I found it interesting reading about parents as messed up as my own, and thanks to my own screwy family, I could relate to Maisie's plight very well. She and I have a lot in common. But, while I could relate to the story, I couldn't always precisely follow the story. In this book, Henry James uses so much current slang and pretentious, overly verbose language that it is a chore keeping up with what is going on in this book. In addition, while I sympathize with poor, dear Maisie, I must point out that she lives a very fancy,comfortable life despite the terrible misery James seems to be trying to describe. For readers in the 1900's or 1920's, especially well-to-do readers from conservative backgrounds, I am sure this book made a lot more sense. For me, as a modern 2014 reader who grew up in similar circumstances to the main character's, the choices Maisie makes and the circumstances for them come across a bit differently. I do think that Maisie did well in choosing as she did, because the possibility of her being drawn into a romance of her own, if she had chosen the other option she was given, would have been very awkward and jarring even to my modern moral sense.

Did I like this book? Not exactly. But, I do think it would make a great book to read and discuss in a class or a book club setting. There would be plenty to discuss. ( )

This books astounded me. Written 125 years ago by someone who never had kids, this brilliant thinking and novelist wrote the story of a young girl who was pushed & pulled by her divorcing parents, both of whom acknowledged they were using her to hurt the other parent. Then both parents married others, so she had 4 parents, and her natural parents drew further away from her. BUT ... Maisie knew what was going on, as the book goes from her being 8 to being 10. She is very perceptive and very sharp. The book is remarkable for having built this theme so long ago when divorce was quite rare. I love this book. Maisie is a character I expect to remember for a long time. ( )

Sad story about a girl and her divorced parents. ( )

I may appreciate this more on a second reading at a different time, but right now it was a miserable and difficult read. ( )

The heartbreaking 2013 movie, and an evocative paperback cover by Edward Gorey, brought me to this 1908 novel. Custody of Maisie, a six year old daughter of divorce, is shared by her venal father, vain mother, a nanny, and her mother's paramour. Maisie herself tries again and again to predict the actions of this horrible tribe of alleged adults before she falls between the cracks. It's kind of astounding that Henry James wrote a novel of this very same situation at least some sixty years before Kramer vs Kramer. Also progressive for the time period is that blame falls equally to both parents, and there's no automatic assumption that every woman possesses a maternal instinct - in fact, it's the mother's boyfriend who seems to be the most responsible adult in the room - until he isn't. The outdated, overly florid language makes for a very difficult read, but there are gems of forgotten verbiage - "animadvert", "peccant" - that make for tiny treasure hunt moments. ( )

I decided to read this because my husband and I just watched the 2013 movie with Julianne Moore, and loved it. When reading reviews of the movie, I learned that it was based on this book by Henry James.

Update: Gave it a try, but couldn't get past Henry James' writing style. Each sentence was like a puzzle you had to figure out; which would be fine except that the result was not interesting. ( )

A book that made me hesitate about what I actually think of it.
Reading it now, leaves me horrified at the possibility that in that period divorces were executed like that, making the child part of the divorce. I know it happens now as well, but hope that at least the circumstances are different.
Fighting over the child, not even being her real parents, it's a curious situation. And Maisie, she has ideas of her own.

When I look with eyes from this time frame, I'd say it's a soap story :-). It was nice to read, especially because of the schemes and the plotting. ( )

I didn't like this very much. The story revolves around a young child whose wealthy parents get a divorce and, after using her as a bargaining chip in their divorce, basically abandon her to their respective new spouses and then again abandon Maisie to those stepparents.

The problem for me is that the entire novel revolved around these events with little attempt at side stories or character development. Maisie, a small child, is seen only in relation to her reactions to these adult events. I'm sure for its time, this was controversial and shocking, but it seemed, sadly, sort of old news at this point.

I've really loved some of James's other novels, but this one didn't work for me. ( )

Henry James heard about a divorce case in which a young child had become a pawn and decided to write about it from the child's point of view. Thus we see the story through Maisie's experience (not first person, but from her perspective and limited knowledge). The courts have awarded her to each parent for 6 months of the year, and it seems neither really wants her. The use her at every transfer. even at the age of 6, to convey hostile messages to each other, and Maisie learns to play stupid to extricate herself from these furies. Each parent provides a governess (of varying quality), and each says there is no money to send her to a day or boarding school. Poor kid.

