Washington Square

I finally finished Washington Square by Henry James.  It actually wasn’t as depressing as I originally was fearing, although it won’t win any awards for happy endings.  Of course I wouldn’t want to read it if it did.  So the story’s about an heiress to a sizeable sum of money who ain’t that purdy and supposedly ain’t that bright who lives with her father whom she adores.  Unfortunately his feelings for her are not mutual – he tolerates her, but does not possess great affection for her.  So then she meets a devastatingly handsome gold digger at a party who sweeps her off her feet.  Of course her father, whom she worships, disapproves, immediately recognizing what this young fellow is after.  So long story short, she goes against her father’s wishes and decides to marry the guy, and in the process has a falling out with Daddy that will never be repaired.  And then Mr. Wonderful backs out of the engagement after learning that her father won’t be giving her any moolah because of his disapproval of the match.  And then, yadda, yadda, yadda, she lives out her life as an old maid.  But as I interpreted it, a fairly happy old maid.  Or maybe that’s just me projecting – I dunno.

So it was interesting, and makes me want to read some more Henry James in the future, but for now I need something completely different.  Like:

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

I’m not sure exactly where this book is going, but based on the book jacket blurb, it ties together themes of nature and human love.  I can’t imagine not liking anything by the author of The Poisonwood Bible, so I’m feeling good about this one.

March Violets by Philip Kerr

This is part of trilogy called Berlin Noir – it’s kind of like Raymond Chandler meets Nazi Germany.  Ja!

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