Gladys
07-04-2011, 07:36 AM
Although I have recently enjoyed a dozen novels by Henry James, The Awkward Age has just about defeated me. The novel initially revolves around Mr Longdon's nostalgia for Nanda's grandmother Julia, but towards the end her importance fades as a subtle interplay occurs between Nanda, Mitchy and Vanderburg that seems less than clear. From the first, the dialogue soars to heights of ironic complexity way beyond even the three major novels which follow. Several conversations between Mrs Brookenham and the young men, peppered with ironic small talk, border on the incomprehensible.
Moreover, I struggle to see the comic in The Awkward Age in the face of so much overt tragedy: Mitchy's unfortunate marriage, Nanda and Vanderbank's eternal estrangement, Mrs Brook's pathetic isolation, Edward Brookenham's detachment, and Mr Longdon's vision in tatters.
Has anyone enjoyed or made good sense of the plot of this avant-garde novel?
Moreover, I struggle to see the comic in The Awkward Age in the face of so much overt tragedy: Mitchy's unfortunate marriage, Nanda and Vanderbank's eternal estrangement, Mrs Brook's pathetic isolation, Edward Brookenham's detachment, and Mr Longdon's vision in tatters.
Has anyone enjoyed or made good sense of the plot of this avant-garde novel?