The Ambassadors by Henry James

[Kylie]

Welcome to the October Reading Circle for The Ambassadors by Henry James!

It is assumed that you have read the book before reading posts in this thread, as the discussion might give away crucial points, and the continuous use of spoiler tags might hinder fluent reading of posts.

 

The Ambassadors by Henry James

Synopsis (from Amazon):

When Chadwick Newsome, a young American favoured with fortune and independence, becomes entangled in a liaison dangereux with a Parisian temptress, his overbearing mother deploys her future husband, the elderly, amiable Strether, as an ambassador to engineer his safe return. But seduced by the ambient charms of Paris and the bewitching comtesse de Vionnet, Strether soon deserts to Chadwick's side, initiating a sparkling tale of mistaken intentions, comic accident and false allegiances which culminates in the deployment of another, less fallible ambassador - the cold, glittering, ruthless Sarah Pocock.

 

Some basic questions to consider:

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

5. Overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience?

Edited October 3, 2011 by Kylie

[Ooshie]

I haven't been well lately so I'm a bit behind with my reading, but I'm about half way through The Ambassadors and thoroughly enjoying it. It did take me a few pages to get into the style of writing at the start, and each time I pick up the book I tend to re-read the last couple of paragraphs just to get me back into the rhythm of things, but I am enjoying the pace of it now. I'm on holiday from Friday, so will definitely finish it next week!

[lauraloves]

I will be back in a few days, once I've read the book hehe! I'm a bit behind on my reading too!

[Ooshie]

1. Who was your favourite character and why?

This is a bit of a tricky one - my favourite two characters were Jeanne de Vionnet and Miss Gostrey; they were really my favourite characters because I would have liked to know more about them!

 

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?

I tended to enjoy the conversations in the book the least, because I kept having to reread bits of them to make sure I was understanding them properly.

 

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?

 

The only other book by Henry James I have read is Portrait of a Lady; I have The Wings of the Dove waiting to be read, and I have just ordered The Golden Bowl as well, so it has definitely encouraged me to read more. This is one of my favourite types of literature; I have read all of Edith Wharton's books, which are set in the same time period.

 

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?

 

I struggled to understand why Miss Gostrey's reputation wasn't ruined, entertaining men on her own in that day and age - I was probably missing something vital in the story, so if anyone can tell me why then please do!

 

I also couldn't understand why Strether was so shocked when he was brought face to face with Chad and the Comtesse's relationship - I found it hard to believe he had really believed it was innocent.

 

5. Overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience?

 

Yes, I found that I couldn't read it for hours at a time as I usually would (which is why it took me so long to finish!), but I did really enjoy it. The edition I have was divided into 12 books with several parts of a few pages in each book, and I tended just to read one or two parts at a time.

 

[LittleW]

I wanted to join this months reading circle and already started that book. But I quit it after a few pages. Reading classics in a foreign language isn't easy and I couldn't really follow his long sentences and had the feeling, he only assambled words and nothing ever happend.

[dawnbirduk]

I wanted to join this months reading circle and already started that book. But I quit it after a few pages. Reading classics in a foreign language isn't easy and I couldn't really follow his long sentences and had the feeling, he only assambled words and nothing ever happend.

 

I also wanted to join this month, but I couldn't find the book in the library or charity etc shops, and as I felt it probably wouldn't be my type of book didn't really want to buy it new, however, it would have been nice to have a read of it, I could have been surprised.

[Ooshie]

I wanted to join this months reading circle and already started that book. But I quit it after a few pages. Reading classics in a foreign language isn't easy and I couldn't really follow his long sentences and had the feeling, he only assambled words and nothing ever happend.

 

I found the first few pages hard going myself, and English is my first language! I did get into the rhythm of the writing after that, though, and enjoyed the book, so I was glad I had persevered.

[LittleW]

Perhaps I'll give it a second try, but without any time pressure, reading a few sentences at a time.

[poppyshake]

I abandoned this book a couple of days into reading it but then a few days later I picked it up again. It has to go down as one of the most frustrating books I've ever read .. I never fully got into my stride and felt I couldn't relax with it for a moment. It's a book to take your time with but then again it's a book that you daren't put down and pick up a week later ... you'd have to go straight back to the beginning again.

 

1. Who was your favourite character and why?
I can honestly say I didn't have a favourite character .. I didn't feel I knew any of them well and was irritated by most of them. The only person I had a slight liking for was Maria Gostrey. She seemed the most human among the characters. For all the fuss there was about her, I didn't like Madame de Vionnet at all, she was like a wet weekend in Morecambe! .. and she seemed like a bit of a schemer to me but not an interesting one, just one who manipulates people and conversations so that they all go her way (given that I hardly understood a word of it though I may be doing the lady a grave injustice.)

2. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest?
I disliked the beginning most just because I struggled with the rhythm of his writing. I had to read everything out loud and most pages twice. By the time I had got about a third of the way through I began to tune into his style more and could read it in my head but I still struggled. If you put all the sentences together that I didn't fully understand, it would make quite a considerable sized book .. completely unreadable of course but then so was this for me. The bit I most enjoyed was when Sarah and Strether had their 'falling out' scene towards the end, I felt like something was actually happening and perfectly normal things were being said. For instance Sarah said 'do you consider her even an apology for a decent woman?' .. and I thought this is more like it, it's going to kick off now!

3. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more?
I've read lot's of classics but nothing by Henry James before. Strangely, despite this not being the best of experiences I am still interested to read more of his work, 'Daisy Miller' in particular but there will have to be a gap so that, like childbirth, I can forget all about the horrors of it.

4. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? Yes, all of it The whole scenario irritated me a bit, I know it would have made a very short book but why didn't they just say what was on their mind in plain terms? They seemed to circle around each other speaking copiously but actually saying nothing (at least to me,) luckily they all understood each other very well - they were all 'in the current' which was more than could be said for me .. I was most definitely not 'in the current' and was in danger of being swept away by it every time I opened the book. I felt the same as when I look at a bonsai tree .. like there's a perfectly good tree struggling to get out. The story in essence is a good one, but what a laborious way of telling it. I apologise to Henry, who I know considered this to be his masterpiece, but it just boggled my head too much. I considered putting it on a spin cycle for five mins to see if the words would shake down into anything more comprehensible but I knew they wouldn't. Occasionally I'd have lucid moments and understand a few pages but he always tripped me up again sooner or later.

5. Overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience?
No, I can't, hand on heart, say I did but for some perverse reason I'm glad I stuck with it.

Edited February 14, 2015 by poppyshake

[LittleW]

Given that even the native speakers struggled with that book, no wonder I couldn't cope with it. But on that few pages I read, I had the same feeling than poppyshake. He could have used one short sentence rather than five long ones.

But I enjoyed picking up an English novel afterward. Such a fast and easy reading.

[lauraloves]

I've finally started the book! so ill be back soon with some thoughts!

[dawnbirduk]

I couldn't find a copy of this book so Poppyshake loaned me a copy for which I am most grateful.

 

This is a different genre for me, I am cautious of Classics, in this case I was right to be, I didn't enjoy the writing style, it was very long winded and tiresome, I suppose boring would be more the term. And I just couldn't relate to the characters at all, after struggling through a 1/4 of the book I finally gave up.

 

However, I am not sorry to have attempted it, a new reading experience is never wasted.

[Ooshie]

I am thinking of having a look through Reading Lolita in Tehran to remind myself why they were so keen on The Ambassadors. I did finish it and enjoy it, but it definitely wasn't an easy book to read and not one I can imagine anyone being able to get through quickly.

 

Mind you, Madame Bovary (which is one of my most hated books ever!) is also on the selected reading list at the back, so maybe I should have been warned by that!

[Kidsmum]

Well I can certainly add this book to my most hated list. It took me a couple of weeks to read & in the end it became a challenge to make it through to the end. I really struggled with his writing style, his convoluted sentences meant that the story just didn't flow & I kept having to re read whole chunks of the book because I just hadn't understood anything of what I'd read. My favourite character was probably Sarah Pocock as she seemed to be the only one who wasn't taken in by Mme Vionnet whom everyone else seemed to think was wonderful but I couldn't work out why as she didn't seem to do anything to warrant all that adoration. I really struggled with the beginning of the book as I felt like I'd just been dropped into the story, if I hadn't read the back I wouldn't have had the first idea what was going on, I thought the story picked up in the middle when the relatives were on the way & I finally thought that something interesting was going to happen but unfortunately it never did. I also have the Golden Bowl on my TBR pile but I think it will be quite awhile before I can bring myself to pick up another Henry James book. I'm glad I finshed the it as I don't like to give up on books but I can honestly say it was in no way an enjoyable read.

[Kylie]

Sorry I wasn't around for much of the reading circle folks. Doesn't sound like I missed much though! I'm sorry it wasn't a pleasant reading experience for you all.

 

t only made it through a few pages myself. It was more a time issue for me because I've been so busy lately and haven't had any time for reading a light book, never mind one that requires so much concentration! I think I'll give it another go one day...I tend to keep ploughing through books regardless, and I've got quite a few of Henry James' other novels on my TBR pile, so I can't give up on him just yet.