The Golden Bowl
Henry James
Read by Lee Ann Howlett
The Golden Bowl is a 1904 novel by Henry James. Set in England, this complex, intense study of marriage and adultery completes what some critics have called the "major phase" of James' career. The Golden Bowl explores the tangle of interrelationships between a father and daughter and their respective spouses. The novel focuses deeply and almost exclusively on the consciousness of the central characters, with sometimes obsessive detail but also with powerful insight. (Summary by Wikipedia) (22 hr 5 min)
Chapters
| Part 1, Chapter 1 | 36:47 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 1, Chapter 2 | 31:34 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 1, Chapter 3 | 31:28 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 1, Chapter 4 | 43:15 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 1, Chapter 5 | 24:53 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 1, Chapter 6 | 29:26 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 7 | 33:06 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 8 | 19:23 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 9 | 23:20 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 10 | 38:56 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 11 | 32:08 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 12 | 30:40 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 2, Chapter 13 | 25:23 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 14 | 36:06 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 15 | 17:36 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 16 | 20:54 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 17 | 21:05 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 18 | 24:26 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 19 | 23:26 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 20 | 17:56 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 21 | 25:42 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 22 | 24:41 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 23 | 27:29 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 3, Chapter 24 | 42:22 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 25 | 32:18 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 26 | 43:31 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 27 | 38:43 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 28 | 28:59 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 29 | 29:25 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 30 | 37:19 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 31 | 28:54 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 32 | 29:05 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 33 | 48:00 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 4, Chapter 34 | 38:55 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 35 | 41:56 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 36 | 39:00 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 37 | 41:46 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 38 | 35:58 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 39 | 40:52 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 40 | 29:26 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 41 | 31:08 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
| Part 5, Chapter 42 | 28:27 | Read by Lee Ann Howlett |
Reviews
Psychological triumph.
Unknown
If you are new to James you might want to start with A Portrait of a Lady. Here we have a slow moving but fascinating story of a young woman’s emotional and spiritual journey, as she gradually learns how to influence and steer the events and the people in her life. This is a tough book to understand if you can’t give it your full attention. Be prepared to listen to some passages, even some entire chapters over and over again. James’s beautiful writing with long involved sentences often makes you wonder just exactly what he is saying. If you are willing to take the plunge, you will be richly rewarded for your time and effort!
Librivox strikes again
Thirzina
A magnificent classic. Regarding this reading, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that Ms Howlett's largely monotone style sucks all the life out of James' sparkling elliptical phrases. The good news is, if you make a drinking game out of all the times she mispronounces words, both Italian and English, you will soon be too drunk to care.
Very well read.
free LeonardPeltier
Some of the sentences were so long and difficult to interpret, perhaps due to the language of the time, that I wondered if James was playing games while writing this. The whole idea is a clever way to analyze the psychology and emotions of an unusual situation. Quite entertaining and not to be taken too seriously.
A LibriVox Listener
The reader’s clear voice control made it possible for me to (just)bear my exasperation at James‘s interminable sentences, descriptions, analyses, balancing them with my admiration for the brilliant writing, plot control and.the character development of the woman the book is about. Even though his anti-semitism is plain, it’s his best of the half dozen I know so far.
Perfect reafing. Brilliant novel.
JD
HJ nails the American ideology and the insidious creeping poison of patronage that is consuming the democratic idyll. The patronised evoke pity, despite their sins, yet the patrons are the true victims of their own complacent sense of entitlement. A fitting tale for contemporary USA.
Gilly
My first HJ book - which is, I’m sure, quite brilliant- but which I almost ended up ‘cross-eyed’ trying to understand!! I had to spend so much time concentrating on making sense of the complex sentencences I lost the understanding of the story.
Lee Ann Howlett Superb!
zobert
Great story with an amazing reader. Sorry I've finished it. I think she's read more James - I'm off...
IVANO RUGGERI
A Subdued rendition, yet capturing the inner passions of the characters.