The Bostonians (original 1886; edition 1984)

I read this book because I just moved to Boston and hoped it would give me a sense of atmosphere, which it did. I was not expecting it to be as hilarious as it was. Unfortunately the humor tones down a little bit after the first hundred pages. It starts out absolutely ruthless but then you get the sense he maybe relented a little, because after all he loves these Bostonians, doesn't he? And so do we. (Or if you don't, you might be heartless.) Anyway, as the humor starts to fade the book becomes completely gripping in a dramatic way, so it is a win-win. Have you ever had friends or maybe even people you don't like very much who, for some reason, enter your consciousness such that even their smallest gestures or off-handed comments seem extremely significant, even urgent, fraught with a kind of meaning that points way beyond themselves? That's how these characters are, I think. (Maybe all Henry James?) And I guess I could see how it could get tiresome for some people, but I disagree with them. So, anyway, I read this book on the edge of my seat and was blown away at the end. ( )

Another book which just didn't work for me, and this one, I found I was often bored with it. I didn't find the appeal to the book, or to why it's considered to be such a fantastic read.

The writing was extremely well done, which was the saving factor to why I didn't give up on the book entirely. The plot was bland, and while there were some political aspects to it, I wouldn't exactly call it a political books. I didn't see a real connection to the women's movement in the book, just a handful of characters who supported it. I found the characters to be flat and underdeveloped. They didn't have much to them, and I failed to see their real connection to the women's movement. They seemed to preach about it and attend speeches, but even that felt forced to me. Although, that could be because the main focus of the book seemed to be Basil's attempt to woo Verena, who didn't seem to be anything special or worth wooing. The plot felt repetitive and it didn't connect together, and the ending was awful, although I was glad to see it.

One of my least favourite reads of the year - and not a book I'd recommend.

Also on my book review blog Jules' Book Reviews - The Bostonians ( )

Olive Chancellor, a confirmed old maid (at the age of 30), desires nothing more than to see the day when women will earn the right to vote, just as the men do. She attends many lectures and salons of Boston, listening to the great ladies of her day espousing the virtues of allowing women the right to vote and to aid in running the government. Though the talks are edifying, momentum has yet to pick up and spread the women's suffrage movement outside of a few notable cities. And then, while attending one such lecture at the home of Miss Birdseye -- one of the local leaders of the suffrage movement -- Olive hears the voice of young Verena Tarrant. Trained by her parents as a gifted speaker, Verena mesmerizes the small gathering as she speaks, and Olive realizes that Verena is just the voice she has been waiting for to lead the movement. Olive immediately conspires to take Verena under her wing and away from her parents, preparing her for a role as the new voice of the suffrage movement.

One obstacle stands in their way, though: Olive's cousin Basil Ransom, a Southerner visiting from Mississippi with the hope of beginning a law practice in Boston. He happens to be at the same salon, noticing Verena more for her looks rather than her vocal abilities. Something about her lights a fire in his heart, and he sets out to win her heart -- much to the dismay of Olive who vows to keep Verena at the forefront of the suffrage movement any way she can.

What makes the story worth reading is the characters. Olive Chancellor comes across as cold and determined, knowing exactly what she wants and how to get it. Her hold on Verena and her need to mold her into a figurehead of the suffrage movement borders on obsessive, in a Mrs. Danvers kind of way. As for Ransom, he gently laughs away the thought of women having the right to vote, burying his real feelings behind slick Southern charm, and he would like nothing more than to prove to Olive that her struggle will never succeed by making Verena his wife. Two perfectly drawn warriors, and neither is at all likeable -- which may be how James intended it. But I found some mad delight in watching the two of them try to outmaneuver one another, using Verena as the rope in their tug-of-war.

"The Bostonians" displays this struggle between the two cousins, making for an interesting battle of the sexes played out during the late 19th century. Definitely worth a read. ( )

This is my least favorite of all of James' novels. He descends into his worst impulses towards misogyny, self-lacerating homophobia, and anti-Americanism in his supposed design to tell a tale of American manners and the triumph of the Old South over Puritan New England. ( )

Most of all: boring. This time Henry James didn't even succeed in manipulating the reader (or just me?) to feel anxiety on behalf of the characters. I was left wondering whether this was a failed satire or not, because the themes of emancipation were brushed aside as if the male narrator didn't know at all what the women actually stood for. Also the female characters remained unapproachable and one-dimensional. ( )