From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

What Maisie Knew

Henry James,

Paul Theroux (introduction and notes),

Patricia Crick (notes)

Start date: November 1, 2018

Finish date: November 15, 2018

Discussion: Classics Corner

Discussion leader: Tonya Presley

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What Members Thought

Nov 15, 2018 Barbara rated it really liked it

This is not my favorite writing by Henry James (Portrait of a Lady holds that spot) but it is still a pretty outstanding piece of literature. I was very impressed by his ability to tell the story from a young girl's point of view since I don't think of him as a person who spent a lot of time around children. Unfortunately, his sentences seem to have become more convoluted in this latter part of his career and that is often distracting. My Penguin Classics edition had an introduction by Paul Ther ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2010 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, book-and-movie, british-literature, fiction-19th-century, read-2012, e-books, mtbr-challenge-2012, fiction-20th-century

How do a child face her parent's divorce? An interesting point of view made in the end of 19th century. ...more

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Feb 16, 2009 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-feb-09-thru-jan-10, read-non-mystery-fiction

Henry James constructs sentences worthy of Paul the Apostle, whose epistles cause me no end of trouble when it's my turn to read them at church. Having gotten that gripe out of the way, I will say that I enjoy and appreciate his delving into the human psyche and examining from different angles human relationships and motivations. Nothing much seems to happen in some 300 pages (of this edition) yet we come away with an intimate acquaintance of Maisie, this extraordinary child who Knew so much mor ...more

1 like · Like · see review