The House in Paris

Ms. Bowen comes to us from another era. Her skill in elaborating the details of that era is admirable. I am midway through this tale interweaving past and present so seamlessly that all characters seem close.

This is my first experience reading Elizabeth Bowen. Her prose style is terrific- flowing, evocative, and deep. But rather than a comedy of manners, this is something of a *tragedy* of manners, as nearly all the female adult characters wallow in self pity and paralysis, often for fear of expressing their feelings to the people they (should) care most about. The callousness with which the children are treated is appalling as well. So while the art of description is magnificent, I can't help but be thankful I don't live in the stifling world Bowen has created.

Magnificent! An altogether more mature novel than The Last September, leaner and richer at the same time. It is one of those books one wants simultaneously to speed through for the sake of the plot, and to linger over for the elegance and economy of the author's style and acuteness of her psychological insights. The Anchor edition serves it ill, I fear, by printing the revealing but otherwise excellent essay by A.S. Byatt as a preface rather than afterword, and by implying on the back jacket that the narrative is focused on the child Henrietta who, though brought to brilliant life, turns out to be a peripheral character. So one is at first confused by the shifts in viewpoint and authorial tone which are one of Bowen's strengths. And her subtlety in teasing out questions of personal identity between the competing powers of romance and convention is a delight from start to finish.

The House in Paris is my first encounter with Bowen's work and definitely won't be the last. She is a beautiful writer with occasional unidiomatic lapses which are compensated for in stunning paragraphs elsewhere. The scenes and characters come alive; the best way I can describe it is that they are "intensely lived." Bowen is never on autopilot. In particular, I found the scenes where Karen visits her aunt & uncle in Ireland and the scene in which Henrietta meets Mme. Fisher very evocative and enthralling despite the lack of anything much happening. Bowen also has a surehanded dramatic technique when needed.I did find some weaknesses, which is why I give the novel 4 stars (but then the "degree of difficulty" is high). I don't ever find the romance between Karen and Max to be accessible; Bowen's portrayal is intentionally inscrutable. Though only nine, Leopold seems to think and speak like an adult. In general, I don't agree with Bowen's much praised portrayal of either child. All in all, a very worthwhile, often intense novel.

The House in Paris is about making choices. It starts by introducing the reader to 11 year old Henrietta who passes through the House in Paris while on her way to visit her Grandmother in Mentone. We are later introduced to Leopold. He is a nine year old boy, going to visit his mother in the House in Paris, whom he has never met. The house belongs to Madame Fisher and her daughter Naomi. The story then goes backwards, we find out how Leopold came to be. His mother had a tryst with Max while being engaged to someone else. Leopold's Father Max was Naomi's Fiance, whom he would have married had he not killed himself. I will not give the ending away, but the threads of the story come together and everyone has a connection to the house. Bowen's descriptive style of writing is evident throughout the chapters. I can guarantee readers that they won't want to put this book down. You wish the story wouldn't end.