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| The Portrait of a Lady |
| Tuesday, February 14, 2012 |
I really wanted to like this book. Because it is one of the 1000 books you must read before you die. This turned out to be one of the books that would have been left forsaken midway had I been actually reading it instead of listening to it.
What I liked - The language. The writing. Thats about it.
What did I not like -
Repetition in the name of literature. Henry James repeated phrases over and over, as if to make a point but it turned out to be quite irritating. "I think you already know, may be you do, may be your dont, but I suspect you do.." Something like that. Really. Get to the point, dear Lord, and move on, I felt like screaming.
Leaving out important details and droning on about the unimportant ones, like I mentioned above. Simple conversations are dragged on and on, whereas important events are skipped abruptly. Isabel Archer is supposed to be this smart and intelligent young lady. Although I found no evidence in the book that indicated her smartness. I guess smartness was quite underrated in those days. She wanted to see the world, travel, be free etc etc. Which I liked. She refuses quite a few offers of marriage. Ok. And then she decides to marry a man. What bugged me was the reason for such a change of heart was unconvincing.
As some others who have read the book say, there is no romance in the book. There is nothing that touches your heart. No character is exactly likeable. Ok may be I like Ralph a little bit, but only because he dies.
There is not really much to say about the plot. Its very very simple. Independant girl, wants to see the world, inherits money, refuses good marriage proposals and accepts a bad one, suffers, and in the end decides to continue to suffer in the name of commitment.
Henry James tries to build a strong character of a woman, but I failed to see the final product as a masterpiece.
May be I am not so smart as to decipher the nuances of the book. May be the fact that I heard some 20 odd people in various accent read this book that made me take some time to get accustomed to the storyline. May be I dont understand the 1800s women. May be I dont give them as much credit for being independant as they deserve.
Over all, if you are looking for timepass, skip this book. If you are looking for a good literary book, written in great language, take this one. This is possibly the art film of books. I generally get art films. Sadly I didnt get this one. :--(
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posted by SK @ 11:00 AM  |
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| 2 Comments: |
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You know you touch upon something that I have been meaning to write about for a while now. Some people are loved for their work, and I don't know why! I honestly don't.
It just goes to prove that in Art/Writing, there is a certain amount of destiny and luck. Some people have it and some don't. Consequently, some bad writers make it big, while some excellent writers go nowhere.
I have been planning a post along these lines for a while now....will dig it out of my drafts and see if I can put it up...but yes, poor writing, poor plots and poor execution can still ensure best sellers!
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Saumya,
Oh do please publish your post.
Somehow I always think if others find something good I should also find it good, else something is wrong with me. It took me a while to understand different people feel and react to things differently and there is no one right thing!
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You know you touch upon something that I have been meaning to write about for a while now. Some people are loved for their work, and I don't know why! I honestly don't.
It just goes to prove that in Art/Writing, there is a certain amount of destiny and luck. Some people have it and some don't. Consequently, some bad writers make it big, while some excellent writers go nowhere.
I have been planning a post along these lines for a while now....will dig it out of my drafts and see if I can put it up...but yes, poor writing, poor plots and poor execution can still ensure best sellers!