The Master By Colm Toibin

"The Master" is a novelization of the life of the writer Henry James, author of classics like "The Turn of the Screw" and "Portrait of a Lady". In the course of the novel, Toibin takes the reader through James life: his fascinating, talented family, his travels, hints about his sexuality, his work, drawing a portrait that is deft and quite moving at times.

Toibin is a fine writer of contemporary fiction, one of the best out there. His prose is clear, delicate when it needs to be and blunt when it suits the topic and character. He draws his characters well; they shine fron the page like people you could know in your everyday life... and maybe that is the downfall of this novel.

I didn't like "The Master" nearly as well as I'd anticipated. Toibin's other books have moved me, largely because of his characters and the lives he creates for them. In this case, though this is clearly a novelization of James' life, it seems that Toibin is hampered by detail. It's difficult to see his own light underneath the research he has clearly done on the life of the famed writer--the prose becomes quite stilted at times, which is a disappointment.

There is also the issue of working with a known subject. While James died in 1916, that date is recent enough that he's a known quantity, if you will. It would be difficult to play with his character (as many a writer has done with historical figures from further in the past) when so much is chronicled about him already. This hampers Toibin's characteristic subtlety when creating his own people.

Finally... the approach to James' sexuality. This is a touchy point when the subject has not been forthcoming, at the best of times. Toibin seems to have tried to take the high road and walk the fence (to mix metaphors terribly). Does he come down clearly on the side of James being homosexual (which really seemed to me to be the subtext) and risk antagonizing the relations? Does he deny the rumors and use James' relations and obsessions with certain females (Scandanavians who die young, disturbingly) as justification? He does neither. To give him credit, perhaps it was to avoid being any more invasive about the life of a real person as he had to be. Regardless, it didn't work. By leaving this area vague, he's created a 'flat spot' in the narrative. Perhaps it would have been better to take a side, clarify in author's note that this IS a work of fiction, and let the book into the world.

"The Master" is an interesting exploration of James' life, in much the same way as a biopic of someone you like is interesting. If you want the best of TOIBIN, though, look at his fully created novels. Those are where he shines.  I give this three coffee cups out of five, and encourage you to read his other books.