...
Show More
I tried and gave up on read The Sacred Fount -- maybe later, much, much, much later -- but The Wings of the Dove is the kind of literary masterpiece against which other books seem lame, timid, undernourished. It's the story of two lovers, Kate Croy and Merton Densher, who are not permitted to marry. When they meet the ailing heiress Milly Theale, Kate and Merton hatch a scheme: Merton seduces Milly in hopes that she will leave him a fortune in her will, thereby freeing the lovers to do as they wish.
That sounds like a strong, quick-moving plot, but actually the book is a real challenge to read, maybe the most challenging of James' late novels; the prose is thorny, and James occasionally shuts down the plot to describe what someone may or may not be thinking. But it's also a very, very complex novel about the intricate motivations behind love and money, and how, even when the best-laid plans might work, they fail, because people change in the process. This is the best novel I've read in years. It reminds you of what a work of art is.
That sounds like a strong, quick-moving plot, but actually the book is a real challenge to read, maybe the most challenging of James' late novels; the prose is thorny, and James occasionally shuts down the plot to describe what someone may or may not be thinking. But it's also a very, very complex novel about the intricate motivations behind love and money, and how, even when the best-laid plans might work, they fail, because people change in the process. This is the best novel I've read in years. It reminds you of what a work of art is.
