this, my first novel by henry james, was recommended to me by a trusted friend privy to my affection for the work of austen, the brontes, wharton, bowen and hall. i must admit to having had reservations about a victorian novel with a female protragonist written by a man, but was pleasantly surprised to find that james had depicted the female perspective, in isabel archer, with notable aplomb. i was a little disappointed that, in spite of the book's length, i felt there was a huge leap from the first half of the book, which firmly establishes the young miss archer as a woman intent to never marry and the second half, which finds her rather abruptly married to the third of three men who have made the appeal to her. still, this is a classic work of literature that deserves all the praise it has received. it is far more dense than works by the aforementioned authors and, as such, makes awful subway reading--unless, of course, your train breaks down and there are no crying children or blaring boom boxes in your car.

Henry James is one of my favorite authors and "The Portrait of a Lady" is one of my favorite books. James is the only author who can begin a sentence and still have my complete attention when he finishes it two or even three pages later.

"The Portrait of a Lady" is filled with the long, rambling sentences for which James is so famous, but, as in his other books, these sentences remain interesting from the first word to the last. This is, however, definitely 19th century prose and the book is filled with sentences that begin with, "Dear Reader," or "Our heroine." While this might be very tiresome to some readers, in the hands of a writer as skillful as James, it has never bothered me one bit.

James loved to write about the wealthy people of the world, more specifically, those who needn't bother working for a living. He loved studying the way in which an excess of free time affected the choices they made. The characters created in "The Portrait of a Lady," are excellent examples of people who, perhaps, have too much time on their hands. Isobel Archer, in particular, makes some very questionable choices, then does nothing to correct them. Although likeable, she seems to be a character possessed of an ennui that's virtually unshakeable. Isobel not only refuses to to take action to correct her mistakes, she refuses to take responsibility for them at all. It seems as though the more time (and money) James' characters have, the less they make good use of either one.

If you're a reader who's not discouraged by 19th century literature and all its intricacies and convolutions, I think you'll find both Henry James and "The Portrait of a Lady" fascinating. I know I did.

Henry James is one of my favorite authors and The Portrait of a Lady is one of his greatest works. In it, he creates a unique and unforgettable heroine, Isabel Archer, and then proceeds to let her make all the mistakes the young are capable of making. In fact, Isabel is so sure of herself that, at times, I found it difficult to have much sympathy for her poor choices. But one thing I never felt for Isabel Archer was indifference, all to James' credit.

The Portrait of a Lady is truly 19th Century literature at its finest, but that means it also contains elements that might be distracting for the modern reader. There are lengthy descriptions, the pace is rather slow and James never lets us forget we are reading a book. He makes liberal use of phrases such as "our heroine," and "Dear Reader." While all of this was expected in the 19th Century, some readers today might find it annoying.

Those who don't however, will find themselves entranced by a beautiful story of love and loss, unforgettable characters (there are many more besides Isabel, most notably the enigmatic Madame Merle) and gorgeous description, all rendered in James' flawless prose.

Anyone who loves classics or who wants a truly well-rounded background in literature cannot afford to pass this up.

Northanger Abbey is an overwrought, underpaced book - terribly dull by modern standards. The satirization of the novel of manners and the gothic novel forms is almost entirely lost on the modern reader who is unlikely to have read a single one of the 18th century popular novels Austin is constantly referring or alluding to.

The only thing that saves this book from the dreaded one-star rating is the strong characters. This was one of Austin's earliest attempts at a novel, but already she shows her knack for creating fascenating characters that would reach its zenith in Emma. The three main characters of Catherine, Belle, and Henry really come alive and actually manage to extract some genuine concern from the reader by the end of the novel.

What holds the characters back however, is the incredibly tedious pacing. The plot develops VERY slowly by modern standards. The first 150 pages are used mostly to describe a bunch of society balls and carriage rides, with only very gradual character development - the sparks don't start flying until volume II.

