The Master: A Novel
by Colm Toibin
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Book Summary Information
Author: Colm ToibinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-19
ISBN: 0743250419
Number of pages: 338
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of The Master: A Novel
Book Review: "Longings which he did not entertain with much ease or equanimity..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Colm Tóibín's impeccably researched but fictionalized biography ostensibly confines itself to five years of Henry James' life - 1895-99, in which he abandoned his theatrical ambitions and returned with gusto to his true calling, the novel - but it actually ranges freely over its subject's entire history. James enthusiasts will be delighted with the direct and elliptical references to the master's work: Tóibín traces the origins of key scenes, characters and entire plots from several of the novels, and cheekily deploys lines from them in the construction of his own. Ultimately, though, this isn't a pretentious stunt or even merely an homage. It's the finely drawn portrait of a man who was the master of his chosen art, and also the master of his own emotional life to the point of self-crippling. Tóibín takes the view that James' ambiguous sexuality was deeply and deliberately closeted, and the effect of this self-control was far more destructive than James may have anticipated: suppressing his genuine sexual and emotional responses not only compromised his own happiness, it alienated him from even his closest friends to the extent that he could no longer engage appropriately with their needs nor perceive the sometimes fatal consequences of his own (in)action. This revelation makes James just as interesting a man as he is a novelist - maybe more so. Readers, like me, who keenly appreciate James' contribution to the art of the novel but find the novels themselves a little tedious, may find themselves growing fonder of both the man and his work when the origins of both are explored so cleverly. One could argue that a novel probing its protagonist's abject inability to connect will inevitably feel a little dry. However, I do feel that James' primary contribution to technique - the third-person indirect narrative voice - might have been used a little more effectively to examine what he kept so masterfully hidden. Still, that's a minor quibble with what is a fascinating, compassionate and beautifully crafted work.
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