Genia Lukin's review of The Ambassadors (original) (raw)

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Genia Lukin's Reviews > The Ambassadors

The Ambassadors by Henry James

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The Ambassadors
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That's it. I must accept this. I am chronically unable to understand what he's actually saying. It's as though he is writing in a language I haven't studied; some sort of pidgin that throws in a few words of English here and there. I freely admit defeat, and add James-lexia to my store of Kafkaphobia and Joyce-pathia.

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Reading Progress

August 14, 2011 – Shelved

September 15, 2011 –Started Reading

September 15, 2011 – Shelved as:classics

October 16, 2011 –Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)

Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly Maybe that's the whole point of the novel. Because when you're assigned as Ambassador to a country, sometimes you do not understand the language of the people there.

Genia Lukin Maybe, but then, what's the deep metalinguistic message of his other stories, none of which I actually managed to parse any better?

Sue I felt exactly this way when I attempted Borges Ficciones.

Anne Love your honesty, humility and, above all, your humor: James-lexia, Kafkaphobia and Joyce-pathia. D) So many of us struggle with the same authors and never dare to admit it so openly and brazenly. Brava.

Billie Pritchett Understand what you mean completely. And to the interested reader, if my memory's correct, Daisy Miller was an excellent book. This book, however, is drivel.

T.A. Uner James takes "Flowery Dialogue" to the nth degree.

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