The bottom line is, Northanger Abbey may have been a *decent* novel for its time, but these days it should be read only by true Austin Addicts who are beyond all hope of recovery ;-)

The story describes the development of a young girl, Catherine Morland. She is the daughter of a clergyman, not very rich nor especially handsome or clever. At the age of seventeen she is allowed to go with Mr. and Mrs. Allen to Bath, were all the upper class of England spends the holidays. She meets there a plenty of young people, for example John and Isabella Thorpe, Eleanor Tilney and her brother Henry. They all become friends, but John and Henry take a deeper interest in Catherine. She has to make up her decision: The young student John or the earnest reverend Henry, and soon it's clear. Catherine goes with Eleanor and Henry to stay for a visit at the abbey where they are living with their father, Captain Tilney, while Isabella ingages with Catherines brother James. As Catherine has read many novels about misteries (f.e. "The misteries of Udolpho") she expects to find something puzzling and amazing in this old abbey. Everywhere she looks for a strange thing, but never finds anything. Even Henry tells her once how stupid she is to believe in such things, and now Catherine has a more realistic vue to the world around her. But then she receives a letter from her brother James where he writes that Isabella has left him, and moreover Catherine has to leave the abbey because Captain Tilney has found out that she isn't as rich as he thought and because of that not adapted to become Henry's wife. Through all these experiences Catherine grows up, and at the end of the story she is a very different woman than at the beginning.

Jane Austen was arguably one of the best writers of her time; however, only she took the bold leap into poking fun at the books of her time. Northanger Abbey brings Catherine, the heroine (on whom, among other things, Austen periodically comments from afar) through the joys and troubles of being an eligible young lady with a probing mind and endearing naivete, acquired from none other than the countless novels she has read. The elegance, and at some points speed, with which Austen plays out and then reconciles her young heroine's difficulties is at the very least extremely amusing. The foolish suspense and embarrassed relief which center around the Abbey are no less entertaining when one considers this book against darker novels where the papers in locked drawers have slightly more bearing. Catherine's friend Isabella, her vain (and in-vain) suitor John, and Mr. and Miss Tilney are brilliant foils for her character's development. Overall, I think this book rates as one of the true gems of the 19th Century.

In reading any novel you bring a certain amount of yourself and your experiences with others to the table, which helps you to understand the characters you meet. For me it was difficult to comprehend the relationship between Paul and his mother; it is unlike anything I've experienced before, and I can't imagine the feelings he had or how they affected his relationships with his lovers.

Paul and Miriam were a trifle difficult, as well, though I was closer to getting it with them. One fo my problems was that I kept projecting personality characteristics onto Miriam as I grew to know her (sometimes verging on stereotypes), only to understand later that that wasn't who she was, that she too was unlike anyone I had met before, though similar in some respects. I would like to read Lawrence's account of the real person whom Miriam was based on.

The characters in Sons and Lovers are people that will ultimately expand your understanding of human nature, but for me, their motivations were so foreign that I didn't entirely grasp them the first time around. The best I could do was recognize that Lawrence was depicting very real people in a very detailed and compassionate way. I, however, remained out of the loop for most of the book.

The most I gained from Sons and Lovers was a detailed sketch of life in early 20th centurey England. It was interesting to note that, despite the stereotype of the proletariat during the industrial revolution, being a coal miners family did not automatically relegate you to a lifetime of poverty. Not only did the miners make decent enough wages to afford a house, furniture, good food and several pints of beer a week, but for a man (at least) of other talents, the sky was the limit as to how far he could go.

Sons and Lovers is intense, exciting, intriguing: cleverly sculpted scenes with double entenders indicate the sexual tensions that exist between Paul and his mother and with Miriam. This book is also a study in the shifting narrative technique; he is a pioneer and the bridge between the conventional pre-20th century omniscient narrative and authors such as Joyce and Woolf, where the very storyline consists of jumps between the personal emotions and opinions of the various characters of a novel. DH Lawrence is proof that quality literature with a distinct sexual edge CAN be produced. Bravo!

