Customer Reviews

The Short History of a Prince

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

After finishing The Short History of a Prince, I have been ruined for other novels for a long time. I still feel like I'm living Walter's life with him. I felt close to almost all of the characters. Jane Hamilton worked magic with that book.

I am usually the type of person who stops reading novels if they are not up to my standards, or if they bore me. I could not put this book down. I lost sleep over it.

For many of you who felt that the characters were not real enough for you, I have to say that I suspect that your comments and attitudes reveal your homophobia. I mean, if we all read literature with characters who were similar to ourselves, we wouldn't have much to read at all! It made my heart soar to experience the "coming of age" of a homosexual character, and to read about love between partners of the same sex.

My recommendation to everybody is to open your minds a bit, and allow yourselves to experience beauty.

While this is a somewhat unorthodox basis for a review, I'd like to state that I went to high school with Jane Hamilton and knew the people who were the basis for Walter, Mitch, and Susan. I respect readers who found the book a departure from Hamilton's technique and usual settings (3rd person, male-centered, suburban rather than 1st person, female-centered, rural) and who found Walter a difficult character to like. At the same time, less in the spirit of a review than in clarification, I can say that the man who was the basis for Walter was charming and vulnerable, while also being self-centered, and he did talk exactly the way Hamilton has him talk in the novel. Further, the assumption that Hamilton doesn't understand the nuances of a gay man does seem provincial to me--should Flaubert not have written "Madame Bovary," then? And those readers who use their own heterosexuality as an excuse for not liking the book--well, that reflects your own limitations more than Hamilton's or the book's. I found this book more of a struggle than her earlier ones--domestic violence and child death/abuse are more engaging topics for the majority of readers, weened on Oprah and Sally Jessy, et. al., than the struggles of a gay boy in search of self. But it finally is worth the effort--and I think Hamilton's enormous insight and empathy achieves a depth of feeling for Walter lacking in most Gen-X fiction by gay men I have read. And I will say this--I know one young man this book gave enough courage and self-reflection to to permit him to come out to himself and those around him. Does this make it great literature? Of course not--but it should make us think before we simply dismiss it because it doesn't immediately connect with the lives of middle-class housewives who all too willingly want only fiction that allows them to see themselves as victims or fairy tale heroines.

Unsuual characters, the kind you meet everday but never really think about, populate this amazing slice-of-life novel. For the reviewers who didn't get the point, I say "Look around you. Look at the people you think you understand. What stories do they hide deep in their souls?"

It's not just Hamilton's study of a gay man that wins my respect but her dead-on look at a woman (Susan) who can be cruel and self-centered while she is a loving a true friend. Or the neighbor who is a health-food freak and a chain smoker. Or the bi-sexual lover (Mitch) who can enter a gay relationship and then suddenly drop it like yesterday's newspaper. All of this is so real, so true to the way people really are.

This is a marvelously sensitive book full of humor and little truths that will have you nodding your head as you read.

Without question, Jane Hamilton is one of my favorite authors (who could not be moved by "The Book of Ruth"?), but in "A Short History of a Prince", Hamilton rises to a new level of exquisite characterization. Hamilton's graceful lyricism is present as always, rendering the book a charming read whether or not you enjoy the plot - but it is nearly impossible not to do so. Anyone who has every participated in the arts, or at least coddled an impossible dream, can relate to the plight of Walter. In a world in which, tawdry, but uplifting "feel good" books crowd the shelves it is refreshing to read of one who struggles with a dream, fails to achieve it in the physical sense, and yet triumphs internally. Hamilton gently reminds us that true grace lies in humanity and true achievement in how we deal with others. It is a novel about subjects far deeper than dance and far more human than death. It is a novel about life.

Hamilton is a master of characterization. Ruth Grey and Matt (of "The Book of Ruth") are prime examples. But it is the character of Walter that stands out in my mind. He is one of the most fulfilling gay characters I've encountered in literature, proving once and for all, that literature with a gay central character, need not be soley concerned with sex and relationships. Instead, Walter is a complex, lovable and slightly pathetic (in a good way, mind you) man who must deal with the real life tragedies of death in the family and unfulfilled dreams.

I enjoyed "A Short History of a Prince" far more than "The Book of Ruth" for several reasons. Partly because it was slightly easier to digest in its general lack of violence and dismal poverty, but mostly because I found Walter to be a character closer to my heart and self. I am not a gay man, but I felt more kinship with Walter than with Ruth. He is less specific than Ruth, more middle class, artistic and introspective. In short, he is me.

I had the privelige of meeting Jane Hamilton at my school in April and hearing her read from the book she will be releasing this fall. At that point I hadn't read anything of hers and my friends said this was the most disappointing of her work, but I am amazed by it. How brave of her to write from this point of view. She has the skill of pointing out base truths about people, and her skill in developing characters just as much as they need to be developed shows that she knows where to hold back. I always found myself wanting to see more of Daniel, but relegating him to the back shows that the story is about Walter and how he deals with the people and circumstances around him. A lesser writer would take advantage of the opportunity to dramatize Daniel's illness and suffering. Hamilton's diction is at sometimes thick, but always humorous and true. Altogether, this book follows an intriging path through the 70's and the 90's that knows where to start and stop with character development, plot, and time.

