I've never read Henry James before, but this book was wordy; sometimes to a point where any meaning was lost as our authors ink went running forth.. and the cadence of the words would throw me off. I suppose I needed a book like this; it probably took me 2 - 3 minutes to get through a page and really grasp everything going on. Currently reading a Roald Dahl young adult fiction book and it takes me about 30 seconds to finish a page. The Italo Calvino book read fast as well.

There were moments of brilliance though, especially the ending of the story. I've read a few books lately where the endings felt hurried, almost as though the author was tired of writing, wanted to move on. What Maisie Knew had a well crafted ending. In short, I liked the story, but the convoluted writing felt like a thick fog at times. The ending and in your face yet somehow hidden natures of the characters saved it for me and kept me wanting to actually finish. Which I did, a month and a half later.