Literary Spinnenmonat Run-Off • April 2016

[sun surfer]

Help choose the April 2016 selection to read for the MR Literary Club!


Select from the following works:


What Maisie Knew by Henry James

Spoiler:

From Goodreads:After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself turned into a 'little feathered shuttlecock' to be swatted back and forth by her selfish mother, Ida, and her vain father, Beale, who value her only as a means of provoking one another. And when both take lovers and remarry, Maisie-solitary, observant and wise beyond her years- is drawn into an entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal, until she is finally compelled to choose her own future. Published in 1897 when Henry James was becoming increasingly experimental with narrative technique and fascinated by the idea of the child's-eye view, What Maisie Knew is a subtle, intricate yet devastating portrayal of an innocent adrift in a corrupt society.

The Golden Bowl by Henry James

Spoiler:

From Goodreads:'A thing to marvel at, a thing to be grateful for.'A rich American art-collector and his daughter Maggie buy in for themselves and to their greater glory a beautiful young wife and noble husband. They do not know that Charlotte and Prince Amerigo were formerly lovers, nor that on the eve of the Prince's marriage they had discovered, in a Bloomsbury antique shop, a golden bowl with a secret flaw. The superstitious Amerigo, fearing for his gilded future, refuses to accept it as a wedding gift from Charlotte. 'Don't you think too much of "cracks,"' she is later to say to him, 'aren't you too afraid of them? I risk the cracks...' When the golden bowl is broken, Maggie must leave the security of her childhood and try to reassemble the pieces of her shattered happiness.

In this, the last of his three great poetic masterpieces, James combined with a dazzling virtuosity elements of social comedy, of mystery, terror, and myth. "The Golden Bowl" is the most controversial, ambiguous, and sophisticated of James's novels.

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The run-off poll will be open for one day and a discussion thread will begin shortly after a winner is chosen.

The vote is single choice. If you vote for the winner it is hoped that you will read the selection with the club and join in the discussion.

Bonus votes:

Spoiler:

When the poll ends, bonus votes will be manually added before determining final results. Basically, anyone who has commented in two out of the last six discussion threads is eligible for bonus votes, and everyone eligible will have any votes cast doubled.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to vote if interested in participating in the literary club whether eligible for bonus votes or not, and anyone interested in bonus votes is encouraged to become eligible as it doesn’t take much.

Currently eligible-
AnotherCat, bfisher, Bookpossum, Bookworm_Girl, caleb72, fantasyfan, HomeInMyShoes, issybird, sun surfer

This includes posts thus far in the October to March discussion threads.
*There are a few caveats to eligibility as outlined in this post.
**If anyone feels there is any mistake in eligibility, please let me know before the poll is over. Once the poll ends and the tally with bonus votes added is announced, the results will be final.

The rotating nominator (this month - Spinnenmonat) may not vote in the poll. In the event of a tie, the tie will be resolved by the nominator.

[Bookpossum]

I want both of them! And I'm sure I shall read both in due course.

[Spinnenmonat]

This year is the 100th anniversary of Henry James' death. It's quite good to read something of him in our literary book club.

[Bookpossum]

Yes indeed, it is a good way to celebrate his anniversary. I am looking forward to reading whichever book wins, and will try to read the other later in the year.

[sun surfer]

What Maisie Knew it is! The discussion thread will be up within a day.

I pegged this as the likely winner the moment I first looked over the selections. I think it's the only short one of the bunch and it's one of the lesser-known books in the bunch. I've already read it though and not that long ago, so I won't be reading it this month but I can contribute to the discussion thread. I love Henry James but I consider this one of his lesser works. I still think it's well worth reading for anyone who likes James though, and I didn't want to campaign against it because I'm so behind on my reading at present. This win gives me a bit more breathing room!

[Spinnenmonat]

Actually I thought the golden bowl would be the likely winner and I also get ready to read it. But Maisie still interests me so much because I want to have a look on how an author living 100 years ago dealt with a so contemporary topic- children in divorced families.

[sun surfer]

The discussion thread is up.

Originally Posted by Spinnenmonat

Actually I thought the golden bowl would be the likely winner and I also get ready to read it. But Maisie still interests me so much because I want to have a look on how an author living 100 years ago dealt with a so contemporary topic- children in divorced families.

I think it was a great selection for the club because there's much to discuss in it. I'll be interested to hear everyone's thoughts.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Looking forward to it. I think it will be an interesting discussion too. Thanks again for volunteering, Spinnenmonat!