thoughts, two thirds of the way through The Turn of the Screw

[edenfalling]

Length, complexity, and a full range of punctuation do not necessarily signify a difficult or ill-constructed sentence -- indeed, many such sentences can be marvels of clarity -- but in The Turn of the Screw, Henry James, whatever his other good points, has forgotten or ignored the first tasks of a storyteller: namely, to advance his story and retain the attention and understanding of the reader, which tasks require, above all, that his sentences be clear; instead, his writing is opaque and incomprehensible, and his story, consequently, progresses at a stifling crawl.

*grin*

Also, I dislike his protagonist, I am uncomfortable with his casual expression of sexism and classism, and I vehemently disagree with his understanding and portrayal of children. I realize some of that is inherent in his time-period, and some may be the protagonist's views rather than his own, but, unlike Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn, James certainly hasn't dropped any hints that he might hold opinions that differ from those of his narrator.