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joanareadsbooks's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lizawall's review against another edition
Pretty fun, not the most memorable. I like this one because he is working out a lot of the same issues of later books, but since it is maybe not so tightly constructed the ideas/opinions are a little more explicit.
rekams's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This novel is short, funny, eloquent and reflective all at once. I really enjoyed the writing style, and especially the dialogue between the characters, and how it shifted when the Europeans and Americans were talking to each other, versus how each group talked amongst themselves. The character dynamics were also superb, even with nine major characters to occupying only 178 pages, everyone felt fully fleshed out, with unique mixes of positive and negative traits that shifted and developed in satisfying, realistic and relatable ways over the course of the story.
The only thing I can fault is the unexpectedly abrupt and somewhat rushed ending, but apparently the author was under pressure to wrap the story up within 100 Atlantic Monthly pages, so I can’t really fault him for that. And even so, he left no Is undotted and Ts uncrossed, so while I would have enjoyed a bit more detail on the events of the final pages, the book did not leave any great questions unanswered.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and while it feels a bit indulgent rating it 5 stars, I have to remind myself that a book doesn’t have to be profoundly deep or contain life changing thoughts to be really, really good.
The only thing I can fault is the unexpectedly abrupt and somewhat rushed ending, but apparently the author was under pressure to wrap the story up within 100 Atlantic Monthly pages, so I can’t really fault him for that. And even so, he left no Is undotted and Ts uncrossed, so while I would have enjoyed a bit more detail on the events of the final pages, the book did not leave any great questions unanswered.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and while it feels a bit indulgent rating it 5 stars, I have to remind myself that a book doesn’t have to be profoundly deep or contain life changing thoughts to be really, really good.
wilde_read's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Dullest book I've read in awhile. It went nowhere very slowly. The characters were not at all engaging.
orbeezdungeon's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pachypedia's review against another edition
5.0
El libro me estaba encantando: sociedad de finales del siglo XIX, el estilo de vida de la jet set europea frente a la norteamericana, un choque de culturas y de amores ¿imposibles? Con personajes misteriosos y desdichados dignos de conocer. Sin embargo, el final es muuuy precipitado, en menos de 10 páginas se resuelve todo de la manera más obvia y sin mucho detalle.
zantyu2's review against another edition
3.5
A fun little romance book by Henry James my first 'proper' romance novel, will look forward to more of his work. His writing style was kind of blunt, not really witty and dragged out a bit even in a short novel. Hopefully his ofter work is of a higher quality then this.
sanjastajdohar's review against another edition
5.0
This short novel is a great place to start if you want to get a taste of Henry James' writing. His style is so calm and collected, but he manages to capture a glimpse of the human soul. I love his folly characters, one seems not be able to cheer for them regardless of their faults. It is so because James makes them so human and life-like. The characters are his greatest forte, and there are enough to choose from here. Mr. Wentworth is such an interesting character, I wish we had a backstory of him and his life and marriage. Gertrude and Eugenia especially are so memorable, too. I somehow wish we had more of the story, and that is a good sign.
kate66's review against another edition
3.0
I fear that Henry James will be adding to the Jane Austen pile of "Books I'm Supposed to Appreciate But Don't". I'll read another to give him a fair crap at the whip. However, ve now read all Austens books and been bored by every one so don't hold your breath that I'll love the next one.
So to The Europeans. Mt first Henry James. I picked it because it was short. I listened to it because it was free on Audible.
The narration by the sublime Eleanor Bron was beautiful. The story was not. We meet Felix and his sister Eugenia, recently arrived in the US from Europe where Eugenia has been cast aside by her husband (although not divorced). They come to the Boston area to find their cousins.
What follows after the cousins meet is Austen-like, 15 minutes of meandering until someone gets to the point (or even says hello), misunderstandings, men being bewildered by women, fathers trying to bore the excitement out of their daughters, lots of romantic meddling and endless dialogue about nothing in particular.
My conclusion is that if you like Austen, you'll like James. If, however, you are like me and find Austen irritating then you probably won't. Still, at least the narration was heavenly.
I want to add here that I find Austen the woman an absolute goddess. She was a pioneer. I just don't like her books. Don't try and persuade me (no pun intended). It won't work.
So to The Europeans. Mt first Henry James. I picked it because it was short. I listened to it because it was free on Audible.
The narration by the sublime Eleanor Bron was beautiful. The story was not. We meet Felix and his sister Eugenia, recently arrived in the US from Europe where Eugenia has been cast aside by her husband (although not divorced). They come to the Boston area to find their cousins.
What follows after the cousins meet is Austen-like, 15 minutes of meandering until someone gets to the point (or even says hello), misunderstandings, men being bewildered by women, fathers trying to bore the excitement out of their daughters, lots of romantic meddling and endless dialogue about nothing in particular.
My conclusion is that if you like Austen, you'll like James. If, however, you are like me and find Austen irritating then you probably won't. Still, at least the narration was heavenly.
I want to add here that I find Austen the woman an absolute goddess. She was a pioneer. I just don't like her books. Don't try and persuade me (no pun intended). It won't work.