Eventually each parent has a new spouse, but the pattern is set. One, Sir Claude, is loving but weak, the other, the once-governess at Maisie's father's house, now Mrs. Beale, has accomplished her goal of marriage and is not so interested anymore in Maisie. Maisie bonds most with Sir Claude, and when the opportunity comes to essentially run away with him, she takes it.

But more confusion reigns. Neither second marriage is happy, Sir Claude has fallen for Mrs. Beale, and these two plus the governess Mrs. Wix arrive in France, trying to sort out what will become of them all. At the end, it is Maisie who determines her own future.

What, after all this mistreatment, can a girl of 10 or 12 know? ( )

Not sure what it was about this one but thus far my favourite of the James novels I've read. The story of Maisie stuck between her parents vitriol was somehow beautiful. ( )

I found it interesting reading about parents as messed up as my own, and thanks to my own screwy family, I could relate to Maisie's plight very well. She and I have a lot in common. But, while I could relate to the story, I couldn't always precisely follow the story. In this book, Henry James uses so much current slang and pretentious, overly verbose language that it is a chore keeping up with what is going on in this book. In addition, while I sympathize with poor, dear Maisie, I must point out that she lives a very fancy,comfortable life despite the terrible misery James seems to be trying to describe. For readers in the 1900's or 1920's, especially well-to-do readers from conservative backgrounds, I am sure this book made a lot more sense. For me, as a modern 2014 reader who grew up in similar circumstances to the main character's, the choices Maisie makes and the circumstances for them come across a bit differently. I do think that Maisie did well in choosing as she did, because the possibility of her being drawn into a romance of her own, if she had chosen the other option she was given, would have been very awkward and jarring even to my modern moral sense.

Did I like this book? Not exactly. But, I do think it would make a great book to read and discuss in a class or a book club setting. There would be plenty to discuss. ( )

I found the text rambling and unfathomable, although interested in what Maisie knew the story was difficult to follow. ( )

Nisam baš neki poseban fan Henry Jamesa niti njegovog stila pisanja ali mi je ovdje tema bila jako interesantna. Što s djecom u slučaju razvoda roditelja? U ovom slučaju se radi o jednom djetetu koje je nažalost neželjeni "prtljag" svojih roditelja i koje sazrijeva prije vremena. ( )

Nisam baš neki poseban fan Henry Jamesa niti njegovog stila pisanja ali mi je ovdje tema bila jako interesantna. Što s djecom u slučaju razvoda roditelja? U ovom slučaju se radi o jednom djetetu koje je nažalost neželjeni "prtljag" svojih roditelja i koje sazrijeva prije vremena. ( )

I have finally finished this book. I decided to read a second Henry James novel just to see if it was the book or if I just was not a fan of his work. I can now say I am not a fan of his work.

The story line is the raising of a small girl by her divorced parents. Both parents dislike each other and use the child to find out what each other is doing and use that information to further their mutual dislike and share their feelings with the young child whenever the child is residing with one of the parents.

The parents remarry and the child is introduced to her step-parents. The step-parents each develop a relationship with the child. They become more caring and concerned with her well-being and enjoy spending time with her, unlike her biological parents.

There is also a governess in the cast. She also develops relationship with the child and each of the step-parents.

James' writing style is quite verbose and makes it difficult to understand the relationships and what each adult is trying to accomplish in their relationship with the child. James writes in long, winding sentences that seem to go forward and then double back on themselves to add extra information or explanation of what the meat of the sentence is.

