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I first read this book in 2004. I had chosen to read it because it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, not because it was about Henry James. Thirteen years on, I rarely read books in the Booker shortlist but I'm definitely interested in Henry James so it was with a certain curiosity that I picked this book out of a box I was unpacking and opened up its yellow-tinged pages. In the years since my first reading, I'd always maintained in any discussion about Toibin's books that The Master was the
Thoughtful and well considered novel about a short period in the life of Henry James the novelist. It is set in the late 1890s when James lived in Rye and is entirely told from the point of view of James and is placed in his interior life. James is not an author I have read; apart from some of his shorter stuff, but that didn't present any problems in reading and appreciating the book. The basic knowledge I had about his life and family was enough.This novel moves slowly and is very descriptive,...
It's pretty audacious to make Henry James the hero of your book. Tóibín starts by showing us this deeply closeted, repressed guy: this is the Henry James we know. But then: he goes deeper, writing him as not just closeted but a coward, a selfish guy, and you're like whoa, hey. And then he goes even deeper and shows the terrible damage he's inflicted on everyone around him through his cowardice and selfishness, and you realize Tóibín hasn't made James the hero of his book; he's made him the villa...
What a year I've had (2014)! Perhaps 20 books of the 80 or so have been Phenomenal (thanks, 1001 Books to Read Before You Die List). Seriously, the majority of these are at least above average, some of them are true essentials that you mustmust MUST absolutely experience). In that vein, "The Master" reigns supreme. Novels about novel-writing are a hit because they embody the "perfect package": it's drama about drama, prose about prose, what the unfictitious writer had to do to ultimately get his...
PROJECTIONS Coming out of a cinema having watched a film, one often feels, for a very short moment, somewhat astray. But very quickly one’s consciousness grapples to take hold of its position and put the realm of the movie into a contained and defined locus in one’s brain—somewhere on the side, no longer projected at the very back. Only then can one resume one’s life and self, and start chatting to friends about what did they think of the film.With this novel I have felt a similar disconcerti
Three stars for a disappointing book. This was a gift from my Goodreads friend Emma. The book cover shows it shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, Los Angeles Times Book Prize Fiction winner and several other prizes. I tried reading 1 of Henry James' books 50 years ago and did not finish because it was boring. I realize that I am in the minority here, but I found this book to be very tedious. It was as if I was in a college literature course reading an assigned book. The book re imagines 4 and 1...
I started reading this book with next to no knowledge of Henry James' life and works. I now find myself fascinated by the man, thanks to Tòibin's incredible storytelling and beautiful prose.
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 been postponin...
Life is a mystery and (that) only sentences are beautiful (…) The disadvantage of listening to an audiobook, however mellow and fittingly transatlantic the accent of the narrator, is that one cannot hold on to the sentences. They seem more fleeting when listened to, even when, as in this case, I went back many times to pay more attention to the beauty of a sentence, the significance of a word. And there was much I wanted to hold on to and savour in this gorgeous novel.It is the story of Henry Ja...
Fine, nicely balanced novel about the late career of the formidable American writer Henry James (1843-1916). James is portrayed as a tormented man who has increasing difficulty in dealing with others, and only finds fulfilment in his art. Great craftsmanship this is of Toibin, though I suspect it will especially appeal to the fans of James' work. (2.5 stars)
This book belongs to that genre of literary novels which create an imagined life (based heavily on research) for an historical character, in this case, the great novelist, Henry James. (Because there are other James family members appearing throughout, in person and in recollection, I refer to Henry James as Henry rather than as the customary James.)Although the eleven chapters focus on the events taking place during specified months, beginning with January 1894 and ending with October 1899, the...
Description: The Master tells the story of Henry James, a man born into one of America's first intellectual families two decades before the Civil War. In stunningly resonant prose, Tsibmn captures the loneliness and longing, the hope and despair of a man who never married, never resolved his sexual identity, and whose forays into intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love.Withdrawn from London Borough of Redbridge LibrariesFOR BAIRBRE AND MICHAEL STACKOpening: January 1895. Someti...
