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42nd out of 212 books
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273 voters
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The Master
by
Colm Tóibín
Like Michael Cunningham in The Hours, Colm Tóibín captures the extraordinary mind and heart of a great writer. Beautiful and profoundly moving, The Master tells the story of a man born into one of America's first intellectual families who leaves his country in the late nineteenth century to live in Paris, Rome, Venice, and London among privileged artists and writers. ...more
Paperback, 339 pages
Published
December 21st 2010
by Scribner
(first published March 14th 2003)
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K.D.
rated it
Recommended to K.D. by:
501 Must Read Books, Man Booker 2004, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
The subtle third-person narrative of Tolm Coibin (born 1955) masterfully portrays Henry James (1843-1916) as person in this 2004 Booker-shortlisted novel, The Master. Covering a period of 5 years, 1895 to 1899, this includes his defeat at London Theatre when Guy Domville (1895) flopped, his self-seclusion in Rye East Sussex, flashback to his former life in America, before going back and ending the story in Rye.
I picked up this book because this is both a 501 and a 1001 and I have...more
I picked up this book because this is both a 501 and a 1001 and I have...more
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Colm Tóibín is a genius. In this novel, he explores the life and work of Henry James, spanning the period from 1895 to 1900. His characterization of James is so subtle and - dare I say? nuanced - that I was forced to keep on reading. Even though I don't particularly like Henry James or his work, by the time I finished this book, I was motivated to rethink my dislike.
If you're a James fan, this is probably a five-star book for you. For the rest of us, it's somewhere between 3 and 4 s...more
If you're a James fan, this is probably a five-star book for you. For the rest of us, it's somewhere between 3 and 4 s...more
If you'd like to get a feel for the personality and life of Henry James without struggling (g), try this book.
Colm Toibin, author of _The Master_, imitates Henry James' style as he tells this fictionalized biography of part of Henry James' life.
I found it thrilling to feel so close to Henry James who has always seemed so distant as a writer. It was interesting to learn, as I read Henry's inner thoughts, that he suffered from self-doubt . He was human after all.
...more
Colm Toibin, author of _The Master_, imitates Henry James' style as he tells this fictionalized biography of part of Henry James' life.
I found it thrilling to feel so close to Henry James who has always seemed so distant as a writer. It was interesting to learn, as I read Henry's inner thoughts, that he suffered from self-doubt . He was human after all.
...more
Having just finished this today, I'm left slightly bewildered. There's no question that this is a piece of historical fiction which does proud to the genre, and I entered its world expecting to be dazzled. But it soon became clear that the author has no intention of dazzling anyone(perhaps this would fall under 'humbug'?).
There is a certain delicacy to the tone that blunts the keenest of humiliations and fervid of passions. Perhaps Toibin has taken us too deep into his subject, wher...more
There is a certain delicacy to the tone that blunts the keenest of humiliations and fervid of passions. Perhaps Toibin has taken us too deep into his subject, wher...more
usually i get frustrated and bogged down when the pace of a book is as slow as this one, and when the plot isn't really the point. but i loved loved loved this book, and loved its carefully crafted, meditative prose style. i found myself reading much more slowly than i usually do and thinking more about what was being said, so for me it was more of an interactive experience than reading usually is, and i loved that. the sentence structure was more challenging than the books i guess i've been rea...more
it's been a couple weeks since i finished _the master_, so i approach this review with both the benefit of critical distance and the burden of a poor memory for detail.
ostensibly a fictional account of the life and inner mental workings of henry james, _the master_ ironically succeeds in painting nuanced portraits of james's cohorts while treating james himself as little more than a caricature-montage of social withdrawal, repressed homosexuality and inadvertant emotional carelessnes...more
ostensibly a fictional account of the life and inner mental workings of henry james, _the master_ ironically succeeds in painting nuanced portraits of james's cohorts while treating james himself as little more than a caricature-montage of social withdrawal, repressed homosexuality and inadvertant emotional carelessnes...more
The Master tells about Henry James from the inside out and back. The insight into the author's psych is mesmerizing and daring. He also gives a picture of those times' society, with the rich who offered their palaces, parties and company to artists all over Europe, and the artists who stayed as guests for months.