A tour de force! Bravo. It is story of Paul Morel who loves his mother more than himself. Mrs. Morel who is married to a ignorant, illiterate coal miner tries to find comfort, solace and love in her sons, first with Walter and when Walter dies unexpectedly, with Paul, the second son. She lives for him, he for her. She is so possessive of him that she objects his involvement with his first love, Miriam. He then goes after, Clara, a married woman. The book revolves around Paul and these three desperate women, who comfort him, torture him and
he scornfully resiprocates. But he is always faithful to his mother , who he adores. I guess we are all like Paul, in some
ways. Miriam is a haunting character who reverberates in the entire book, so innocent, pure, religious, pious and madly in love with Paul. Clara, on the other hand, very rigid, calculating, demanding and yet very vulnerable. In Paul we see callousness, sacrifice, piety, haughtiness, repentance, a bit of Roskolnikov, a young man whose life is torn between a adoring mother and two lovers. In the end his high spirits and intellegence prevail and he conquers his demons.

Undercover cop Joe Shanahan suspects that Gabrielle Breedlove is somewhat involved in the robbery of an antique painting. When Gabrielle blows his cover, Joe is forced to pose as her boyfriend - for he is convinced that Gabrielle's colleague is the one responsible for the occurrence. A New Age enthusiast, Gabrielle senses sensuous auras underneath Joe's straight-laced and unfriendly facade. So, it must be love - or is it?

This is a romantic tour de force to devour in one sitting. Rachel Gibson is above most of today's bodice-ripper writers. This is a fast-paced and light romantic comedy to indulge in during the dog days of summer. Are you in the bargain for a light summer read? Pick up this wonderful book!

After devouring both "Simply Irresistable" and "Truly Madly Yours", I waited as patiently as possible for Rachel Gibson's next release. It was well worth it! "It Must Be Love" is another romantic treasure that will find itself among the books you'll consider your "keepers". I know for a fact that come the steamy summer days, this will be the re-read I grab for a day at the beach! New Age devotee Gabrielle Breedlove and Officer Joe Shanahan are wonderfully written characters with wit, humor and romance to spare. Ms. Gibson gives us two radically different people (who upon their first meeting, pretty much hate one another) and weaves an interesting story of intruige, mystery and romance that drags us along with the happy couple on the bumpy road to true love. Joe is the lucky cop elected to pose as Gabrielle's boyfriend while the police try to nab her business partner for fencing stolen art. Sparks fly left and right, and you'll find yourself wondering why the cops in your neighborhood never seem as yummy as Joe!Note: Keep a watchful eye and ear out for Joe's pet parrot Sam, who aside from being an avid watcher of Jerry Springer shows and Clint Eastwood films, manages to repeat many choice quotables from his favorite passtime - and interject them into the story at the best possible moments! Applause to Ms.Gibson for another great story! I hope she's busy writing her next release. I CAN'T WAIT!!

Someone stole the Potato King's Monet and it looks as though Gabrielle Breedlove and Kevin Carter, co-owners of the Anomaly, a curio shop, are the prime suspects. Undercover cop Joe Shanahan has been assigned to tail Ms. Breedlove. Little does he realize that after a week of following her, Gabrielle suspects someone is stalking her. During her morning jog, she attacks her stalker with a can of hair spray, knocks him to the ground and levels her antique derringer at him. Needless to say Gabrielle is handcuffed and arrested for assaulting an officer. The prosecuting attorney is willing to drop the assualt charges if Gabrielle will agree to participate in an undercover police investigation. The investigation of her friend and co-owner, Kevin. When she agrees, Joe is assigned to pose as her boyfriend and work as handyman at the curio shop. This is the second book I've read by Ms. Gibson and it is as enjoyable as Truly, Madly Yours. Joe and Gabrielle are hot together. The dialogue is witty and fun. The secondary characters are adorable and Joe's talking parrot, Sam is a hoot. Enjoy!

