Washington Square
Gelesen von Dawn
Henry James
(4,19 Sterne; 105 Bewertungen)
Washington Square is a short novel by Henry James. Originally published in 1880 as a serial in Cornhill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine, it is a structurally simple tragicomedy that recounts the conflict between a dull but sweet daughter and her brilliant, domineering father.
The book is often compared to Jane Austen's work for the clarity and grace of its prose and its intense focus on family relationships. James was hardly a great admirer of Jane Austen, so he might not have regarded the comparison as flattering. In fact, James was not a great fan of Washington Square itself. He tried to read it over for inclusion in the New York Edition of his fiction (1907-1909) but found that he couldn't, and the novel was not included. Other readers, though, have sufficiently enjoyed the book to make it one of the more popular works of the Jamesian canon. (summary from Wikipedia) (7 hr 45 min)
Chapters
Bewertungen
story of young love & stubborn personalities
jaded_grl
(5 Sterne)
the reader starts off a little rough but she finds her groove by chapter 3 and does a nice job reading this. the audio is echoed a bit in a few chapter but i turned the volume up and the chapter was short. thank you for volunteering your time to read! this book is about a young woman who is flattered by a dashing handsome man whom her father disapproves of - at one point he says he like the man and finds him to be great company at dinner parties but when it comes to that man wanting to court/date/marry his daughter he DOES NOT like him. so funny how dads are the same even over 100years ago. the young lady in the book also has a meddlesome aunt (2 aunts, don't get them confused in the beginning like i did) - this one aunt almost wants to live her nieces life for her. i recommend this book to ALL young ladies who have fathers at home who disapprove of the man they are interested in... and any other females that want to read. its starts off slow or hard to follow, but by chapter 3-4 i was hooked.
How not to behave as a father...
Melanie Scheidler
(4 Sterne)
I liked this book better than some others of James although he apparantly disliked it. It was a somewhat bitter but well told story. The sad thing for me was the girl really only craved real affection and kindness and attention and fell for the one guy who seemed to give that. If her father had once just hugged her and told her was really worried for her happiness and believed she'd find someone else who really loved her she'd probably have listened to him. Instead He was harsh, arrogant and ironic and made it seem like he just cared about being right. And His cruelty after the guy finally left her really made one want to slap him. To me, the way their relationship developed was the true tragedy in this.
Interesting story beautifully read.
Christine Zaf
(4,5 Sterne)
Dawn did such a wonderful job in bringing this book to life again. I read this novel thirty years ago and, on listening to it again, I have a completely different perspective. I thought this book was only about a rogue wanting to marry for money. Now I think that wealth can be such burden. In this case Catherine remained passive and was controlled by others. She really didn't do much with her life, because she didn't have to strive as she was so comfortably off. What a shame her father didn't instil some ambition in her. What a waste of a life. Thank you Dawn for your superb reading.
Very well read
Robert Cruthirds
(3 Sterne)
I enjoyed listening to this book, I think the readers name was Dawn. But the novel itself is somewhat disappointing when compared with his other books. James seems to write better when the setting is in Europe instead of America. I know he was born in the United States, perhaps New York, but spent most of his adult life in England and Europe.
(5 Sterne)
This novel held my attention with every situation. I enjoyed the characters but especially Katherine , her father and the good looking fortune hunter. I really loved the conclusion, such dignity on her part and the determination on that dam devil. LOL. A great big thank you to the reader and librovox.
Ms. Elizabeth
(1 Sterne)
Gave Henry another try. Still find his books depressing and not interesting. His characters seem so immature and narcissistic, even when they believe they're doing something for someone else. Their choices are mostly based on emotions or prejudices. I will continue on .........
As Expected
Carolyn
(3,5 Sterne)
Henry James is still the same. But I think it is so restrained that it feels boring to me. But it did work as background to knitting. The Reader is good. Only a few odd pronunciations
good story and characters, well read
(4 Sterne)
I liked the story but was disappointed with the ending. Not the Jane Austen-esque ending I was hoping for.