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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
I first read EF about 25 years ago in a Wharton seminar and thought it was melodramatic. On this second reading, with more life and learning under my belt, the bleakness of the characters’s lives seems more believable or realistic.
It brought to mind some of Cather’s stories like My Mortal Enemy or those that depict rural poverty and hopelessness.
I reread it now to prepare for reading Wharton’s Summer, which folks at The Mount refer to as “hot Ethan Frome.”
It brought to mind some of Cather’s stories like My Mortal Enemy or those that depict rural poverty and hopelessness.
I reread it now to prepare for reading Wharton’s Summer, which folks at The Mount refer to as “hot Ethan Frome.”
Just in time for winter (sledding!!)
The forbidden is depressing
The forbidden is depressing
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
My theme right now is reading books I should have read when I was in high school, or at least when I was an undergraduate English major. This one was the perfect length to read in three days of waiting in the car line/basketball practice/swim practice, etc. Concise in the best way; the reader doesn't feel shorted on details, background, or depth. Or at least, I didn't.
No me esperaba ese final. Me gustó mucho el libro, pues a pesar de ser una novela corta (o cuento largo), logras empatizar con los personajes, sobre todo con el que le da nombre a la historia.
emotional
medium-paced
This book sat on my shelf for years, and was next in a summer-long effort to attempt to read the books that had been sitting there unread the longest. I'd like to read more Edith Wharton, at least because I enjoyed Ethan Frome but felt there wasn't enough of it.
I loved how she wrote this book, how the sparseness of the language mimicked the sparseness of the landscape and the lives that lived in it. The nearly minimalist story mimicked the little that really occurs in these people's lives while still portraying a sense of despair and helplessness beautifully. The biggest critique I've heard of this book is that it's a good story, but a depressing one. I agree, but as an English major, I thrive on depressing stories.
I understand this is not the typical for Edith Wharton, but all the same, I'd love to read more of her books and more books like Ethan Frome. As I said earlier, I only wish there'd been more to the story. It would have run the risk of becoming a little too despairing, but there was just so much that was vague and left up to question. What exactly happened to Mattie in that crash for instance?
I loved how she wrote this book, how the sparseness of the language mimicked the sparseness of the landscape and the lives that lived in it. The nearly minimalist story mimicked the little that really occurs in these people's lives while still portraying a sense of despair and helplessness beautifully. The biggest critique I've heard of this book is that it's a good story, but a depressing one. I agree, but as an English major, I thrive on depressing stories.
I understand this is not the typical for Edith Wharton, but all the same, I'd love to read more of her books and more books like Ethan Frome. As I said earlier, I only wish there'd been more to the story. It would have run the risk of becoming a little too despairing, but there was just so much that was vague and left up to question. What exactly happened to Mattie in that crash for instance?
I was pretty amazed by this book. Don't know what I was thinking or how I thought it would end but dang.
This book was the start of my self-made winter reading list and wintery it was indeed. Not like a charming, cute kinda winter- but an oppressive, barren one. Yikes. This was probably one of the most bleak and tortured books I’ve read in awhile, but then again, what sums up winter better than “bleak and torturous.”
The writing itself is gorgeous. Edith Wharton is a master of her craft. She pulls a lot of tension out of tiny moments and it makes really pay attention to details. I love her descriptions of New England winter. Ethan and Mattie were both so achingly drawn to each other, yet so restrained by society and their own unwillingness to take action, that the story becomes so enrapturing.
It’s one of those books I’m not sure I totally recommend because it’s so depressing, but I am thinking about adding to my Realist Fiction unit for American Literature (because I just found out two weeks ago that I’m teaching American lit). I am definitely looking forward to reading more Edith Wharton this year!
The writing itself is gorgeous. Edith Wharton is a master of her craft. She pulls a lot of tension out of tiny moments and it makes really pay attention to details. I love her descriptions of New England winter. Ethan and Mattie were both so achingly drawn to each other, yet so restrained by society and their own unwillingness to take action, that the story becomes so enrapturing.
It’s one of those books I’m not sure I totally recommend because it’s so depressing, but I am thinking about adding to my Realist Fiction unit for American Literature (because I just found out two weeks ago that I’m teaching American lit). I am definitely looking forward to reading more Edith Wharton this year!
“They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods.”
“The return to reality was as painful as the return to consciousness after taking an anesthetic”
“The return to reality was as painful as the return to consciousness after taking an anesthetic”