Without question, Jane Hamilton is one of my favorite authors (who could not be moved by "The Book of Ruth"?), but in "A Short History of a Prince", Hamilton rises to a new level of exquisite characterization. Hamilton's graceful lyricism is present as always, rendering the book a charming read whether or not you enjoy the plot - but it is nearly impossible not to do so. Anyone who has every participated in the arts, or at least coddled an impossible dream, can relate to the plight of Walter. In a world in which, tawdry, but uplifting "feel good" books crowd the shelves it is refreshing to read of one who struggles with a dream, fails to achieve it in the physical sense, and yet triumphs internally. Hamilton gently reminds us that true grace lies in humanity and true achievement in how we deal with others. It is a novel about subjects far deeper than dance and far more human than death. It is a novel about life.

Hamilton is a master of characterization. Ruth Grey and Matt (of "The Book of Ruth") are prime examples. But it is the character of Walter that stands out in my mind. He is one of the most fulfilling gay characters I've encountered in literature, proving once and for all, that literature with a gay central character need not be solely concerned with sex and relationships. Instead, Walter is a complex, lovable and slightly pathetic (in a good way, mind you) man who must deal with the real life tragedies of death in the family and unfulfilled dreams.

I enjoyed "A Short History of a Prince" far more than "The Book of Ruth" for several reasons. Partly because it was slightly easier to digest in its general lack of violence and dismal poverty, but mostly because I found Walter to be a character closer to my heart and self. I am not a gay man, but I felt more kinship with Walter than with Ruth. He is less specific than Ruth, more middle class, artistic and introspective. In short, he is me.

Jane Hamilton is one of the top American authors out there today. Hamilton achieved both critical and commercial success with her first two novels "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World." Much to her credit, she does not rest on her laurels and re-hash the characters or plot in her third outing, "The Short History of a Prince." In "Ruth," Hamilton's narrative reads almost as a thriller reaching a shocking conclusion while in "Map" a tragic event early on sends readers on a downward spiral through the rest of the novel. While there is plenty of angst in "Prince," it is a much more quiet and reflective novel. The protagonist tells his story during a life-altering year as a teenager as well as a grown man in the present day. That too is a change from Hamilton's previous work. Perhaps tagged as a "woman's" writer to date, Hamilton for the first time has a male lead character in Walter McCloud.

There is a lot to savor in "Prince." It is a coming-of-age story as Walter must cope with a death in the family while coming to grips with his own homosexuality. While Walter may be one of the most well-realized gay characters put into print, one small quibble is that he seems to fall into so many stereotypes (ballet dancer, opera/theater lover, works in a dollhouse shop, literature teacher). Also, "Prince" asks the age-old question "Can one ever go home again?" as Walter returns to his Midwest roots as an adult. The novel is not only about the struggle to let go of the past, but perhaps even more painfully so letting go of the dreams of the future.

If you are looking for well-developed characters and beautiful prose, there is no need to go any further than a Jane Hamilton novel.

I was very wary of this book because so many of the reviews were negative. I decided to read it only because I found it cheap in a second hand store. I'm glad I did. I thought it a much better book than A Map of the World (the only other of hers I have read). The lead character is, at times, detached and lacking in warmth but the book, overall, was beautiful, thought provoking and incredibly sad. There is a line where Walter says he feels 'erased' by society. You don't have to be gay to understand that! At the end of the book he says something like "I am among you", and I thought, "Yes, you are!" For those who read for more than entertainment, this book comes highly recommended.

Walter McCloud is boy who has had to suffer the suppression and unjust treatment of living in a small community. Then why does he move to a small community to live when he's older? In an age where urbanisation seems to be the only safe-haven for gay men Walter is trying to achieve a normalcy amidst a world that has pre-labelled him abnormal. But it is not a gay-story (though that is a big part of the story). It is a tale of a young man trying to find his place in society and in his own family. Small town life is a major theme of Ms Hamilton's. What I think she is trying to get at is a desire of people in society today to achieve a state of normalcy that is almost a parody of what the ideal notion of normal is. It's trying to act and live in a way that is domestic and provincial in the face of a world that is continually pushing toward globalisation.

The touching thing about Walter is that he has experienced many feelings that so many of us can relate to. The scenes between he and his brother dying of Hodgkin's Disease are some of the most intimate because the feelings portrayed are layered with hate and love. Also his secret desire for his childhood best friend is moving for anyone who has experience unrequited love. Sometimes the movement in time and range of characters will threaten to make you lose your place in the narrative, but the relationships Walter shares with others strike me a truly complex in his desire to leave them and become them simultaneously.

this book is one of the best books i have ever read. and not just because jane hamilton is a great writer. i read this book while a lot of things were going on around me and it helped me through. i know it sounds cheezy, but it really helped me. it helped me accept who i am, and who i want to be. this book literally saved my life.