to agree with Paul Theroux's comment in the introduction: "I don't think the reader is ever really worried that [Maisie] will be spoiled or harmed: this could be the single weakness in the novel." The fact that the young Maisie is caught between four ridiculously loveless and selfish adults and -- spoiler! -- seems to come away psychologically and emoti...more
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One of my all time treasures. In What Maisie Knew Henry James tenderly cedes the telling of the tale to the young, only partly comprehending Maisie, a generosity that gives this bitter story of youth destroyed by adult selfishness a sweetness that saves it from being unbearable.
This free indirect style also opens up an ironic distance between author and character in which author and reader understand the parents' wickedness a great deal better than Maisie does, is the classic example...more
This free indirect style also opens up an ironic distance between author and character in which author and reader understand the parents' wickedness a great deal better than Maisie does, is the classic example...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Jillian by:
Prof. Tilghman (syllabus)
James' narrative strategy is very effective - he shows us only what Maisie sees, but this is often more than she understands, and the gap between the two makes for excellent storytelling. I wish, however, that James had compromised between the final version of What Maisie Knew and his original conception of it as a brief satire. The story's psychological and emotional depth and above all Maisie herself are rather exquisite, but the repetitions and windings (on various levels) weigh it down too m...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
People who haven't forgiven their parents yet
According to James our parents' fucking up of us often had very little to do with us in the first place. Describes what it is like to be a child of divorce before it was even a phenomenon, and unluckily for Maisie, before there were societally approved ways of arranging one. The narrator's crystalline detachment makes this the most wrenching and least embarassing book on the subject.
And for you philistines out there, there are plenty of periods to go around. Jeez.
Although if you don't alrea...more
And for you philistines out there, there are plenty of periods to go around. Jeez.
Although if you don't alrea...more
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Read in July, 2007
So, you know that thing that James loves to do, where he forces on his innocent and naive little heroes the most gut-wrenchingly painful awakening to the harsh realities of the world and the soulless cretins who ever made it hellish? Yeah. Now make that hero a child, and those soulless cretins her parents, and you have this book. That James conveys all this through Maisie's limited perspective (who weathers it like a champ) is just further proof of his awesomeness, but still -- I was literall...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone
One of James' most experimental masterpieces. Entire novel told from Maisie's point of view from the end of her parents marriage through her early adolescence. A post , <u>WASHINGTON SQUARE novel, and similar to Catherine Sloper, Maisie has too her own will and identity but concept of the novel and of the character much further developed. The story evolved from an opulant dinner party table gossip told at one of James' friends house. a slightly early predessesor to Mark Twain's &qu...more
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Not my most favorite Henry James, but he has this wonderful way of writing about scandalous things that happen in society in this wonderful aloof sort of way that leaves the reader with the responsibility to figure otu a lot on their own. Very few things are actually stated. Most are situationally implied. I love the subtlety of that. Also, I love that the title focuses on the child and not the parents or their lovers.
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Read in May, 2008
I feel sort of "meh" about this book. Parts of it were the sort of Henry James writing I like--incisive ridiculing of the rich. But I never cared about the bigger meaning, other than it being funny at times, so in the end I just can't care too much about it. And I'm a person who admits liking books that make fun of the 19th century aristocracy.
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recommends it for:
Anyone.
I recommend this book to anyone who cares about the craft of novel writing--or the ability of a middle-aged man to imagine himself as a young girl.
I learned that James is brilliant. Maise has the hots for Sir Claude. And most parents are as awful as we always imagined them to be when we were children.
I learned that James is brilliant. Maise has the hots for Sir Claude. And most parents are as awful as we always imagined them to be when we were children.
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Read in January, 2007
If you think you might like late James, pick this up -- it will separate the curious from the James fanatics. Playing with his own "junior adult" style of writing for children, James refracts a sordid, petty adult world through precocious eyes. Beautifully sustained -- as satisfying as calculus.
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Easier to read than most of James works, I found this book to be both tragic and insightful. It is my favorite James so far. Though, I must admit I am a succor for anything written from a child's perspective.
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Read in March, 2008
i got this book cause the copy i got at a used bookstore had an Edward Gorey cover. It was actually a pretty sweet book, a study in the manias of divorced parents from 1897. turns out maisie knows some shit.
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Read in January, 2005
I really like Henry James and would definitely pick up some more of his books. Daisy Miller was okay, but What Maisie Knew is such a sad story I couldn't help but like it.
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Read in January, 1986
Henry James was one of my phases. I read everything I could for a while, but mostly his shorter novels and stories. I loved how he would suggest, but would not say.
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a really interesting read. i struggled through a lot of it, but was told that it's always worth it to read James' books to the end. So I did, and I was glad I did.
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Man, and we think divorces NOW are bad. This poor child completely forgotten in a custody battle is before its time. James is amazing at telling us about her loss.
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Read in August, 2007
People are nasty, but Henry James is clever.
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I actually felt like this was one of James' more "accessible" novels, but I could just be insane...
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multivalent, enigmatic and fascinating. This was my introduction to Henry James--unforgettable.
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This is another one that I've had for years but never got through.
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