Name: What Maisie Knew
ISBN: 9780141441375

Henry James

Christopher Ricks

An innocent young girl who is caught between her divorced parents attempts to understand life and its injustices.

What Maisie Knew

Henry James Jr.

What Maisie knew

Nona G

This book is about morality, taking responsibility for your actions. It's also about the loss of childhood, as Maisie Farange discovers maybe too early that life is far from simple and people are not always who they seem to be. Despite being written more than 100 years ago, it's amazing how typical the story is, in this age of relationship instability and overall moral flexibility.

Although the theme was appealing (and I had seen the 2012 movie before), I found the writing style overly intricate and in no way matching the way a young child would speak or think - even one as mature as Maisie (and the book is supposed to be written from her perspective).

What I found entertaining was the subtle humor which carries from the book. To me, the way people around Maisie treat her and talk to her is preposterous - think of a small child that knows way too much about romantic relationships than she should.

For some reason - and this is one of those very few times I can actually say this - I liked the movie more than the book, maybe because the ugliness is toned down and the story focuses more on Maisie than on the depravity of the people around her.