You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
loved this.
i grumbled to grace in the first third that so much of the conflict in this book is driven by implication and nuance, set by the standards of 19th century american society. these standards are foreign to me and i spent a lot of time flicking back through previous pages, sure i’d missed some dramatic event that had caused a stir, only to confirm that no, a whole chapter’s conflict was driven by someone not lunching with someone else and i hadn’t skipped the page where the drama warranted the reaction by my standards.
i can’t pinpoint when this changed but all of a sudden i was hooked and by the final four chapters i was tearing through it, completely heartbroken and gripped. it’s a tragic story and newland is a tragic character, trapped by convention and standards (and Form and Taste). the passage where he realisesthat all of his wife’s family were conspiring against him was breathtaking, topped only by may’s reveal of her pregnancy .
so much of this book is implied rather than told which was definitely a writing style that took some getting used to. however, contrasting the earlier implications with the frank inter generational conversation between dallas and newland in the final chapter was such a gorgeous end to a gorgeous book. i can’t wait to read more wharton.
wharton’s writing is also perfect - “in reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs”.
also the ending! the stuff that modern day situationships are built on
i grumbled to grace in the first third that so much of the conflict in this book is driven by implication and nuance, set by the standards of 19th century american society. these standards are foreign to me and i spent a lot of time flicking back through previous pages, sure i’d missed some dramatic event that had caused a stir, only to confirm that no, a whole chapter’s conflict was driven by someone not lunching with someone else and i hadn’t skipped the page where the drama warranted the reaction by my standards.
i can’t pinpoint when this changed but all of a sudden i was hooked and by the final four chapters i was tearing through it, completely heartbroken and gripped. it’s a tragic story and newland is a tragic character, trapped by convention and standards (and Form and Taste). the passage where he realises
so much of this book is implied rather than told which was definitely a writing style that took some getting used to. however, contrasting the earlier implications with the frank inter generational conversation between dallas and newland in the final chapter was such a gorgeous end to a gorgeous book. i can’t wait to read more wharton.
wharton’s writing is also perfect - “in reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs”.
also the ending! the stuff that modern day situationships are built on
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Age of Innocence is fantastic! Wharton’s ability to portray the essence of Old New York is uncanny. All the mannerisms, the social stigmas, the dress and the style — she does it so well without it ever seeming excessive. She captures the world in such a way that despite the pitfalls of that world you just want to travel to that time and breath it all in.