The Golden Bowl by Henry James

After almost two weeks, I finally finished this l-o-n-g novel and realized that it's just a very literary, somewhat pretentious SOAP OPERA. Here is the cast of characters:
Maggie--a very rich, very innocent young American woman, who turns out to be not as clueless as everyone thought her to be; has an unusually strong emotional attachment to her father.
Adam Verver--Maggie's father, who made such a pile of money in America that he can just drift around Europe collecting art; also not as clueless as everyone thought him to be.
The Prince--a member of Italian high nobility, very charming, excitingly handsome, but no longer rich enough to maintain the lifestyle he undoubtedly deserves.
Charlotte--American by birth, but reared in Europe; charming, beautiful, and also in need of money to maintain the high lifestyle.
Mrs. Assingham--a real busybody who finds amusement and fulfillment in "arranging" things for her friends.

Here is the basic plot: The Prince and Charlotte had a love affair, but they parted because they were both poor (relatively) and they both needed to land a rich spouse. Then enters Mrs. Assignham, who knows about the affair but decides to try to make a match between the Prince and her new friend Maggie anyway, because Maggie and her father clearly have the money the Prince needs. The plan works, and Maggie and the Prince are married. But wait, Charlotte comes back into town, and Mrs. Assignham encourages a match between Mr. Verver (Maggie's father, remember) and Charlotte. That plan works, too. So now Charlotte is the mother-in-law of her former lover.

The plot thickens: The two couples (none having to work, of course) hang out together constantly. To make matters worse, Maggie and her father are not really fans of the society whirl and all its obligations, and so they often stay together at home, asking their spouses to represent them at balls, weekend house parties, etc. Can you see trouble brewing here?

The inevitable happens, but, surprisingly, Maggie (who has seemed so innocent and trustful) begins to suspect. Through a Dickens-like coincidence, she finds out about the prior relationship between her husband and Charlotte. What does she do? Does she confront him and demand answers? Does she tell her father about his wife?

Out of consideration for anyone who has not read this book and who might be inclined to do so, I will not reveal the end.

This book does develop a good bit of suspense (What will Maggie do?), but the writing itself is so stylized, so convoluted, that it becomes too time-consuming to be really enjoyable for the modern reader, I think. I did not come upon any new insights about humanity in general; everything was specific to a mode of life that is entirely foreign to me. And the symbolism of the golden bowl was a little thin, although almost too obvious. I would not really recommend this book, except to someone who feels the need to read the "classics." Who knows? Perhaps I am just too "low-brow" to really appreciate its merits.