I am an e-commerce architect mainly dealing with technical part of the e-commerce rather than the business side of it. I heard good things about the authors' class (I belive it is a lot more technical) that is being taught at the SMU in Dallas so I decided to pick up the book thinking it will save me from attending a $5,000 class.

Well, this book is not for those people with technical backgrounds but for those management/business people who doesn't understand the basic concept of what it needs to run succesful e-commerce web sites. If you fit in that category it should be a worthwhile reading I belive. It will give you a good general background info.

I would say this is still better than the most e-commerce books I've read but still not good enough. If you are an engineer/programmer/analyst, then don't bother too much with this book.

As an IT professional, I was a bit (just a bit) disappointed with the content of book. The authors have done a very good job in including almost all points that need to be looked into in an e-commerce environment, but as in all "all-in-one" books, some areas, especially those that fall into the realm of business strategy, are left weak. Even in the first four chapters, where e-commerce strategies and approaches are set out, I felt an inclination towards the technical side of e-commerce. However, the book is very successful in conveying different architectures, together with the pros and cons, to the reader who has the basic knowledge about internet technology. I believe that this is not enough to "build the e-empire", but the book has enough potential to act as an infrastructural guide and a reference for e-commerce deployment projects, especially for project managers and executives.

This book provides an introduction to the various technical and business aspects of e-commerce for the small to medium business owner or manager. The authors begin by stressing the importance of e-commerce and tremendous growth potential for companies that do it right. After a few brief case studies, they delve into some of the more technical aspects, such as how a company can connect its databases to off-the-shelf e-commerce software. They describe what a server does and give an overview of the features of the top-selling server software. They also summarize the possibilities for electronic payments and how they work, as well as the kinds of security that are needed in various parts of an e-commerce network and why. The final chapters in the book provide an in-depth look at online auctions, project deployment, and their own e-commerce program of study.

All in all, the book sticks to the surface of many of the technical issues, so readers without a great deal of technical expertise should have no trouble understanding it. On the other hand, if you are looking for technical details, you may want to go beyond the level of this book.

Sinclair Lewis wrote many novels about flawed, non-heroic, Americans living in the midwestern heartland of the 1920s.
This one is about George Babbit, a real estate broker living in the up-and-coming city of Zenith. Babbit is a community booster, civic club member, and proud family man. He has an electric cigar lighter in his car and a fashionable sleeping porch on his house. Just the sort of citizen beloved by the Chamber of Commerce.
After describing the details of George's happy, respectable, and utterly unexamined existence, Lewis throws wrenches into the works. An old friend goes off-kilter. Bored by evenings at home with his rather bland wife, George starts hanging out with a fast and loose crowd. He tries out "liberal ideas" in the way that he might try out a new suit, and flirts with the idea of dumping his suburban existence and living in the woods.
George comes off as a hapless boob, vaguely aware that things are terribly wrong with his life and society but unable to effectively deal with them.
Some of the issues Lewis addresses are a bit dated, but _Babbit_ remains an interesting look at American society. Of note is the cringe-inducing lot of married women, and the lost world of railway travel.

Sinclair Lewis is generally relegated to second-rate status by the academics - despite the fact that he was America's first Nobel Prize winner for Literature. As Robertson Davies, among others, asserted, Lewis is vastly under-rated and under-read among American novelists. He deserves far more attention - because of his literary gifts as well as his ability to mirror and illuminate the American character. Sinclair Lewis understood very well the forces at work in America in the early to mid part of the 20th century - not all of it positive. Perhaps Lewis' unpopularity in America is in part due to his caricatures of Americans in an unflattering light. No one should consider Lewis in the pantheon of literary immortals - but surely he fits somewhere in the curriculum. Lewis is highly readable, his satire is highly amusing, his prose is intelligent and his observations on the pitfalls and hypocrisy of pursuit of happiness in America are brilliant. His portrayal of Babbitt as the Lost Soul, knowing that he is lost but without the willingness or moral courage to find meaning in his existence, is a moving commentary on middle class America "getting ahead" that continues to be contemporary to subsequent generations.

