Start-with-this recommendations

I read Daisy Miller recently. I'd never finished anything by Henry James before; this was a good, short novel that felt rewarding. I'm tempted to recommend Daisy Miller as a good first Henry James book to read, but upon reflection, (i) I don't understand Henry James nearly well enough to say that and (ii) the whole practice of recommending artistic entry points seems confusing and largely unsuccessful. Here's a partial list of reasons why people tell each other to start with some book of an author, episode of a TV show, film of a director, and so on: It's particularly good. It's good but not too good, so that you can optimize your first-experience enjoyment of whatever is best. It has elements distinctive to the show, creator, art form, or whatever else. It doesn't have too many such distinctive elements. It has obviously pleasant elements, so that not too much of what's good about it is of the "you have to really work to appreciate it" sort. It's short. It requires a smaller…