Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (1987), Paperback, 352 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML: Adolescence and the transition to adulthood are difficult periods for most people, but the stakes are even higher when you're a well-born young woman at the center of a complex and morally suspect social circle. That's the dilemma facing young Nanda Brookenham in Henry James' The Awkward Age, a dialogue-driven novel that some critics rank among the writer's most accomplished literary feats..
User reviews
LibraryThing member jeffome
This took an eternity to slog through. Absolutely the most convolutedly wordy book i have ever read. It seemed often as if it was circular language......flowery thoughtfulness, qualifying supporting environmental data helping to set the stage (although not sure for what!), subterfuge, pretend
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societal politeness and correctness, peppered with much unspoken impolite suggestiveness.......all tied eternally together to tell a story about not a whole hell of a lot! I mean, nobody EVER said what they were thinking.....well, maybe Mr. Longdon did occasionally.......and the Duchess when it could create a crude and uncomfortable moment...or should i say 'awkward' moment. These were vapid empty souls who clingingly relied on each other to literally survive socially, but who were entirely incapable of being clear about anything to each other. Tedious.....and since i read to be entertained, this did not in any way fit the bill......i felt i was working the whole time to not get lost in a book where very little happened. I am sure English literature wonks may have hefty praise for this literary device and that clever turn of phrase....but I can confidently say it was all wasted on poor little ole me! Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1899
Physical description
352 p.; 5.22 inches
ISBN
0140432973 / 9780140432978