I have read Anthony Trollope, Charles Dickens and others and enjoyed them. Perhaps if I had read this while attending a lit class focused on James I might have a better opinion of his work. As it is...this is my last attempt at reading Henry James. ( )

Hard going ( )

I think this serves as an object lesson in why some people shouldn't be allowed to have children. Maisie is the daughter of parents who go through an acrimonious divorce. Part of the settlement is that she'll spend 6 months with each parent. They both use Maisie as a weapon to continue to wound the other. Maisie takes refuge in the governesses that populate her young life. They are almost equally at war with each other as her parents are. She ends up being pushed from one house and life to the other at increasing intervals. As the parents acquire new partners, so they have an increasing impact on Maisie's life. For the most part the adults are all self absorbed and irresponsible, while Maisie is of indeterminate age and clings to whoever shows her kindness and affection (however false that affection might be).
This is an odd book. I can't say I enjoyed it. At times my ear was caught by a turn of phrase, but for the most part the language was flowery, the text melodramatic and most of the characters thoroughly unlikeable. I also found it impossible to place Maisie in age, at times she sounded very young, at others too old and knowing. Not so bad as I'll never try James again, but not good enough to rush out and read more. OK is as good as it gets. ( )

I've only read a couple of books by Henry James, but I've enjoyed them. What Maisie Knew was a chore. The premise is horrible - a child used by her divorced parents in a horrible game of revenge, forced into an adult frame of mind she barely understands but somehow manages to embrace. There were long passages where nothing happened that were described by James in verbose and repetitive language. It should not have taken me 11 days to get to the end, but I found myself doing anything and everything rather than sitting down to read this monstrosity. ( )

I've tried very hard and on the third read I've managed to get 2/3 of the way
through but I'm not convinced I'll get any further. At this point it's mostly
just looking at words and turning pages. It's just too dense and too obtuse
for me. Some Henry James I like but some I simply just can't. This is fast
turning into the later.

This was a struggle, the sentences are long and convoluted, filled with commas, multiple negatives, dashes, semi colons, vague allusions and so on. It's also quite an unedifying tale of adults behaving pretty appallingly towards Maisie and each other, showing some of the worst of human nature. It's a tangled tale, challenging and unpleasant, but it does reward the effort and I did want to push on and finish it. ( )

Divorces are painful, especially when there are children involved. But divorces become extremely ugly when parents use the child as a weapon to hurt their former spouse. Maisie is a young girl when her parents Ida and Beale Farrange split up. Both parents are self-absorbed narcissists and are too selfish to have the commitment to stay in a relationship, let alone have the skills or the desire to be a good parent. Both parents don’t want to release their claim on Maisie as part of a power struggle with their partner, but since neither wants to really take care of her, they each farm her out to governesses. And here is where the plot becomes complicated. Mrs. Farrange hires a pretty young governess who falls in love and eventually marries Maisie’s father. Maisie’s mother also remarries – a wonderful and caring Sir Claude, but both Maisie’s mother and father lack the fidelity or desire to stay in any lasting relationship. And with a plot twist that you might expect from a Hollywood blockbuster, Maisie’s step parents – you guessed it – fall for each other. In the center of all of this romantic entanglement is poor Maisie.

From the title of this book, What Maisie Knew, I was dreading some awful secret that the young girl would discover. But sadly, it seems like the lessons that Maisie learns are to not trust the adults in her life and that no relationship ever lasts. Good story.

One comment about the audio narration. The book I listened to was performed by Maureen O’Brian. Her voices were good for most of the characters, except for Maisie. In the story, Maisie is a young girl – maybe in the range of 5 to 10 years old. She gives her a very high squeaky voice – almost what you would expect from a pixie or fairy. I found it slightly disconcerting and a distraction from the overall story. ( )

I didn't give up, I did NOT give up!!!! 307 pages - easy . .I can read that in 2 sittings - but this 307 pages, had only about 400 sentences, or so I could swear. And swear, I did - because I had to read every one of those sentences at least 3 - 4 times . . thus making this the longest book I've read in ages!!!
Mr. James is a well known author of many familiar classic titles. Obviously, my non-classical literary background did not prepare me for this one. Don't be fooled by the soft cover book on the "new books" shelves with the photo from last year's movie of the same title - this book was written in 1897 and is shockingly contemporary in it's premise of a horrible custody battle.
The prose is not contemporary, however, and even having been partnered with TWO precisely speaking (albeit sometimes 'wordy')juris doctorates, did not make this a quick read for me.
I did enjoy the book - enjoy the book - enjoy the book. Just wish I would have been able to read it with more ease. Tried to "google" a question of the average words per sentence, but all I saw were all the reports of convoluted sentences. Might have been smarter to have noticed that before I began.
I didn't give up!!! (Hope the movie is decently done - it's a good story and the reason I picked up the book, was to read before the movie . . ) ( )