If you have no respect for hollow persons hungry on power, money, image, in a word conformity, then have them read this. Surely you know a person as such. Simply have them read this. It utterly stultifies conformists and demands of one not to be one.Here, with Sinclair Lewis, there is impressive detail and perhaps more anger then I can say. The man is George F. Babbitt, 46-year old middle-class realtor, immature, greedy, mean, arrogant, silly, unable to think for himself. To put it simply, he has no meaning in his life, nothing to live for. He puts up appearances, exagerates the truth, eats too much, drinks, bullies, shows off. Conformist, hypocrite.

There is no real plot, rather a day-in-the-life-of situation, presenting I would argue a sold believable character. I felt I had met Babbitt hundreds of times before. He even appeared briefly in a dream or two of mine, so real was he in the book. Having read this book I came to resent Capitalism deeply. And yet this book is not merely about provincial politics, it has to do with the hollow living of many people who hold capricious beliefs. The style of the book is, I feel, original, since few authors have the audacity of Lewis to apply capitalism to nearly every paragraph ("It was a master-piece among bedrooms, right out of Cheerful Modern Houses for Medium Incomes.") Beware, however, this novel has enough detail to entail a longer than necessary read. If Babbit himself were to read it, he would not last through the opening chapter, and that, there, is the sad paradox of what Lewis was trying to express.

Few females were writing fiction in those days, but it says a good thing about Great Britain that most of them were British. Mary Ann Evans, the real name of "George Eliot", was an enlightened and socially conscious woman, who wrote a story about the Torvill family, from the standpoint of Maggie, a young girl with a sharp mind, struggling to be herself in a world which was hard for that kind of person. The central theme is perhaps her struggle between family loyalty and independent spirit, as revealed through her relationship with his beloved, but tough, brother. The book is long and evocative, painting with acuteness the social surroundings in which the story develops. And the development intertwines many messages and situations, always revealing Maggie's inner self. One important characteristic of the book is that it is difficult to classify, since it contains features of Romanticism and Realism; social narrative and a glimpse into what psyichological literature would be in the Twentieth century.

This was my first (of four, so far) George Eliot novel. It's also my favorite. Unlike Adam Bede or Silas Marner, I found the characters to be interesting and enjoyable. No, it's not a finely-crafted piece of literature like Middlemarch. And it might be a bit on the melodramatic side. But for some odd reason I found the story to be ultimately quite moving.

Other folks who I gave the book to gave it mixed results. No one disliked it, but most found the "brother-sister" element to be a bit corny. And pardon my sexism, but I thought the book would appeal more to women than men (since the main character is a teenage girl). Not so. This book is definitely "not for women only".

I imagine if you have a sentimental streak through your bones you will probably love this book.

In THE MILL ON THE FLOSS George Eliot provides an insightful and intelligent story depicting rural Victorian society. Set in the parish of St. Ogg's, Maggie and Tom Tulliver endure childhood and young adulthood while experiencing the harsh realities of poverty, devotion, love, and societal reputation. I emphasized greatly with Maggie as I have experienced some of her own lived experiences. I truly loved every chapter of this book and didn't want it to end. It is indeed very rare that I have this type of reaction to a book. Although this book was published during the Victorian era, it's amazing how Eliot's prose flows virtually unobstructed. The reader is given a rare glimpse into rural life during the 19th century and is treated to how strictly structured society was then. I am now a fan of Eliot and look forward to reading her other novels.

Bottom line: THE MILL ON THE FLOSS is an excellent novel. Enjoy!