Henry James has enjoyed this kind of hospitality but he has also treasured his solitude.
It's hinted more than once and in various ways that he was homosexual, but either he...more
Henry James has enjoyed this kind of hospitality but he has also treasured his solitude.
It's hinted more than once and in various ways that he was homosexual, but either he...more
The title of Toibin’s novel refers to the 19th century American writer Henry James. The book amounts primarily to a static record of the life and mind of James. The most poignant aspects of the novel are the beautiful, probing psychological passages and other various asides that range throughout the narrative. James’ own work depicted high society and the distinctions of class, and similarly Toibin’s novel does not contain much action and suspense, relying heavily instead on the psychological in...more
This 2004 novel by Irish author Colm Tóibín is a fictionalized biography of Henry James. The time period is the late 1800’s and it reads like a who’s who in literature. Henry James, the author of The Turn of the Screw, The Wings of the Dove and many others was an American who lived his life in Paris, Rome, London and other less known places. Henry James spent some time in Ireland. He didn’t like it even though the James family was from Ireland before they immigrated to the U.S. After the failure...more
This book is about Henry James, an author we all know. I must admit however, I’ve read very few of Henry James novels. I enjoyed this novelization of a short period of his life, 1885-1999, one in which he reflects on the things he did and more importantly, the things he did not do in his personal life. The book is not so much about his published works but how they came into existence and how they were mined from places within himself that he didn’t freely share with many people. It seems thoug...more
An interesting contrast to David Lodge's Author Author which places the opening of James' play in the middle and ends with his death. Far more internal, and giving a different and darker portrait of the writer, this left one at the end feeling that James' reclusivity was more complex and less bitter than Lodge would have it. Toibin paints a picture of a man constantly holding back, keeping himself distant from relationships lest he should get hurt and suffering for this in the end, although not ...more
This was a reread for me, and I'm so glad I did take time out to reread.
I've been a longtime fan of Henry James and I've read almost everything he ever published. Not quite everything, but almost. My favorites are The Golden Bowl, the novella, The Turn of the Screw, and the exquisite Portrait of a Lady. Henry James is the only man, other than Jose Saramago, who can grab my attention at the beginning of a sentence and hold it until he concludes that very same sentence several pages...more
I've been a longtime fan of Henry James and I've read almost everything he ever published. Not quite everything, but almost. My favorites are The Golden Bowl, the novella, The Turn of the Screw, and the exquisite Portrait of a Lady. Henry James is the only man, other than Jose Saramago, who can grab my attention at the beginning of a sentence and hold it until he concludes that very same sentence several pages...more
Toibin, Colm. THE MASTER. (2004). ****.
