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2.32k reviews for:

Ethan Frome

Edith Wharton

3.31 AVERAGE


Most depressing f- ing novel ever.

Still upset that my high school English teacher made this sound so good and I ended up reading it and wound up being more disappointed than when I found out that my wardrobe would never take me to Narnia no matter how many times I tried. Needs to be retitled “Letdowns: The Novel of Completely Missed Opportunities to Actually Write a Good Story”.
dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad tense 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
dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I had no idea where this book was taking me in the beginning. I'd like to re-read and be able to see the path from the beginning.

A little too melodramatic for me. 
dark emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read this to satisfy a Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: Read a book you were assigned and hated or did not finish.

Positive Bonnie thought "You hated Faulkner in college and have come to love his work, maybe the same will happen for Ethan Frome." Positive me is feeling mighty disappointed because this is straight up shit. The book is far worse than I remembered. The first half is nothing but unbelievably boring people doing mundane things. Think Big Brother without the possibility of sex. The story is so loaded with symbolism (oh the barren cold!) that I get why high school teachers love it as a teaching tool, but for the common reader it is ridiculous. The second half pivots into nauseating melodrama acted out by people who, until the very moment of DRAMA suffered from clinically flat affect. Suddenly they long for one another in a manner common among 13 year olds and Harlequin heroes and launch themselves into a tragic final act that made me laugh so hard I almost gave the book another star for bringing the (clearly unintentional) fun. You will never look at pairs sledding the same again.