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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
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:
No
It felt quite slow in the beginning, but I'm glad I stuck with it because this book really made sense and became really powerful towards the end. It felt so sad to see a girl struggle so much for love and for her own sense of agency, only for society to pull her back within its grasp every time. I suppose, in the end, she wasn't really in love with Harney, but with how being with him made her feel free. Her whole life, she had been made to feel grateful to a man, but he oppressed her, and so did the very landscape he'd brought her to (the mountain looming ominously throughout the novel). And ugh! the final line! the futility of all her struggles! How she lived in a half-alive state, all youthful independence taken from her! I despair for charity, and how society failed her in this. And all by men! If you look closely, it is men that oppressed her this entire time! She had no mother figure; the doctor almost was, but in the end demanded money, and her actual mother died moments before a long-awaited meeting, right when she most needed guidance. So it was she was forced back into the grasp of men again. Having to marry a man who should have been a father to her! A sad tale with endless possibilities for feminist analyses. Definitely worth sticking through to the end.
This is a weird friggin' novel. To be fair, Wharton wrote some 43 books in her lifetime (seriously, underachiever). But this one seems to fail what it sets out to do. It's worth your read, for sure- her prose could make the financial records interesting, but the story seems to crumble in on itself, and at the end, you have your head crooked to the side thinking "wha?"
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
“She had given him all she had - but what was it compared to the other gifts life held for him? She understood now the case of girls like herself to whom this kind of thing happened. They gave all they had, but their all was not enough; it could not buy more than a few moments."
My first Wharton and I'm eager to try more - loved the mirroring of the passing of seasons with Charity's story. Probably one of the best 'summer'-centric books I've read, everything was so evocative and brilliant. 4.5 stars rounded up, via audiobook.
My first Wharton and I'm eager to try more - loved the mirroring of the passing of seasons with Charity's story. Probably one of the best 'summer'-centric books I've read, everything was so evocative and brilliant. 4.5 stars rounded up, via audiobook.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm not even sure how to rate this book... This was my first time reading Edith Wharton, and Summer was so not what I expected from an early 20th century author!
First of all, the way Wharton describes girlhood is somehow still extremely relevant. She puts into words those small, fleeting moments that I dare say many girls have felt growing up, but have perhaps felt too inconsequential to even try to verbalise them.
Secondly, Charity is so sassy. She is not the Jane Austen-y meek, internalised main character (yes, I know, wildly different time periods too), submissive to all men around her. No, she stands up to her 'father figure', she speaks her mind, and for goodness' sake, she just wanted to have a hot (and weird) girl summer!
Thirdly, the nature descriptions... *chef's kiss*
The story made me feel such despair that only classic literature can cause, the depth of the melancholy being built one beautiful sentence at a time.
First of all, the way Wharton describes girlhood is somehow still extremely relevant. She puts into words those small, fleeting moments that I dare say many girls have felt growing up, but have perhaps felt too inconsequential to even try to verbalise them.
Secondly, Charity is so sassy. She is not the Jane Austen-y meek, internalised main character (yes, I know, wildly different time periods too), submissive to all men around her. No, she stands up to her 'father figure', she speaks her mind, and for goodness' sake, she just wanted to have a hot (and weird) girl summer!
Thirdly, the nature descriptions... *chef's kiss*
The story made me feel such despair that only classic literature can cause, the depth of the melancholy being built one beautiful sentence at a time.
sad
slow-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