tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11779531.post113583047758243122..comments2023-08-04T04:41:39.813-07:00Comments on Of Looking At A Blackbird: The MasterUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11779531.post-1135870697345425892005-12-29T07:38:00.000-08:002005-12-29T07:38:00.000-08:00Thanks for such a thoughtful response, Pamela. You...Thanks for such a thoughtful response, Pamela. You may be right that the evasions aren't evaded. My problem may be that by the end of the book I wanted a more focused narrative arc, a central question (like, you know, will Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy get married or not, or what will Isabel Archer do).Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13471547669854013234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11779531.post-1135858291625358202005-12-29T04:11:00.000-08:002005-12-29T04:11:00.000-08:00I've read The Master, and I did so with more than ...I've read <I>The Master</I>, and I did so with more than a little trepidation, because James is my favorite writer. I thought that Toibin's prose style (especially his sentences) was beautiful and captured the sensibility of James without (as you point out) being a pastiche of his convoluted style. Unlike you, I thought the novel was beautifully rendered, in large part by how well Toibin weaves in themes from other works by James. Especially important for me was Toibin's handling of "The Beast in The Jungle." In "The Beast in the Jungle," Marcher realized "he had seen outside his life, not learned it within." He's sculpted by the choices he hasn't made, as well as the ones he has. Toibin captures this motif well. The scene in the library where James discovers that he's walled himself in with his own books is perfectly evoked. I don't know a better way to say it than that in <I>The Master</I>, the evasions aren't evaded.Pamela Johnson Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06637447850820805268noreply@blogger.com