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A review by rekams
The Europeans by Henry James
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.