I loved this piece, especially your clear explication of the plot of “The Ambassador,” a book i’ve tussled with for many a year. It occurred to me that the ToM idea could be applied to many (most? all?) mystery novels too. I haven’t thoroughly worked this idea out but I think there’s something to the notion!
Thanks, Ted! Yes, ToM appears in pretty much all fiction—and definitely mysteries, police procedurals, and detective stories of any kind. Last night I just ran across a book with a whole section on that, Lisa Zunshine’s “Why We Read Fiction.” It’s all about ToM! I just ordered a copy. It looks great!
I must admit that you have introduced an intellectual earworm to our humble home. Ever since I described your article to my wife, we have been commenting on this phenomenon in almost every context imaginable.
I read this on your recommendation, and all I could think about while writing this review was, “I hope I don’t blow it! What will Hollis think?!” It’s a fascinating story. I can’t even imagine how agile and capacious James’s mind could have been to even manage writing this novel. As far as the mental exercise, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read.
Very insightful article. I have read all of him over the years and it's really hard to "enjoy" his late phase. One has to be something of a masochist. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he is still with us and I think he always will be.
Wonderful article Joel! My fav of all your book reviews! I love the TOM stuff which I hadn’t heard explained before,
Or at least never so clearly. I enjoyed how you tied it in so well to the plot as an analytical rubric to understand a dense book which I suddenly want to read. Bravo sir!
So it is in my library now. Next up. I just finished The Betrothed which I have to say I enjoyed. Lol. Unusual but worth the read. Thx for the recommendation.
I have never read "The Ambassadors" but I did find your analysis of James's psychological insights fascinating and on point.
There is an old saying about Henry James and his brother William that "Henry was a novelist who wrote like a psychologist and William was a psychologist who wrote like a novelist".
William was a professor at Harvard, a philospher and, arguably, the founder of American psychology. He also initiated his own philosophical theory of "pragmatism" (how American) and is the auther of many aphorisms, my favorite of which is "My experience is what I choose to attend to".
I can't help but wonder to what extent the two brothers influenced each other's work.
Wow. What a fascinating analysis of a difficult book. (1) I believe (2) you really understand what (3) James was trying to convey.
LOL, thanks Tad! It took me forever to sort it all out!
I loved this piece, especially your clear explication of the plot of “The Ambassador,” a book i’ve tussled with for many a year. It occurred to me that the ToM idea could be applied to many (most? all?) mystery novels too. I haven’t thoroughly worked this idea out but I think there’s something to the notion!
Thanks, Ted! Yes, ToM appears in pretty much all fiction—and definitely mysteries, police procedurals, and detective stories of any kind. Last night I just ran across a book with a whole section on that, Lisa Zunshine’s “Why We Read Fiction.” It’s all about ToM! I just ordered a copy. It looks great!
I must admit that you have introduced an intellectual earworm to our humble home. Ever since I described your article to my wife, we have been commenting on this phenomenon in almost every context imaginable.
That’s awesome! Once you start thinking about it, you notice it everywhere.
So good. It’s all head games, yes!
I read this on your recommendation, and all I could think about while writing this review was, “I hope I don’t blow it! What will Hollis think?!” It’s a fascinating story. I can’t even imagine how agile and capacious James’s mind could have been to even manage writing this novel. As far as the mental exercise, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read.
Very insightful article. I have read all of him over the years and it's really hard to "enjoy" his late phase. One has to be something of a masochist. But unlike many of his contemporaries, he is still with us and I think he always will be.
My head is spinning like a globe in a kindergarten classroom.
Haha! Mine too! It took forever to write—just to keep it all straight.
Wonderful article Joel! My fav of all your book reviews! I love the TOM stuff which I hadn’t heard explained before,
Or at least never so clearly. I enjoyed how you tied it in so well to the plot as an analytical rubric to understand a dense book which I suddenly want to read. Bravo sir!
I guess I have to speed up my reading, lol.
So it is in my library now. Next up. I just finished The Betrothed which I have to say I enjoyed. Lol. Unusual but worth the read. Thx for the recommendation.
I’d love to hear what you think. I found it very challenging. The opposite from The Betrothed in that way; that one just unspooled for me.
I have never read "The Ambassadors" but I did find your analysis of James's psychological insights fascinating and on point.
There is an old saying about Henry James and his brother William that "Henry was a novelist who wrote like a psychologist and William was a psychologist who wrote like a novelist".
William was a professor at Harvard, a philospher and, arguably, the founder of American psychology. He also initiated his own philosophical theory of "pragmatism" (how American) and is the auther of many aphorisms, my favorite of which is "My experience is what I choose to attend to".
I can't help but wonder to what extent the two brothers influenced each other's work.