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Title: What Maisie Knew

Author: Henry James

Narrator: Maureen O' Brien

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-04-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 64 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Maisie is an innocent six year-old, torn between her divorced parents, pathetically isolated yet tragically involved. The only emotional constant in Maisie's life is Mrs. Wix, a motherly old governess.

Members Reviews:

A great reader reads a great writer

James is a hard writer to read aloud. He's a hard writer to read off the page. His sentences are long, with lots of subordinate clauses, that express delicate shades of meaning. They are often beautiful, but it's a difficult beauty. Maureen O'Brien does more than make James' book understandable, she makes it live in all its subtlety.

Unexpectedly Modern Story, Beautifully Read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maisie appears to be the pawn of her feckless, self-involved parents; and then the adored darling of her subsequent stepparents. The story is told more or less from Maisie's point of view. We only know as much as she does -- no, let's take that back. She might know far more than we realize she knows. Who is playing who in this bitter game?

What other book might you compare What Maisie Knew to and why?

It's a psychological study, alive to every nuance of expression and unstated communication, but Maisie, as all humans do, remains a mystery. I'm sure some perfect comparisons will spring to mind as soon as I finish this review. But it's safe to say that if you found Turn of the Screw unsatisfying, you will not like this either. James hands you nothing but complexity and ambiguity. In other words: life.

Which scene was your favorite?

The very last scene. It is not a spoiler to say that it is a play on the title of the book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I returned to this book after seeing the updated movie version of the book with Julianne Moore and Steven Coogan as the irresponsible, self-involved parents. But in the film, Maisie is played by a darling girl whose sweetness is touching and beautiful. Here, Maisie is far more complex.

Any additional comments?

Maureen O'Brien does an amazing job capturing the accents (with all the class connotations) as well as the emotions of the characters, which requires great insight into both human nature and literature as well as great acting skills. I will search out more books read by her.

Nobody writes like Henry James. Perfect narration!

Any additional comments?

I wasn't sure I'd like a book about a little girl being manipulated by her parents, but I bought it because I love Henry James' writing. This is an excellent story and is made fabulous by Maureen O'Brien's narration. At first, I was startled by her rather high pitch and thought I would tire of it and never get through the book, but you know, I never did tire of it, and I have come to believe I would not have enjoyed the written novel as well without her voice. All characters are distinct, and I was actually able to conjure up particular actors for each character, so well were they portrayed.

Of course, there's so much more to the story than Maisie being manipulated by her parents; in fact, nearly every adult with whom she comes in contact tries to use her for their own personal gain.