This being my first Henry James reading, I was initially overwhelmed by the style and the concentration necessary to get the gist of each sentence. The insights into the workings of the human mind and emotion along with the descriptions of them made the effort worthwhile.

The depth of the character portrayals made them each of them likable despite their faults although I found Densher's submission to love more admirable than Kate's strength. Basically Kate's strength was used to manipulate others to serve her greed. Millie was seemingly too good but appeared to be meant as a pawn to display the characters of Densher and Kate.

The book has left me contemplating the characters and the plot long after finishing it -- the sign of a good book ( )

1052 The Wings of the Dove, by Henry James (read 3 May 1970) Since I recently read another volume of Leon Edel's biography of Henry James, I thought I should read something more of his so I read this. I do not know what to make of it. Long, but slowly, with considerable dramatic power at times, yet what can one say
of some of it. Its two chief characters--Martin Densher and Kate Croy--all out of character, it seems to me, conspire to have Martin marry the dying heroine, Milly Theale, for her money. But Lord Mark--Kate's disappointed suitor--is to be reckoned with. [I won't set out more as such would be a spoiler.] I cannot pretend I enjoyed the book as much as other James novels I have read, e.g., The American, or The Ambassadors. It is too, too, really. Besides, I did not like Kate--so much, supposedly, but who in Venice becomes a scheming tramp. Well, I am not sure all the time I spent wading through this difficult book was well-spent. I doubt now I shall re-read The Portrait of a Lady, which I read 8 April 1952 with no appreciation at all. ( )

James is always good, but this isn't one of my favorites. The heroine is just too much of a saint. Otherwise, very intriguing; lovely prose. ( )

Apparently, Henry James himself described his later writing as "sub-aqueous." I take it he meant 'underwater'; this is apt. The action is slow-motion - voices are muffled - communication more by looks, gestures rather than dialogue. This makes for a difficult and at times frustrating read, but not entirely without reward. The slowness allows the reader's mind to process things almost cinematographicly -- you really see the nuances of character and setting in your mind's eye.

The plot itself is potentially quite good -- a diabolical scheme to defraud a dying American heiress of her vast inheritence by two star-crossed British lovers -- Kate Croy and Merton Denscher. Most of the action (if you could call it that) takes place in Venice where the city's romantic yet slightly decaying air mirrors the intentions of our characters. (Densher was an incredibly exasperating character who warranted a direct punch in the teeth from this here "petticoat" reader.)

The biggest problems with the novel however lie with the overly complex prose. By the time one gets to the sentence's predicate, one forgets the subject. And finally even with puzzling it out -- one realizes the sentence conveys -- well, frankly -- nothing. Same with the climactic conversations where ostensibly much is revealed -- For the love of God, will someone please say what they mean!

Overall, while somewhat enthralled by the atmosphere, as well as the ending -- this was a slog for me. This is not, I repeat, is NOT a novel for the casual reader. It is however an excellent soporific after a hard day in the modern world. ( )

James is a master at characterization and he didn't fail me with the creation of Milly, Kate, and Densher. While Milly was a tad too divine for my tastes, Kate was delicious and Densher, poor sod, barely escaped being a tragic figure. I wouldn't call this James' best. The build-up required total submission - 500 pages of build-up! But of course if you love Jamsian language, it's all here, not as dense as the Ambassadors, but moreso than earlier, shorter works. I give it 3 3/4 stars ( )