Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Summer

This made me genuinely very sad. I feel very touched by stories like these — like with Tess of the D'Urbervilles, though (only slightly) less rapey. Young girls who get taken advantage of, who struggle to live in a world where the odds are stacked against them, really tug at my heartstrings.

And I have yet to see an author that is quite so merciless to her heroines as Edith Wharton. The tragedy of the (rather unsatisfying) ending is made more poignant by the fact that Charity wanted so badly to run away, to become a better version of herself — yet was thoroughly tied down, trapped by the society and people she despises and disregards. The comparison with Lily Bart is inevitable, yet I can't help but be softer for Charity, if only because of her youth and inexperience.

Content Warnings

issyd23's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Disappointed Charity didn’t play her cards right and end up with a rich husband 2😭

Content Warnings

hulkytwobelts's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

reverie_and_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

Summer by Edith Wharton - Review (🇬🇧 + 🇩🇪)

New England in the early 20th century - the remotest countryside imaginable. Like »Ethan Frome« this novella is interwoven with landscape descriptions that at the same time evoke a feeling of vastness and oppression.

»Such had been the sole link between North Dormer and literature, a link piously commemorated by the erection of the monument where Charity Rovall, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, sat at her desk under a freckled steel engraving of the deceased author, and wondered if he felt any deader in his grave than she did in his library.«

In this setting young Charity is bored stiff until a nice lad from the city visits his local relatives. The love story between them unfolds and is actually told. This is probably why »Summer« is also called »Hot Ethan Frome«. But which choices did young women have at this time, unmarried and marred by men, when speculation is enough to ruin someone’s reputation?

»Charity had always suspected that the shunned Julia's fate might have its compensations. There were other worse endings that the village knew of, mean, miserable, unconfessed; other lives that went on drearily, without visible change, in the same cramped setting of hypocrisy.«

I turn sick looking at the restrictions of women’s rights these days (USA, Afghanistan, …). This novella is yet another reminder of their importance. Written in 1916, published 1917. How can we go backwards??

I like Whartons writing a lot and will continue reading her backlist. Next: »Bunner Sisters«. But I honestly can’t wait for »Age of Innocence«.

It’s overall a bit depressing and the characters aren’t all likeable. Both are things I can wholly appreciate. For me 4.5 ⭐️
_____

Sommer von Edith Wharton, übersetzt von Benjamin Schwarz

New England im frühen 20. Jahrhundert in einem entlegenen Dorf: ein einfaches Mädchen trifft auf einen gebildeten, städtischen Jungen. Mit Landschaftsbeschreibungen, die gleichermaßen ein Gefühl der Weite wie der Beengtheit auslösen, erzählt Wharton eine immer da gewesene Geschichte über die erste Liebe, das Erwachsenwerden, Zugehörigkeit und Gesellschaftsnormen. Aber was passiert, wenn Gerüchte über unverheiratete junge Frauen ihren Lauf nehmen?

Bei der aktuellen Beschneidung von Frauenrechten (USA, Afghanistan, …) dreht sich mir der Magen um. Dieser Klassiker ist eine von unfassbar vielen Erinnerungen zu ihrer Wichtigkeit. Geschrieben im Jahr 1916, veröffentlicht in 1917. Wie können wir bloß rückwärts gehen??

Ich mag Whartons Erzählstil sehr gerne und werde weitere Bücher von ihr lesen. Als nächstes “Schwestern”, welches ebenfalls Teil meines Sammelbands ist. Insgeheim freue ich mich jedoch am meisten auf “Zeit der Unschuld”.

Insgesamt ist es keine besonders erheiternde Geschichte. Die Charaktere haben Ecken und Kanten. Das sind beides Dinge, die ich sehr mag. 4.5 ⭐️ von mir.

Content Warnings

toffishay's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think of Charity in the same camp as Emma from Jane Austen. She is a female character who is a little rough around the edges, kind of mean and uppity, but she's funny and headstrong and you want to learn more about her as you cheer her on. The exploration of young love and life as a young woman with so few options was engaging and seeing how Charity struggled against her circumstances and worked to understand herself and her world made this a quick read. I found the main romantic relationships problematic and I wouldn't exactly say that Charity got a happy ending. I put the book down and felt as though I had gotten a peek into the life of a young woman and left her wishing her all the best.

Content Warnings

summeryoder's review

Go to review page

reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Content Warnings

kathleennicholson09's review

Go to review page

sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

More...