Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Henry James

This is topic Henry James in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

What do you guys think about Henry James? I'm curious to hear other writers' opinions about him. I have definite opinions about his stories, but I'm curious to hear yours first.

And no saying, "I like him," or, "he sucks." I'm curious about specifics.

Posted by teddyrux (Member # 1595) on :

Who is Henry James?

Posted by JBShearer (Member # 9434) on :

I'll second that.

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

"Daisy Miller"

also, but maybe not as well known...

"The Beast in the Jungle"
"The Real Thing"
A whole lot of other stuff.

He's attributed with being the first writer to write 3rd person limited really well. Wrote a lot of stories around the turn of the century.

Someone else back me up. I can't be the only one here who's ever heard of him.

[This message has been edited by wetwilly (edited April 14, 2004).]

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

TURN OF THE SCREW

THE BOSTONIANS

THE AMBASSADORS

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

THE WINGS OF THE DOVE

Posted by Gen (Member # 1868) on :

Turn of the Screw. You're not the only to have heard of him. Haven't read his stuff in years, though, so I don't really have any opinions...

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

Well, those of you who haven't read any of his stuff, you really need to. I hereby declare it required reading for every wannabe writer. It's not a pleasant, easy read, but the man was a genius at the art. Any other opinions of him?

Posted by danquixote (Member # 1949) on :

quote:
Wrote a lot of stories around the turn of the century.

For the sake of clarification - that's the turn of the 20th century. He was born in 1843 and died in 1916. His works of fiction include 20 novels, 112 short stories and 12 plays (Citation: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hjames.htm). Turn of the Screw is either a ghost story or a psychological thriller, depending on how you interpret it.

He's wordy and flowery, but that was the style of the time. If you haven't read him . . . well, he's one of those authors like Dickens, Joyce, Hardy, Faulkner, Cervantes, (really, there are dozens) who's an absolute must read for any serious student of literature.

Edited to add:

Personally, I wouldn't read Henry James for fun but I would definitely read him to see what I could learn.

[This message has been edited by danquixote (edited April 14, 2004).]

Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :

If you're not ready to enjoy great writing, you're not ready to learn from it. Because until you're ready to enjoy it, you don't have the ability to spot what makes it great.

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

Word, Survivor.

Henry James is a writer that you have to enjoy in a different way than most of the writers today. He is not someone you can just lie back and read for relaxation when your brain is tired. He's someone who takes concentration to "get."

I want to take issue with the "wordy and flowery" description, danquixote. Wordy, yes, I'll give you that. Wordy and flowery implies that there is a lot of fluff, though, that he used a paragraph where a sentence would suffice and a page where a paragraph would do. Not the case (I don't know if that's what you meant or not). Henry James makes every word and every sentence count to convey something important, which is one of the things I love about him. There are a LOT of words, and the sentences tend to be long and complicated, but everything is there for a reason.

Did I mention I love Henry James? The man was a genius.

Posted by EricJamesStone (Member # 1681) on :

Anyone who told you good things about anything Henry James wrote is a liar. His books sucked. I could never figure out how Henry James got so popular. I've always considered his books pretty much drivel.

(Just giving wetwilly a taste of his own medicine. Actually, I tried reading something by Henry James a long time ago, and I got bored and stopped reading. It's been so long that I don't recall any specifics, so maybe I should overcome my bias against people who have interchangeable first and last names and give James Henry another try.)

[This message has been edited by EricJamesStone (edited April 16, 2004).]

Posted by wetwilly (Member # 1818) on :

Oh yeah, well you're a buttface.

Here's hoping you get the joke and don't get all mad.

I suppose I will have to admit it's been a few years since I read Heinlein, and there might be something good there that I missed. Definitely didn't find it back then, though.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

I have to confess that I quit reading a book by Henry James because I found him to be too patronizing about one of his female characters. (Which I think is interesting if we're going to be so crazy as to compare James and Heinlein.)

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

Oakley Hall, quoted from Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life (I know, this is getting tiresome, but bear with me), said that "Clover Adams said of Henry James that he chewed more than he bit off." I like that. "Chewed more than he bit off." Hall continued, "And in my readings, too, I had felt that in James there was sometimes more art than red meat."

Do with that what you will .

[This message has been edited by Kolona (edited April 17, 2004).]