I read this play first for pleasure and years later for a English composition II class several years ago and as I read some of the reviews before writing and posting this one I can see that a lot of reviewers that came before me didnt understand the play at all. This play took place over a hundred years ago. The choices for women then were limited plus Nora and Tovald lived In Norway whose laws are sgnificantly different from ours due to time and culture. Nora certainly had her faults but sometimes we are just found stuck in roles society gives us. And what would take more courage to remain in a bad role after a moment of self discovery is made or to walk out of that role and try to grow as a person and discover things about yourself on your own? Nora's choices were very limited. It was stated in the play that by walking away from the marriage she would also have to disclaim any rights to her children in Norway. She had no choice but to give up the rights to her children. Neither Nora nor Tovald knew who she was very well. Sometimes it is much better for the children if a marriage ends because it is bad and has no foundation. But Nora is a very strong and determined character. She forged a bank note to save her husbands life when no one else could. She saves and earns money to pay back the loan. But also she is trapped in the facade of her marriage with Tovald who neither respects her or knows who she really is. Lies beget lies and it is out of the lie of the marriage she is in that she is made to conceal what she did to save her husbands life and tell lies herself. Finally after her husband finds out and is so consumed with how it will look to others that he tells her that the marriage for now on will just be a cover for the benefit of the outside world but he can no longer trust her nor shall she be trusted with her children etc a self discovery moment occurs. Nora and Tovald didnt really know each other nor was the marriage real in any meaning of the word. But when something happens and he has a change of heart about Nora in the blink of an eye Nora realizes that the whole marriage was a lie and in a moment of strength and determination she decides to leave the situation to find something better and grow as a person. But here is the rub Tovald said that she can not be trusted after what she did was revealed to him and that she has lost his respect but this is just a circumstance we are made well aware of in the play . Tovald shows us that he never did trust or respect Nora in the first place so what she is rejecting is a fruadulent marriage. She refused to go on living in that lie any longer. And that decision takes more courage , strength and determination than anyone who has never been in that place will know. I say three cheers for Nora for finally waking up and doing what she had to do!

The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen subjects his writing to the intricacies of marriage time and time again. He seems to have an omniscient power and ability to observe the sacrament itself, along with the fictional characters whom he creates to engage in these marital affairs. Such is the case with his classic drama, A Doll's House.

The play raises questions about female self-sacrifice in a male-dominated world. Nora is a "wife and child" to Torvald Helmer, and nothing more. She is his doll, a plaything on display to the world, of little intellectual value and even less utility in his life. Thus it is logical for Helmer to act so shockingly upon his discovery that Nora has managed financial affairs (typically a family responsibility reserved for the patriarch) without so much as his consent or knowledge. What, then, is the play saying about women by allowing Nora to act alone and independently, all the while allowing her to achieve little success in doing so?

Such an apparent doubt by the playwright of the abilities of women is quickly redeemed by Nora's sudden mental fruition, as though she, in the course of a day or so, accomplishes the amount of growing up to which most persons devote years and years. She has developed the intuition and motivation to leave behind everything she has lived for during she and Helmer's eight years of marriage in exchange for an independent life and the much-sought virtue of independent thought. Nora suddenly wishes to be alone in the world, responsible for only her own well-being and success or failure. She is breaking free of her crutches (Helmer, her deceased father, the ill-obtained finances from Krogstad) and is now appetent to walk tall and proud.

Through the marital madness of Helmer and Nora, Ibsen is questioning the roles of both husband and wife, and what happens when one person dominates such a relationship in a manner that is demeaning to the other, regardless of whether such degradation is carried out in a conscious, intended frame of mind. Ibsen is truly a master playwright, and his play A Doll's House is truly a masterpiece.

The Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen wrote an insightful play about marriage and the role of women in Ibsens time (19th century Europe). I am sure that "A dolls house" must have been a shock to the European society when Ibsen first published this book. He criticised the system that demoted women to mere property and this must have been an outrageous statement in a society where women didn't even have the right to vote!

The author himself said that this play was about human rights, not women's rights. While I believe this to be true, I still have no problems understanding why the female rights groups says that "A dolls house" is about women's rights. Whilst this play was written over a hundred years ago, many of the issues about women discussed in "A dolls house" are still applicable today. I think Nora is a *great* role model for a woman of the new millennium!

