Rating: 
Summary: Tough Read (But Worth It)
Review: Everyone I spoke to said that Henry James is a tough read, and that this is one of his tougher reads. They're right (although as it's my first Henry James I can't do comparisons). Nevertheless, it is immensely enjoyable once you slog through it. The characters are all very real. Maggie's strength is both shocking and entirely believable. Charlotte's enduring weakness becomes obvious only when you get hit by it at the end, and both Amerigo and Adam Verver remain both weak and stalwart throughout. Human relations on an immensely Edwardian scale, but all the more recognizably human none the less. I do hope (but am not optimistic) that the movie will be released.
Rating: 
Summary: James' finest, in my opinion...
Review: How does one choose between Henry James novels? Can one really put the feminine insight of The Portrait of a Lady above the moral conflict of The Wings of the Dove? I loved both those novels, and thought that The Ambassadors was quite good as well. But The Golden Bowl, for me, was another experience altogether. First of all, I found "Bowl" to be the most difficult of James' novels to read. Actually, it was one of the most difficult books I have ever read, period. One must reread many passages to make sure they have the right meaning because the prose is so austere and almost impenetrable. But, once you get to the conclusion, it's more than worth it. You have to stick with this novel right to the end in order to fully appreciate its brilliance. The characters are realized with an intelligence that is rare to find in literature today, and they are written about in such a wonderfully restrained and subtle way. Don't miss this literary triumph, and please don't shy away from it because it is considered a "classic" or because of your possible misconceptions of Henry James. Also, I read that it is being developed for an upcoming film version by Merchant Ivory. If that's true, then moviegoers are in for a treat!
Rating: 
Summary: Top 100 English-language novel of century loser
Review: I am reading the top 100 English-language novels of the 20th century, as drawn up by the editorial board of the Modern Library. This book was rated at 32. Sorry to say, it is very hard to read. It is with great regret that I am putting it down after 180 of about 500 pages. I am not enjoying the story at all. It is pompous and ponderous. I have to read some paragraphs several times, and still cannot grasp the meaning. Don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece and its betrayal
Review: I discovered James in college and read all his full-length novels before reaching age 30. The only one I had real trouble with was The Golden Bowl. I recently reread the novel and reveled in its elegant complexity. (It would be nice to think that the passage of 20 years has brought wisdom and insight that made me a better reader, but the credit belongs to Dorothea Krook's illuminating discussion in The Ordeal of Consciousness in Henry James.) The Golden Bowl is the last, the most demanding, and the most rewarding of James's major novels. Even its immediate predecessors, The Ambassadors and The Wings of the Dove, do not reach its deep examination of the mixed motives, the tangled good and evil, that drive human action and passion. Although he presents his characters' acts and much of what goes on in their heads, James manages in such a way that while Krook believes Adam and Maggie are on the side of the angels, Gore Vidal (who introduces the current Penguin edition) believes they are monsters of manipulation--and (as Krook acknowledges) both views are consistent with the evidence. Much--too much--of these riches of doubt and ambiguity is lost in the Merchant/Ivory/Jhabvala translation to the screen (2001). The movie has some good things, but it could have had many more. Surprised by extraneous material (like the exotic dance), heavy-handed symbolism (the exterior darkness on the day Charlotte and Amerigo find the golden bowl), and needless oversimplifications (Amerigo's talk of "dishonor" to Charlotte, which exaggerates his virtue and his desire to be done with her), I got the sense that nobody involved in the production had read the novel with the care that it requires and rewards. Had they done so, their version could have been really fine--both as a movie and as an invitation to the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I have enjoyed Henry James novels in the past, but "The Golden Bowl" is just too difficult to follow to listen to on tape. Cazenove's reading is fine, but the plot is so intricate and so subtle that it's nearly impossible to follow unless given the utmost attention. The plot progresses by changes in the attitudes and reactions of the characters which are too nuanced to come through one man's voice effectively. The novel's beauty rests largely in the reader's ability to keep up with the emotions of the characters--an effort that I just wasn't able to make.
This review is only meant to apply to the audiocassette version.
Rating:
Summary: A Miracle of
Review: I have read James' "Golden Bowl" no less than four times, and each perusal brings with it a fuller appreciation of the author's genius! There are very few novels that offer the enormous challenges of this one. James' prose and syntax require a great deal of patience and concentration, but they eventually yield to the determined reader!
Rating:
Summary: A Miracle of
Review: I have read James' "Golden Bowl" no less than four times, and each perusal brings with it a fuller appreciation of the author's genius! There are very few novels that offer the enormous challenges of this one. James' prose and syntax require a great deal of patience and concentration, but they eventually yield to the determined reader!
Rating: 
Summary: Pompous and verbose
Review: I just spent two weeks reading this book thinking that at some point there would be a hook or a payoff. There was none. James took 787 pages to tell a story that never develops into anything in terms of action, and only an ambiguous wishy-washiness in terms of the characters' subjective states. Yes, in some passages the writing was elegant and enchanting, but not enough to save the book. And no, I'm not ragging on this book simply because I didn't understand it. I did understand it. I'm ragging on it because it was a waste of my time. I'm giving it 3 stars because James is obviously a master of the English language, but this book is essentially for English professors. Read Edith Wharton instead if you're into this period and subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: Pompous and verbose
Review: I just spent two weeks reading this book thinking that at some point there would be a hook or a payoff. There was none. James took 787 pages to tell a story that never develops into anything in terms of action, and only an ambiguous wishy-washiness in terms of the characters' subjective states. Yes, in some passages the writing was elegant and enchanting, but not enough to save the book. And no, I'm not ragging on this book simply because I didn't understand it. I did understand it. I'm ragging on it because it was a waste of my time. I'm giving it 3 stars because James is obviously a master of the English language, but this book is essentially for English professors. Read Edith Wharton instead if you're into this period and subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: This book is quite something
Review: I love this book. If you think Henry James is hard to stomach, yeah, it's true but once you get into it, it's like you're floating in this sea of lush, rich prose. James makes you like sympathetic and angry for/at all of the characters . It's wonderfully not settling. By which my primary example here will be Charlotte and Amerigo, who everyone is prepared to root for. But instead of making both of them so wonderfully pitiable, James gives them life; Charlotte is not quite so lovable and Amerigo is a lazy-ass who is probably just using her for the sex. James never comes out and says these thing (cuz then it wouldn't be literary) but he like hints them in this very cool way. Read it
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