Ethan Frome (1911) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 3 stars

“Can't say whether I liked the story more or the writing style. The author has very succinctly laid down a simple tale of hope, passion and despair. In very few words she has painted a beautiful picture of a desolate countryside with a lone farmhouse holding within it some very lonely lives. The three main characters of the book come across as real people with their failings as well as actions seeming quite understandable. The book has a melancholy about it and that is what I am probably going to remember for a long time. Ethan Frome's feelings of love, frustration and ultimately hopelessness are beautifully conveyed. The ironical ending of the book is an added plus.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Such simple, spare storytelling, but so affecting as Wharton describes one man's persistent misfortune. At first glance, the book could almost be dismissed as little more than a melodrama, but Wharton's fine descriptions of the characters and the culture around them elevates her tale to a human tragedy. The unrelenting suffering is all a function of human nature, action, and institutions. There is also the thrill, in a time of email and instant messaging, of reading a book describing the modern world as "the degenerate day of trolley, bicycle, and rural delivery; when communication was easy between the scattered mountain villages, and the bigger towns in the valleys, such as Bettsbridge and Shadd's Falls, had libraries , theaters, and YMCA halls to which the youth of the hills could descend for recreation." ”

• Rated 5 stars

“I've always thought that Ethan Frome was part of the dust heap. It fell into my hands and because it was so short I decided to read it. The introductory note from the author completely turned me off. I hated her writing style and had to force myself to turn to Chapter One. I was rewarded dearly. It's a taut, fatalistic story about the futility of hoping for something better than what life has dealt you. Yeah, it's not a happy ending, but it's a great story and I couldn't put it down. You can read the summary of this novel on my website, The Plot Spot, at: http://theplotspot.net/BookPages/Ethan-Frome/Ethan-Frome.html”

• Rated 3 stars

“An old-fashioned heart-breaking story.”

• Rated 5 stars

“A classic. Every word is necessary. Beautifully written sad story.”

• Rated 0 stars

“Dry, boring and a difficult read.”

• Rated 5 stars

“In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton abandons her usual setting of Old New York in favour of the more rustic backdrop of rural New England. In fact, Ethan's world is almost the complete antithesis of the decadent upper class society depicted in The Age of Innocence. Ethan is a simple, uneducated sawmill owner who struggles just to feed his family and care for his hypochondriac wife, wheras Newland Archer, his counterpart in The Age of Innocence, is a priveleged, self-indulgent young man who wants for nothing. Yet, in spite of their vastly different lifestyles, both men are remarkably similar in some ways. Both are caught up in a doomed love affair and both feel trapped by the rigid codes of behavior that govern their respective societies. Ethan, however, being the more destitute of the two, has far fewer options at his disposal and is forced to follow a darker path. His inner conflict and mental anguish are powerfully evoked by the author, giving the reader a strong sense of empathy for a character who has rightfully become one of the great tragic figures of American literature.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I'm one of the only people in my family to actually enjoy this book. It might have been due to the fact that I had to read it immediately after "The Scarlet Letter" and it was a MUCH easier read in terms of ease of comprehension.

That said, be careful on sleds.”

• Rated 0 stars

“Began reading 5/22/12”