If you, like me, had to read this as a part of your college literature requirements, give it another try! It is a wonderful book.

This novel is truly both what Conrad subtitles "A Simple Story," and quite a hard nut to crack. Not having read any of Conrad's other, more famous works, I have nothing to compare The Secret Agent to, but I would say that it proved in my own mind that the man is a master of revealing human emotions and motivations. There isn't a single character, however insignifigant they may seem to the story itself, who is not fully developed, from the Assistant Commissioner of Police to Toodles the Secretary to Winnie Verloc, to the intensly creepy "Professor." Nor was this merely description tacked onto the plot; indeed, it took precendence over the plot and became my purpose for continuing to read the book. For the story is simple, and not overly meaninglful.
I will say that Conrad's prose occasionally slowed me down. Once into the middle of a chapter or a conversation I had no problems, but the beginning of each chapter, especially the early ones, was extremely confusing, and had to be suffered through before the books strengths were revealed.

It is amazing how well this terribly story fits into nowadays reality. Terrorism, with all its hideous irrationality and contradictions is masterly depicted by Conrad. And so is human nature. Every single character is treated here as the center of his/her own universe, which results in wonderful psychological creations. From the very Mr Verloc -the secret agent- to an apparently insignificant cabman, all of them are given here the opportunity of redemption, since they are so humanly feeble. The author reaches this goal by arriving at numerous standstills where action seems to be suspended in the air while characters are sunk in deep reflection -or else are aided by Conrad's voice on account of their difficulties to express themselves.

The whole story is encircled in a gloomy atmosphere that turns to be very difficult to escape from. It starts with Mr Verloc's visit to "the embassy" where he is assigned a mission to "justify" his work as secret agent. Being scornfully treated, he finds himself involved in a plot that leads him to take actions he would have never think of...wouldn't he...? Thus, his initial attempt to blow up the Greenwich observatory ends up in a dreadful tragedy whose unspeakable consequences had not been meant by his author.

Although not easy to follow for the non-native reader, which is my case, this appalling and great story is really worthwhile. I am glad I have made the effort.

The funniest, strangest, or worst (depending on how you look at it) thing about Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent" is that it makes light of a situation -- terrorism -- that maybe was not a big deal at the time it was written but nearly a hundred years later has become a fearsome world problem. The terrorist activity described in this novel apparently is based loosely on a real incident, but Conrad avoids specifying any actual political motivations and instead makes his story as basic and general as possible.

The "terrorist" is a most unassuming man named Mr. Verloc. He runs a stationery and news store in London where he lives with his wife Winnie, her mother, and her mildly retarded brother Stevie. For the past eleven years he has been drawing pay from an unspecified foreign Embassy for occasional information on the activities of an anarchist organization, the "local chapter" of which is comprised of a bunch of malcontent duffers whom he has managed to befriend. An official at the Embassy, Mr. Vladimir, thinks Verloc is not very bright and plans to use him as an agent provocateur to get the anarchist organization in trouble. He suggests to Verloc to blow up an unlikely but symbolic target, the Greenwich Observatory; as the source of the prime meridian or zero-degree longitude, it's like the seam of the world. Using a bomb made by another of society's outcasts, a creepy fellow known only as the Professor, Verloc enlists Stevie's help to carry out his scheme.

Fast forward to immediately after the (unsuccessful) bomb blast: Police Chief Inspector Heat is investigating the incident, reconstructing the crime back to its source, and, interestingly enough, competing with his own superior officer. The post-blast events are where the novel really develops unexpectedly, in which we see what kind of tenuous relationship Verloc has with his wife, and the cruel treachery of one of his dishonest comrades. The structure of the novel is remarkable in the way it establishes the chronology of events, sets the pacing, and lets the scenes unfold as naturally as if they were being staged.

