The Wings of the Dove by Henry James

Comments · 56

• JO

  @joeykremple · 1 year ago

  Chris - in January I randomly plucked &quot;The American&quot; off my shelf and decided to revisit James after twenty years. A couple English profs introduced me to &quot;The Bostonians&quot; and &quot;The Princess Casamassima&quot; in undergrad English, and despite being rather taken by those exciting novels and thinking the idiosyncratic prose style was far out, I just never went back to him. Well, &quot;The American&quot; was a blast so I went against my FOMO instincts and kept exploring the oeuvre of this one author: &nbsp;&quot;The Golden Bowl,&quot; &quot;Washington Square,&quot; &quot;The Portrait of a Lady,&quot; &quot;What Maisie Knew,&quot; &quot;The Spoils of Poynton,&quot; and just tonight wrapped up &quot;The Wings of the Dove.&quot; But during this rediscovery period--which also includes countless short stories, his criticism, correspondence, and the indispensible Leon Edel 5-volume biography--I have also been dispirited by the lack of James content on BookTube or Reddit. There is a very reasonable argument to be made that he is the greatest writer since the Gilded Age, but dare I say he seems to be actively ignored or derided. <br><br>Imagine my shock and delight in seeing your hourlong deep dive into this sublimely moving novel. And how refreshing to have someone read actual passages and discuss them! I loved the first part you plucked from the preface &nbsp;(&quot;...ask for equal services in return...&quot;) and how you emphasize that James forces you to slow down. That&apos;s a beautiful sentiment and that is EXACTLY why I keep returning to him. Again, this is so counter to my &quot;read as widely as possible&quot; personal dictum that I normally subscribe to. I am early 40s now and have been desperate to transform my reading experience away from quantity to quality, and from the breezy and compelling to the long and introspective. Thank God I decided to buy &quot;The American&quot; from a used bookstore 15 years ago for $4 bucks. The big question now is: should I start &quot;Roderick Hudson&quot; tonight or tomorrow? Hehe

  5

• LU

  @lukeg1940 · 2 years ago

  I just started reading The turn of the screw from Henry when this was uploaded! Easily the best YouTuber when it comes to books, most in depth and insightful stuff on the platform but with no ego. Just great analysis and a passion for reading

  20

• JW

  @jwichmann1306 · 1 month ago

  A masterpiece.

• ID

  @ididgt4259 · 2 years ago

  Reading a late-stage James while in the midst of a feverish sickness is probably the best way to do it lol!

  2

• BR

  @Bryantbrownmusic · 2 years ago

  I love that brushstrokes analogy. Will be stealing that!

  3

• JA

  @JamesG..WARRIOR · 2 years ago (edited)

  You know it’s funny when I first really got serious about literature I would often confuse Henry Miller and Henry James. Such remarkable differences within the similarities and vice versa depending on who you ask. 📚 📖

  3

• BR

  @bradykelso8682 · 2 years ago

  One of my favorites. Nicely and thoughtfully presented. Your videos are illuminating. Cheers!

  4

• BU

  @burke9497 · 2 years ago

  Chris this video was so good! I love your channel because you have an understanding of great literature that goes way beyond anything one typically finds on the internet, and you offer this understanding with deep insight and knowledge, but always with humility. <br>Even though I loved The Wings of The Dove before seeing this video, you have caused me to appreciate it even more. Thank you Chris for all you do!❤🎉😊

  2

• BR

  @bradykelso8682 · 2 years ago

  And I love seeing A Dance to the Music of Time on your glorious set of shelves!

  1

• MI

  @michael.j.johnson · 2 years ago

  Love the description of the characters as nodes of constellations that are rearranged throughout the novel. I’m currently rereading the recognitions and felt this description to be appropriate to Gaddis too. The recognitions opens with “the first turn of the screw” - pretty clear homage to James

  1

• SM

  @smashedonanoasis · 2 years ago (edited)

  Hi Chris.<br><br>I immensely enjoy watching and listening to your reviews and learning about all the incredible books that you read. Thanks for sharing these videos, I look forward to more!<br><br>Coming to the core of my comment, I am intrigued by the dense book marking system of labels with multiple colors that I observe in your videos and I am curious to learn about the principles that guide how you place them and what you write in them (assuming you do take notes on them). In general, I guess I am interested in learning about the etiquettes that you follow while reading a book. Would love to read your comments or probably watch a video where you cover some of those details!<br><br>Cheers

• BJ

  @bjwnashe5589 · 2 years ago

  Philip Roth said that great fiction &quot;drives a wedge of consciousness into reality.&quot; James is an expert at this. His later works are novels of consciousness. These works can serve as a bridge from 19th century realism to 20th century modernists such as Proust, Woolf, and even Beckett. Thanks for this excellent discussion of The Wings of the Dove. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The fact that James composed these last few novels primarily through dictation has always struck me as remarkable. Evidently, James could think out loud in this kind of elaborate, discursive prose.

  3