About this title: Colm Tóibín's novel follows the life of Henry James during the last five years of the 19th century. Tóibín tells the story of the great novelist obliquely by concentrating on events, both big and small, that had a large impact, such as the devastating failure of his play GUY DOMVILLE, his guilt over the suicide of a woman who loved him (and whom ...
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743250412ISBN:0743250419
Description: Good. Standard used condition. May have light reading or storage wear. All orders processed within 2 business days. Ships from Foxboro MA. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780743250405ISBN:0743250400
Description: Good. Hardcover ex-library book with dust jacket in good condition. All usual stamps and markings. Pages are clean and the binding is tight. read more
Description: Good. 0743250400 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 1587248255 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0743250400 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0743250400 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
"I read this to try and get an idea of what Henry James was all about, and found it a very moving book, but it didn't help me with getting a lever on James's novels. You need time to sit and sit over his long sentences and psychological actions, as a lot of the action takes place in the characters' heads. I watched a few movies like Wings of the Dove also, but suspect they only scratch the surface of the reading experience. I tried to read The Golden Bowl because Graham Greene - a big fan - described it as being 'exquisite'. This fictional slice of biography is a good read, however, I enjoyed it, and Henry James is still on my list of want-to-get-to-grips-withs."
"I know very little about Henry James's life, so I was dependent upon the excellent reviews this book received from the critics to accept Toibin's fictional biography as an accurate account of a portion of his life. The emphasis is on the years 1895-1899, with flashbacks to the Civil War period and to other times in James' youth. There were a few times when I found myself slowing down, but on the whole the story moved along smoothly. His friendships with Oliver Wendell Holmes and other well-known figures from that time, as well as his relationship with his brother William, his sister and two other women who figured largely in his life. Neither of them, however, led to a committed relationship - he remained a loner throughout, treasuring his solitude more than his friendships. Henry James may have been The Master, but Colm Toibin is a masterful writer."
"This book was a distillation of the things I most enjoy in a book: . . . it was quiet and contemplative; . . . it was informative in an unassuming way; . . . it focused on character, not plot; and, all that combined to draw me in to the life of an author whom I never enjoyed. So, it was also surprising.
I read one or two Henry James novels many years ago and was almost taken aback by my inablity to "get" them. I don't even remember which of his better known novels I selected, but I recall struggling to finish them.
This book about James will probably draw me back to his work. Colm Toibin presents him as a man who valued the privacy of his interior life---yet spent his life studying, and writing about (exposing), that of others. The Master is an intriguing peek into the craft of writing by an author who is also quite masterful."
"This book was my introduction to Colm Toibin; I had never heard of him until I read an article about him in the NYTimes magazine and a review of his new book in the NYTimes book review. I loved this book and am now ready to go on to others by him. The Master is about Henry James; not his biography, although we get a very good idea of his family life and his time growing up. Toibin manages to get into the writer's head; we feel we are present at the moment James sees an event or a story that he thinks will be the material for a novel. I felt I got inside Henry James' mind and could understand how his mind worked. It takes a great writer to manage to do that."
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