I found this novel to be a lot of fun and, despite the serious subject matter and the fact that it was considered quite violent for its time, actually kind of funny. I see it as not an attempt at a spy story or "thriller" but rather an early example of black humor, in which the narrative is filled with wry wit and each character is given a certain comical edge as if Conrad were making subtle fun of the whole business. It is a book that defies expectations, discards formulas, and immerses itself in the tremendous possibilities of the creativity of great literature.

Let me preface this by saying that I love William Gibson. I think he is a phenomenal writer who is wonderfully intelligent and imaginative. In every one of his books, he spins fanciful, thought-provoking yarns that are utterly absorbing and linger long after the last page has been turned.

So if this is true about Virtual Light (and it is), why three stars? Well, unfortunately VL felt to me like Gibson spent a lot more time worrying about some of the really neat ideas in the book (the homeless community on the Golden Gate Bridge, which was wonderfully described, the Costa Rican data havens, the TV Christian cult, etc.) than about the story.

Several of the characters felt quite underdeveloped, a few even unnecessary. This is not uncommon in Sci-Fi, even in Gibson (though his characters are usually very good, and several here are, too), but here it felt like it detracted from the story significantly rather than being a minor nuisance. Additionally, the plot, though interesting, didn't actually go far until the end of the story. Things you might expect to happen in the first 100 pages weren't happening until 250, and the horribly deus ex machina ending occurred so quickly that I could hardly believe the book was over. Not that what Gibson did in the end was bad, necessarily (minus the "divine" intervention that allowed it to happen). It's just that he took 100 pages worth of plot and condensed them into about 10.

Having said all that, though, the book wasn't that bad. I was very absorbed in it while I was reading, and almost all of the ideas in the story were very interesting. However, I'm glad this wasn't the first or even the third Gibson novel I read. I'd recommend you start with Neuromancer or his new one, Pattern Recognition, if you are new to Gibson's writing. If you aren't, this is still a worthwhile read, as long as you can forgive its flaws.

My first William Gibson novel was "Neuromancer," and I keep waiting for him to match it. "Mona Lisa Overdrive" came close. "Virtual Light" does not.

By this point in his career, Gibson was beginning to repeat himself. He had the flawed knight errant, Rydell (think of Case in "Neuromancer"); the tough street-girl, Chevette (Molly in "Neuromancer"); the sinister corporate interests. But this repetition is not the biggest flaw of this book.

Its biggest problem is sloppy construction. The plot runs out of gas; Gibson ties off the story with a flimsy, unsatisfying ending. The story turns on a pair of virtual-reality glasses, but their importance is never convincingly portrayed. Gibson introduces the character of a Japanese grad student,then all but gives up trying to use him in a meaningful way.

The book's virtues? Gibson still keeps me turning the pages, even when he's not at his best. He always brings in startling ideas and visions. His best in "Virtual Light" is the Golden Gate Bridge, closed due to an earthquake and taken over by squatters who now live on it.

Next up for me is "Idoru," and word is Gibson recovered some of his "Neuormancer" form with it. I hope so. "Virtual Light" entertained me, but I wasn't dazzled.

Virtual Light is very much a departure from the world of Neuromancer, showing instead an insidiously closer-to-home look at a possible near future. The grittiness and vivid bleakness are still there, but they make up a different picture: our own society, just a little bit worse. The result is a bit more believable, but neither better nor worse; it's just a slightly different perspective.

Similar in style to Neuromancer's sequels (yet with a bit more substance), the story is actually composed of several stories that meet up throughout the course of the book; each is important. Gibson manages to get a strong feeling of tension going as the characters become more deeply mired in their plight. The story's villain, Loveless, is creepier and more dangerous than expected, adding a sense that the stakes are higher than they seem and that nothing is predictable.

Idoru, set in the same universe as Virtual Light, I'd say is slightly better, but Virtual Light shouldn't be missed. No Gibson fan should pass this up; anyone new to his work should start with Neuromancer and read Virtual Light next.