The Wings of the Dove Audiobook

" I can't kid myself any longer. I'm unlikely to wake up tomorrow any better equipped to work through this tedium, PhD in literature notwithstanding. "

" I must first report that this is the type of book that you finish and feel a sense of accomplishment. I had attempted to read this book once before about 8 months ago and after about 50 pages, gave it up, promising that I would read it someday. It is not a light read that you pick up when you only have a few minutes to delve in; nor is it one that you read when there are distractions around. It is dense. It's density comes not necessarily from the plot, characterization, or themes and ideas expressed, rather from James's style. This book is comprised of what seems to be the stream of consciousness style of writing where thoughts are long and winding. It is common for a thought to be interrupted by side details and descriptions and then returned to. Thus as the reader I frequently had to will myself to come back and focus. Paragraphs often go longer than just one page providing you with little chance to stop and regroup. I found myself having to re-read pages two or three times to figure out what was the super important thing James was even trying to get at. Thus while his style causes problems for the reader (or at least for me) it is also his strength as it is uniquely him. The story had a little of the Cruel Intentions vibe (although that movie is based off of Dangerous Liaisons) in that certain characters while maintaining the appearance of being moral and good are working together against the true goodness and innocence that is Milly Theale. The book exudes strong statements about innocence (and the needed protection of it) and the difference between actual goodness and the appearance of it. Milly Theale is goodness through and through (though somewhat irritating to me, I dunno why). Merton Densher is the character who appears to be in crisis and cannot commit to be wholly bad and submissive to the woman he loves, nor can he be wholly good and earn her scorn. At last there is Kate Croy who at once is a victim of her circumstances and yet the masterful manipulator of them. All this to say that this is a book that everyone probably should read because James is a masterful writer, but everyone probably won't read because of the slow moving plot and his verbose style. I doubt I would ever exude the effort to re-read this book. Thus I really felt like I couldn't give this more than three stars, if only it were possible to give half a star. "

" I think I would have really loved this if it wasn't written by Henry James. "

" I complained about how dense James's writing is the whole time I was reading this, but when I finished it, I thought, "I want to read more by him!" He's a master of social observation, and personal introspection. Wow. "

" I feel like I've just run a marathon. James has good qualities, many of which I probably can't appreciate. There are some really beautiful and profound sentences. However, as a communicator he has some issues, in my opinion. I suspect his complex sentence structure is self-indulgent and perhaps an affectation. "

" Ugh. Couldn't get into it. Much too dense and flowery. Beware! "

" Henry James' writing style is particularly painful in this one. I almost gave up because all those pronouns and endless sentences had me completely lost. Just once in a while I would get a snatch of meaning and so I managed to string those along to understand the broad strokes of the story. The story is psychologically descriptive to an extreme and I wish I could've at least undestood more of what James was trying to depict. What is amazing, though, is that despite being lost in a fog of words for at least 75% of the book, the ending still managed to seem inevitable and tragic. Phew, thank god I finished it; I don't think I'll ever attempt this one again! "

" I put it down at 43%. His writing is perfectly understandable, especially if you let it stream into your consciousness without stopping to wonder what is exactly meant by each phrase. Your first thought is probably correct most of the time so best to simply power through (more like Proust than Shakespeare that is). The story didn't hold my interest and I didn't identify with any of the characters. Maybe a course on James would change my mind, but without historical or literary context this work on its own is uninteresting. "

" I have the penguin edition of this, but my cover is different, so it isn't precisely the same edition. Skip the notes! They give away some important plot points. "

" I had a really hard time getting into this book, and had a harder time convincing myself to finish it. I picked up and finished a few other books at the same time, so it was just that I couldn't get into the language. The story was ok. I just thought that it wasn't as engaging as it could have been. "

" This book was great in merit but poor in enjoy-ability. The intensive literary devices were brilliant but torturous. I loved, loved, loved the last 50 pages. I loved the setting, particularly in Venice. However, this was probably my least favorite Henry James to date. "

" Gotta love that period high drama "

" so long but worth it, if only to have a broader perspective than the movie adaptation. "

" Not my favorite Henry James. Very wordy. "

" A master at work. Love Henry James. Relevant, even now. "

" Too many words, too few silences. "

" Long-winded, constipated book turned into a lush, sensual, heartbreaking movie. "

" This is the most beautifully written book in the world. "

" The most sentimental of James's late novels. It provides a good example of why villains are so much more colorful than heroes and heroines. "

" I loved the story, but I had a strenuous time getting through it. There is not that much dialogue and I find it hard to follow shuch a long book with that is mainly narrative. "

" All the arguments you could have ended with a punch, but didn't. Goddamn Victorians. "

" Don't be afraid to put in the time and effort it takes to fully appreciate this incredibly dazzling work filled with symbolism, enigmatic dialogue, and layer-upon-layer of meaning. "

" if i could have given more stars, i would have "

" I've tried several times and couldn't get through it. "

" Am I turning into a Henry James fan? :-/ "

" Why is most of James's work so depressing? "

" I enjoyed the story. I have to admit, however, that the writing didn't speak to me as I am sure it did to some members of my book group! Maybe I am just too busy right now, but I ended up skimming many of the passages. "

" My favorite Henry James' work. Especially the last line... "

" I didn't really feel empathy/sympathy/connection with any of the characters, and didn't know what was going on until the end. maybe I should read it again. but some of the words were beautiful and witty. "

" All I can say is this contains some of the finest writing and use of languege that I've read in a long time. "