Winner of the L.A. Times Book Award, and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, the author treats us to an examination of the life of Henry James from 1895-1899. Granted, I’m not a huge fan of James – especially the novels of his later period – but Mr Toibin manages to snare the reader, mostly focusing on James’s interaction with his friends. The novel starts out with the abysmal failure of James’s play, “Guy Domville.” At the end of the play...more
Winner of the L.A. Times Book Award, and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, the author treats us to an examination of the life of Henry James from 1895-1899. Granted, I’m not a huge fan of James – especially the novels of his later period – but Mr Toibin manages to snare the reader, mostly focusing on James’s interaction with his friends. The novel starts out with the abysmal failure of James’s play, “Guy Domville.” At the end of the play...more
One of the best books I've read in years. Keep in mind, I have a special fetish for the idea of Henry James. Just as "white people love the idea of soccer," so I love to read Henry James--but can never entirely get through one of his tomes unless it's because I had a grad paper to write about it. Thus, I read Colm Toibin's homage to Henry James and his mastery of free indirect discourse, the slow exploration of interiority, and the transatlantic experience. Delicious, delicious prose. ...more
Measured words and cadence describe the author's style...which in turn sets the tone for a wonderfully written portrait of Victorian-era author Henry James. Prolific American writer Henry James spent most of his life as part of the ex-pat monied class in Europe observing and writing about his friends and family. This fictionalized account of his life is masterful in evoking both the mind and the strict times of "Europeanized" Henry James. Tortured to convey appropriate behavior as d...more
"It would spoil my post-mortem expression which I have been practising for years." This is what James's sister says some time before her death, which he eventually attends: "He stayed by her body, knowing that lying peacefully in death was what she had craved to do. She looked beautiful and noble, and he believed, after all his earlier doubts, that if she could see herself as her body awaited cremation, she would feel a grim delight at what she had become." And on and on the ...more
The Genesis Seeds of Genius: Meditating on Henry James
Colm Toibin's fine novel THE MASTER is an act of art in and of itself. This is a well-researched biography of one of America's greatest novelists but it is also a novel, a great work of literature that sifts through all the extant data found in the copious letters between Henry James and his brother (the equally famous William James) and others of his family and acquaintances, other biographies, and the vast writings about this ex...more
Colm Toibin's fine novel THE MASTER is an act of art in and of itself. This is a well-researched biography of one of America's greatest novelists but it is also a novel, a great work of literature that sifts through all the extant data found in the copious letters between Henry James and his brother (the equally famous William James) and others of his family and acquaintances, other biographies, and the vast writings about this ex...more
One way to think of this is as Henry James biographical fan fiction done by number one fan/genius gay Irish novelist, because it really feels like a James novel, just less wordy and minus extraneous plot points. There is the presentment of a rich internal voice mediated by a highly mannered exterior life, epitomized by polite verbal exchanges that seem to a Mr. Tom Postmodern as so subtle that meaning is almost, but obviously not quite, elided.
However, and here's the genius, while in...more
However, and here's the genius, while in...more
This is a deeply poignant book. I liked how Toibin wove themes and characters from James' novels into the story of James' life, creating a portrait of a hyper-sensitive spirit who moves through life both starving for and terrified of intimate connection. The portrait of James' ambivalence about people and relationships is totally convincing and full of nuance.
The enigma of James' sexuality was handled in a subtle and nuanced way. It's a fantastic fictional evocation of "the clo...more
The enigma of James' sexuality was handled in a subtle and nuanced way. It's a fantastic fictional evocation of "the clo...more
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Incredibly moving, very beautiful, very sad. Kind of a terrifying thing for any writer to read because it's sort of a worst-case-scenario portrayal of the writer mentality - the desire for solitude, a sense of detachment from the world, a feeling that you're always observing rather than participating in experiences and storing them up to use in your work. A haughty old Baroness says to James at one point, while bitterly reminiscing about their youth, "We all liked you, and I suppose you li...more
This is a historical novel about the life of the writer Henry James.
On the one hand, I'm surprised by the level of critical success this book achieved. (It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and on several Top Ten Books lists for the year.) The pacing is slow - we're talking snail speed, here - and while there was dramatic tension within individual chapters and scenes, there is none whatever between chapters. If this were a debut novel, I wonder if it would ever even have foun...more
On the one hand, I'm surprised by the level of critical success this book achieved. (It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and on several Top Ten Books lists for the year.) The pacing is slow - we're talking snail speed, here - and while there was dramatic tension within individual chapters and scenes, there is none whatever between chapters. If this were a debut novel, I wonder if it would ever even have foun...more
Julie at All Ears
rated it
The Master is the fictionalized biography of author Henry James. James was born of a wealthy Boston family, but lived much of his life in Europe. Throughout this book, James struggles in his relationships with both family and friends. He never completely loses his aloof standoffish behavior as well as the book hints of a struggle accepting or exploring his sexuality.
