Book Club @ MCL

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Ethan Frome...Edith Wharton's Man of Despair.

Well, I am tempted to say that nothing good happens in this novella, but in saying so I would overlook the fact that true love does happen and makes for a fleeting happiness. That happiness is very, very short-lived.
I read this book when I was young and did not think too much of it. Now that I am older (much), I found it a difficult read. Not because Wharton's prose is murky or dusty. On the contrary. Her writing is smooth, swift and haunting. Responsibility, purpose and the burdens of life choices are only too real when we read this later in life. Sigh.
New England in winter is grand and beautiful. Wharton is at her best describing the land and the people.
Let's see what the club members have to say...stay tuned.