How Long to Read Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill

How Long Does it Take to Read Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill?

It takes the average reader 11 hours and 30 minutes to read Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill by James Merrill

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Following the widely celebrated Collected Poems, this second volume in the series of James Merrill’s works brings us Merrill as novelist and playwright. Just as in his poems we come upon prose pieces, dramatic dialogue, and even a short play in verse, in his novels and plays we find the rhythms of his poetry reflected and given new form. Merrill’s first novel, The Seraglio, is a daring roman à clef derived in large part from his early life as the cosmopolitan son of Charles Merrill, one of America’s most famous twentieth-century financiers. Written in a highly refined prose that owes something to Henry James, the book is a compelling portrait of the luxury and treachery swirling around the Southampton beach house of an irrepressible family patriarch, with his many mistresses and ex-mistresses in attendance, told from the point of view of his lively but troubled son. At the other end of the narrative spectrum we find The (Diblos) Notebook, an experimental novel in which a young American’s adventures on a Greek island are deconstructed and assembled into a tentative fiction before our eyes. Merrill’s plays, including the one-act comedy of manners The Bait and the Chekhovian The Immortal Husband—a reinvention of the myth of Tithonus, who was granted eternal life but not eternal youth—are also fresh turns on his characteristic themes: home and travel, reality and artifice, simplicity and complication. And, for the first time in print, here is Merrill’s short play The Birthday, a fledgling effort written in 1947 and a fascinating window onto the concern with spiritual communication and the otherwordly that would later blossom into his great epic, The Changing Light at Sandover.

How long is Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill?

Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill by James Merrill is 690 pages long, and a total of 172,500 words.

This makes it 233% the length of the average book. It also has 211% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 15 hours and 42 minutes to read Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill aloud.

What Reading Level is Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill?

Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill?

Collected Novels and Plays of James Merrill by James Merrill is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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