I have to say that I really struggled with this book. As I read over other people's reviews and I kept thinking - I...more
I have to say that I really struggled with this book. As I read over other people's reviews and I kept thinking - I...more
I'm finally ready to read this after having finished Portrait of a lady, Wings of the Dove, and three other shorter works by James. Toibin's writing was oppressively static when I first tried it, but now that I've rendered myself impervious to unceasing fogs, unverifiable rumors, and knotted syntax, I'm suddenly more curious as to how Toibin elucidates the stagnant mystery that is the making of the over-rated one.
This is a creative biography of Henry James. The book shows Henry James as an acute, albeit passive, observer of life. He doesn’t express opinions or take active part in any aspect of life from politics to sexuality. His life is full of avoiding life, and he seems to be solely expressing himself in writing. He is shown thriving on stories and happenings of others, which he reworks into his own literary creations. He is juxtaposed with Oscar Wilde, who serves as an anti-thesis of James, and at th...more
I did not enter into The Master with high hopes. I have not particularly enjoyed the two works of Irish fiction I'd read previously, and fully expected this to be an immensely stodgy biography of a witless and boring novelist whose life would bore me to tears.
I was wrong on all counts.
I knew nothing of Henry James before reading The Master, having never touched any of his novels or read about his own life story. Toibin portrays him as an intriguing character: someone wh...more
I was wrong on all counts.
I knew nothing of Henry James before reading The Master, having never touched any of his novels or read about his own life story. Toibin portrays him as an intriguing character: someone wh...more
An entirely sympathetic portrait of Henry James--somehow I never pictured him like this, but I think that's because I read his books in my early twenties and felt sort of uneasy in my love for them. I watched him throw his heroines to the wolves and didn't think, so much, of the writer who had conjured such bright spirits as of the writer who had conjured such wickedness. I haven't read about his life aside from this book and loved learning about the sparkling Minny Temple and his friendship wit...more
- Magnificent!
- I was very surprised I was so moved by this book, since I seem to get pickier and snobbier with age.
- One of the best books I’ve read all year.
- Loved Toibin’s handling of Henry James during his later years (1895-1899) and manages to give us insight into the mind of a true genius.
- This book is slow, nuanced, and meditative. The writing and the story glides over you like a soft caress, or the feel of silk in between your fingers.
- It is not in-your-...more
- I was very surprised I was so moved by this book, since I seem to get pickier and snobbier with age.
- One of the best books I’ve read all year.
- Loved Toibin’s handling of Henry James during his later years (1895-1899) and manages to give us insight into the mind of a true genius.
- This book is slow, nuanced, and meditative. The writing and the story glides over you like a soft caress, or the feel of silk in between your fingers.
- It is not in-your-...more
I found "The Master" utterly boring to read. I'd only picked it up because it was on one of the "1001 books you must read before you die" lists. Perhaps I should have read a summary of the book before reading it. As a reader who has not read any of Henry James's books, I can't say that Colm Toibin made me anymore the curiouser. Of course, I do think it was a technically well written book -- however there was so little suspense there or anything to keep the reader, who has no ...more
"...when he was young, he had never imagined the pain that loss would bring..." (6).
“ ‘You look as though you’ve seen a ghost, sir.’
‘It’s the living I’ve been looking at,’ he said” (36).
“…the dilemma of a woman brought up in a free-thinking family which confined its free thought to conversation and remained respectable and conformist in every other way” (59).
“Both he and his sister would die childless: what they owned was theirs only while they lived. There woul...more
“ ‘You look as though you’ve seen a ghost, sir.’
‘It’s the living I’ve been looking at,’ he said” (36).
“…the dilemma of a woman brought up in a free-thinking family which confined its free thought to conversation and remained respectable and conformist in every other way” (59).
“Both he and his sister would die childless: what they owned was theirs only while they lived. There woul...more
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| perfect for a book club, one of the best novels I've read | 4 | 22 | Jan 25, 2012 11:18am |
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(From the authors website - http://www.colmtoibin.com/content/biogra... )
"Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus...more
More about Colm Tóibín...
"Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus...more
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