2005 book 138

colm toibin's the master
this book is making the rounds among people whose taste in books i tend to respect--josh gave it to christina who gave it to me--but i don't think i liked it quite as much as they did. i think my problem is the problem that's inherent in novelizing a real person--there are certain things that have to be included, even if they don't make the story flow as well. also, henry james just didn't do much besides hobnob with various society people and write books. things definitely picked up in the second half, although the disappearance of several characters i thought would have more importance was a little frustrating. i did enjoy all of the bits revolving around the writing of "turn of the screw" (the only thing james wrote that i actually enjoyed reading), although the depictions of his writing process were certainly unflattering--james comes across as a scavenger, mining stories he hears and people he knows to get material for his work.

i guess this is coming across as a negative review, and i don't really mean it to be. i can't think of much else to say about it though . . . mayvbe toibin got a little ambitious here, or something.