A review by applesandshananas
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

3.0

Okay... so Ethan Frome was a really cool book, but I don't really know how to feel. The ending had me speechless. I was mad and happy and frustrated and confused at the same time. I think Edith Wharton did a really good job at developing the main characters, but there were some other characters who I think should've been developed more through the story. I liked how the narrator tells Ethan Frome's story as someone who is kind of on the outside (not being a native to Starkfield). The narrator, who remains nameless, is only in the beginning and the end of the book, and although he is the one telling us of Frome's life, he is not in the story (although Ethan Frome and the narrator make a connection). The story is about Ethan Frome and his love for Mattie Silver, who is actually his wife, Zenobia's, cousin. Mattie is there to take care of Zenobia in her time of sickness (since her care-taker/husband Ethan is busy making $$ for medicine and their farm). Ethan had to take care of Zenobia, but all in all I feel as though Zenobia actually needed someone to take care of (maybe that's why she has a cat?). Ethan was my favorite character because he was so real. He had to take care of everyone it seemed (his mom, dad, Zenobia...) and, like all people, he could not keep on living like that. He needed to escape, which takes us to the last chapter. The last chapter was my favorite... but I don't want to tell too much! I'd recommend this, so... READ IT :)