I didn't expect this to be so funny- like a drawing room comedy. Then you think, wait, is it still funny when one of the main characters is a young girl? And then you think, wait, is she clueless or just completely and utterly starving for love? And I'm not sure that was ever resolved. Would you rather live with people who use you for their own sexual ends, or a person who uses you for her own messed up moral ends? Funny, and then suddenly really, really sad. ( )

The tangled tale of a small girl called Maisie and the adults that like a group of satellites surround and interact with her.None of the characters are at all sympathetic with the sole exception of Maisie. Not one of this authors better works by any means,it is in truth rather tedious. ( )

This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2013/06/6212013-what-maisie-knew-by-henry-jam...

My Take:

What Maisie Knew was written in the late 1800's, but the subject matter is as timely as ever.

Maisie is a young girl who is a victim of her parents' bitter divorce. With custody split between the two, she is repeatedly used as a weapon against the other. Example: Her father tells her to tell her mother that she is a nasty, horrid pig (not Maisie, Maisie's mom Ida).

You can feel the confusion and bemusement of this child as she tries to puzzle out what is right and what is wrong - in order to avoid repeating things that are "bad", she plays dumb. Almost all of the selfish adults around her expose her to intrigues and conversations that are not fit for a child's ears and eyes. Her later governess, Mrs. Wix, feels that the adults around her have skewed her moral compass.

I originally read "What Maisie Knew" in (high school/college?) - some time ago :). Back then, I had a difficult time with Henry James' tangled prose. On this re-read, I still had a difficult time with a few passages - on these, I simply passed rather than re-reading. Example:

In the evening upstairs they had another strange sensation, as to which Maisie could not afterwards have told you whether it was bang in the middle or quite at the beginning that her companion sounded with fresh emphasis the note of the moral sense. What mattered was merely that she did exclaim, and again, as at first appeared, most disconnectedly: 'God help me, it does seem to peep out!' Oh, the queer confusions that had wooed it at last to such peeping! None so queer, however, as the words of woe, and it might verily be said of rage, in which the poor lady bewailed the tragic end of her own rich ignorance.

James' rhetoric was voluble even by Victorian standards. For example, a famous falling-out between James and H. G. Wells was precipitated by Wells being quoted saying the following about Henry James' writing:

"He splits his infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphs sweat and struggle; they could not sweat and elbow and struggle more if God himself was the processional meaning to which they sought to come. And all for tales of nothingness It is leviathan retrieving pebbles. It is a magnificent but painful hippopotamus resolved at any cost, even at the cost of its dignity, upon picking up a pea which has got into a corner of its den. Most things, it insists, are beyond it, but it can, at any rate, modestly, and with an artistic singleness of mind, pick up that pea."

Fortunately, in this novel, those types of passages don't predominate. If you can wade through these instances of hyperbole, the STORY and the characters underneath DO dominate.

There is a movie (trailer below) that is a contemporary re-telling of this novel. As always, I recommend reading the book first, then seeing the movie.

Pick this one up to brush up on a classic with subject matter that is just as relevant today as it was when it was written.

QUOTES:

... the only link binding her to either parent was this lamentable fact of her being a ready vessel for bitterness, a deep little porcelain cup in which biting acids could be mixed.

She was in short introduced to life with a liberality in which the selfishness of others found its account ...

The eveil they had the gift of thinking, or pretending to think, of each other, they poured into her little fravely gazing sould as into a boundless receptacle ...

She puzzled out with imperfect signs, but with a prodigious spirit, that she had been a centre of hatred and a messenger of insult, and that everything was bad because she had been employed to make it so.

Writing: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Characters: 4 out of 5 stars
Reading Immersion: 3.5 out 5 stars

BOOK RATING: 3.75 out of 5 stars
( )