Title of Book: Washington Square
Author: James Henry
Type of Book: Fiction

What did you like best about this book?
I have not many difficulties in reading the book. There is a very simple story and simply a few characters, however, like little ripples in the quiet life that thrown up a lot of my thoughts.
What I appreciate most in the book is the good morality of the heroine, Catherine Sloper. She was simple, honest and humble. She was also good for evil. Her father, Dr. Sloper, was a witty man with a high popularity. In contrast, she had simply a plain and dull countenance and was born without a trace of her mother's beauty. So her father's irony to her began because she lacked the temperament consistent with the first social standard. Even so, she kept constant love and respect to him. She was tolerant enough to do so.
In the end when her lover, Morris left her, she hid her grievance but pretended to be calm. She was so kind-hearted that she could not make her father angry. Such was a docile and pure woman, and I praise her for her morality.
What did you dislike about this book?
On the whole the book is excellent. Unfortunately, the sadness in the story depresses me. Her father never agreed with her love with Morris and she got into the dilemma of choosing between her father and her lover. After a lot of sufferings she resolved to give up his father's legacy to persue love, but was disappointed to find Morris a cheater who just coveted her property. That was a a fatal blow to her, making her keep unmarried from then on. After reading it I feel great sympathy for her poor fate. Why did a pure woman have to bear so much hardship?When I read this book, I feel a little sad about ourselves, who are losing more and more pureness. So I am not willing to see such a pure woman get hurt. Personally I just do not appreciate her unfortune in this tragedy.
Would you tell a friend to read this book? Why?
Of course I would introduce the book to my friends, for the precious characters Catherine had. The pureness, humility and honesty she showed are becoming rarer and rarer in our society. They seem incompatible with the characters a developing society require, like intelligence as well as ration. Though Catherine's pureness caused her to get harmed again and again, it indeed represents the good side of human nature and worths praising. I hope my friends will keep it.

For more reasons, it is easy to get deep understanding of the book because there are many complex and multi-level psychological descriptions of the characters. We can truly feel Catherine's happiness and sorrow through those thorough psychological descriptions.