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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
I liked this a lot, I think. I liked the images of the hard landscape, and the voices of the outwardly simple characters. I have to say that until the very end, I wasn't really all that sure that Mattie even loved Ethan. I was very troubled by the ending. A) If you're going to do it, shouldn't you pick something a little more certain (you have to read it to know what I'm talking about)? and B) Was it Ethan himself that soured-up these women?
Oh man, I am very conflicted. Like I said, I think I liked this.
Oh man, I am very conflicted. Like I said, I think I liked this.
Okay, I've managed to avoid this book forever, I only knew that a lot of people hate the ending. And I was surprised I never had to read this in school because I always hated everything I ever had to read in school and this would have been yet another book I was supposed to have Profound Thoughts about but in fact loathed, because I'm sure I would have loathed it. I quite hated it now. It was utterly depressing in every way. Was this beautifully written? Why yes, yes it was, that's why I gave it an extra star. But it made me very crabby.
I know it’s a classic and the author can write but the best part of this book was it being over. Wharton can write tight prose which is appreciated to make this book shorter but the whole plot was miserable. Honestly I wished mattie or Ethan would enter a villain era and take out the insufferable zeena who only cares about a pickle dish.
The two stars is averaging out a 4 for the overall quality of the writing and 1 for the pointless, relentless torturing of the characters. This is a romance for people who think the ending of Romeo & Juliet is too painless and tidy.
Compulsory reading for uni, i wasn’t expecting anything but by the end of the book i was actually impressed at how much i liked it ?
But quick question, isn’t it weird they’re all cousins in some way ???
But quick question, isn’t it weird they’re all cousins in some way ???
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
takes the aspect of winter dread (where you are surrounded by all things dying and succumbing) and milks it into a neat little bottle that is thrown at an elm tree.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
What. Is. This. Book. I'm going to be honest and just put it out that having to read this book for school really ruined the quality of my enjoyment and the book. However, the plot is genuinely just messed up. Quick synopsis: man in snowy town cheats on his wife who is also his cousin with the housemaid who also happens to be his cousin too. Then, he tries to kill himself with his cousin housemaid by sledding into a tree. However, the attempt is unsuccessful so he ends up depressed, and the housemaid becomes paralyzed. In addition, throughout the entire book, the cousin wife is definitely faking her own chronic illness. Like... what? The middle was slow; the ending had potential; but it was just an annoying book that I had to skim for English 220.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
4/5 Stars
I found the structure of this novel to be very efficient. Learning of Frome's misfortune from an outside party gives more depth to a straight forward tale. It reiterates the affect a community holds over stories: how they are told and how they are twisted. It adds specifically to the mysteries of humanity and how we view people from afar. Not to mention the added realization that not all is what it seems.
The dynamic between the three main characters, Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena, lets this story thrive. The questionably ill Zeena is harsh, unforgiving, and selfish while Mattie is kind, helpful, and naïve. Ethan sits in the middle of it all, torn between appeasing his wife and the desire of happiness with her cousin Mattie. The war within the soul, trying to decide what is the right course of action, strikes right at the heart of moral sensibilities. It's not an easy question to answer.
Full review here: https://hopefulreads.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/classic-of-the-month-ethan-frome-by-edith-wharton/
I found the structure of this novel to be very efficient. Learning of Frome's misfortune from an outside party gives more depth to a straight forward tale. It reiterates the affect a community holds over stories: how they are told and how they are twisted. It adds specifically to the mysteries of humanity and how we view people from afar. Not to mention the added realization that not all is what it seems.
The dynamic between the three main characters, Ethan, Mattie, and Zeena, lets this story thrive. The questionably ill Zeena is harsh, unforgiving, and selfish while Mattie is kind, helpful, and naïve. Ethan sits in the middle of it all, torn between appeasing his wife and the desire of happiness with her cousin Mattie. The war within the soul, trying to decide what is the right course of action, strikes right at the heart of moral sensibilities. It's not an easy question to answer.
Full review here: https://hopefulreads.wordpress.com/2015/11/10/classic-of-the-month-ethan-frome-by-edith-wharton/