This book has one of the worst endings of all the books I've ever read--ever. It's not that the ending is disappointing or that I disagree with the characters' decisions; these things do not necessarily make for a bad ending. It's that the ending just sort of fizzled out. It's as if Henry James looked at his work and thought to himself, "Well this sure is a long book--I'm getting a bit bored with it," then left his readers out to dry. I love lengthy tomes, but a lengthy tome calls for an appropriately satisfying ending otherwise I end up wondering why I invested so much time in a book. Read Portrait of a Lady for the wonderful witty dialogue and the well-written character descriptions, but don't read it if you want to be satisfied in the least with the final outcome of it all.

This might be my favorite of James's novels that I have read. The cast of characters he painted were complex, and the heroine of the story and her awakening and journey of consciousness were fascinating. I enjoyed the fact that there were surprising and unexpected twists. She in many ways encompasses the fate of a tragic hero, for her journey leads her to increased awareness, and her tragedy came from her own free will as well as her flaws. Her downfall in life only comes after she is lifted up to a higher position by the Touchett money. And ultimately as the reader, one feels pity for Isabel and the outcome of all her ambition and imagination. The usual criticisms apply, James writes sentences that can fill half a page, and paragraphs that overflow across two pages, so it's easy to get lost in the jumble of words. Having a dictionary on hand is always helpful too, as he is a mental workout. The pacing of the novel moves like a wave from slow, to fast, to slow (and interestingly he himself even criticized the slow pace of his novel...). I like the description that a commentator used in the afterward of the book, that this is a book of consciousness not a book of adventure.