Why I love reading Henry James: an analysis

In these days of fast paced entertainment reading a book can be the equivalent of a walk in a spring forest. The story is handed out at a measured tempo and you can digest it at your leisure. Having read a particularly difficult part you can stare outside for a moment and mull over the words you just read. The story will be waiting there for you to commence reading whenever you are ready.

This way of enjoying a book does also allow for appreciating the language used by the author. This is especially important when reading Henry James, I feel. His writing is often intricate and ingenious. It takes time to read a Henry James novel as story, that which makes you turn pages, is of lesser importance than the words itself.

I wrote an article going deeper into this element of reading Henry James. If you are interested, you can find it here:
http://www.noisepollution.nl/?p=1845

The article is an analysis of why I love reading Henry James. This is of course a personal matter but I would be interested to know whether other Henry James readers feel the same way.

Kind regards,

Henk de Kruyff
The Netherlands

There is a certain charm to reading a Henry James work. It's very different from other writing, not just because he is a Victorian, but also because his world view is so distinct.

td: I am something of a Jamesian, an over-simplified one, to some minds, but I am one notch below a fanatic who knows every fact at hand and yet is incapable of delving deeper into thematic input--and maybe, if my health holds, I can beat my chest with a few literary scholars in a year or so, with an article and a lesser essay or two.

It is safe to say, in any case, that I am more than a common reader, and in my opinion, at the end of the day, what creates a Jamesian is James' *super-attenuation of manner* that makes his work both impenetrable and infuriating to the point of addiction.

I really like his writing. Sometimes it verges on long-winded but there are some really nice lines.

I am attracted to James by his psychological brilliance in endowing his characters with searing insight. Their reflections on their personal worlds is peerless, as 'The Golden Bowl' well illustrates.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gladys

I am attracted to James by his psychological brilliance in endowing his characters with searing insight. Their reflections on their personal worlds is peerless, as 'The Golden Bowl' well illustrates.

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Exactly. Whilst the writing style is often a little stuffy (why must he keep saying things like 'in the vulgar phrase', 'in common parlance', 'as I have said', etc.?) his non-judgemental treatment of adultery feels modern.