Book Review: The House of Mirth (Wharton)
Have I read this before: No.
Review: Of the characters I’ve disliked in the books on this book list, I believe all of them so far have been dudes. But now we can break that pattern and throw Lily Bart on the “obnoxious as hell” list. Like, I get that that’s kind of the point of her and that she acts as a symbol of the flaws with social standing, moral corruption, etc. But ugh. She was hard to read about.
Favorite Part: With the above in mind, it was nice to see her experience the consequences of her actions over and over, at least until it all builds up and becomes too much for her. Then, of course, it’s sad.
Rating: 5/10
Book Review: Ethan Frome (Wharton)
It’s Ethan Frome time!
[There are spoilers ahead; avert thine eyes if you haven’t read this book yet and you don’t want me to ruin it for you]
Have I read this before: Indeed! I believe I read this in 10th grade advanced English class. We had an option of reading this or some other book that wasn’t on my list, so I chose this.
Review: This book is obscenely heartbreaking. It’s not heartbreaking in the same way that The Good Earth is or The Jungle is…that is, it’s not a “my farm/job/livelihood/luck failed me repeatedly and now my family is in dire straights and everyone is sick and everything is horrible and we’re all about to starve” type of heartbreaking. It’s more of the “I love someone but I’m stuck with this other person instead and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it even though I’m desperate to be with the one I love the only way out is death hey yeah death let’s take that route.” This story has really stuck with me ever since I first read it.
Favorite part: It’s hard to pick a favorite part because it’s such a short little story. I’d have to say either the way Wharton portrays the unspoken communication between Ethan and Mattie or the hints about the sledding “accident” scattered sparsely throughout. It’s mentioned just enough that you get a little suspicious, but it still hits you like a train at the end.
Or like a tree.
(God I’m a bad person.)
Rating: 8.5/10
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