Ethan Frome (Signet Classics) by Edith Wharton Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ethan Frome (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Bad Book
Summary: 1 Stars
I had to read this for school Sophomore year and it was completely horrible. It was really borig and not good at all. I hated it, and it's not like I just don't like to read. I read all the time and usually like if not at least appriciate all thee books I read, but this one was justall around bad. Read it if you're an Englih teacher, their the only people who seem to like it.Book Review: Best avoided... poorly written, pathetic subject matter...
Summary: 1 Stars
Ethan Frome is one of the "those books" that I will never understand. I suppose if what you desire to try and experience is darkness, despair, and pretty much complete abandonment of what makes the human spirit a thing of beauty then perhaps this is the book for you.
It focuses on characters who choose, when a "sledding accident" occurs, to wallow in the very depths of self-pity. What a wonderful (not) story to read... This book is effectively a "crime against the human spirit" and I find it hard to imagine how any author could pen such bleakness. I suppose that is the "attraction" of this book, those who desire a journey into the lives of people who have really chosen to not live anymore, just to exist and spread as much misery as they can. The fact that people do read this kind of "material" is a concern all to itself.
I've read literally thousands of books in my life, in all genres, and I can say without hesitation that Ethan Frome is one of the worst books I have ever read.
Recommendation: Avoid
Book Review: Bleak but the writing is Superb!
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a profoundly sad, often hopeless look at one man's life and the two women he is involved with. There is nothing in this novel to cheer the heart but the writing is textured and alluring. Certain sentences leap off the page to tug at your heart. Also, the twist at the end really does leave a reader surprised. Life can be like this book sadly enough.Book Review: Boring to Brilliant
Summary: 4 Stars
For an independent reading book this quarter I chose to read Ethan Frome, written by Edith Wharton. This book contains mind wrenching themes, symbols and other literary devices. At first, I wasn't too thrilled reading this book, and was actually disappointed because when I chose to read it I thought it would be a strong, interesting, and mind catching novel. Consternation struck me when the first few chapters put me into a bore. However, I later looked back and felt that I simply didn't understand, and catch the small things, in the early pages, that later had turned into big things.
When I began to read this novel, I was thinking about how I would later rate it if it continued along the path it was on. I thought out of five stars I would give it at most a two. Nevertheless, I now believe this story deserves a three and a half or four. It is not the best story I have read, but by far not the worst. It contains a fine mixture of irony, symbolism, foreshadowing, characterizations, as well as other literary tools. The first example of foreshadowing is that in the beginning of the novel, the narrator describes the main character, Ethan Frome, as a crippled man who suffered in a "smash-up". This foreshadows Ethan Frome's lover's fate, or Mattie Silver. When Frome and Silver go sledding on the hill and hit the elm tree, much to the request of her, she ends of crippled and unable to walk due to the smash-up. I liked how Wharton uses this foreshadow because when I initially read the beginning where it talks of Frome's accident, I wasn't aware of the significance of the author adding that into the book, but now I see the smart choice of doing so. Also, the narrator as a character, and as somewhat of a friend of Ethan Frome, bewildered me as to why he was in the story, and his purpose of getting rides from Frome. Through the middle portion of the story, the narrator remains simply a narrator, but at the end, the narrator returns and describes Frome's current life.
On page 142 of the novel, the character of Mrs. Hale sums up Frome's life in a simple, yet intriguing sentence. In Wharton's Ethan Frome, Mrs. Hale says, "You've had an awful mean time, Ethan Frome" (142). In a small nutshell, she is speaking of the accident that was mentioned earlier, the death of his father, and that of his sick mother, the illness of his wife Zeena, and his life in poverty. Wharton shows extreme intelligence of maintaining Frome as a character in which to sympathize with, to relate to, and to see as a man of that day. At times one would think nothing goes right with him, and other times, one may feel as if they have been in a similar, and frustrating situation, and additional times the reader may feel as if they feel very distant from what's in Frome's life, and passes it off as what someone would have experienced back when the novel takes place, but not in today's society. An example of an occurrence that may make the reader feel distant is when the novel refers to a cutter, or a sleigh, and when Frome is driving in it and is going to bring Silver to the train. That word with that definition is obsolete in today's language, therefore, that is a moment in which a reader may not feel one with Frome, or the novel for that matter. However, the way that the author mixes it up with different feelings toward Frome, and other characters makes it a classic characterization and thinking on her part.
The description throughout the novel was scarce in some parts, and just right in others, and too much in some. On page 48, Edith Wharton shows how she can paint a beautiful picture in the mind of a reader. It says, "They walked on in silence through the blackness of the hemlock-shaded lane...on the farther side of hemlock belt the open country rolled away before them grey and lonely under the stars" (48). This shows the poetic, yet plentiful description of the setting. However, in some parts where the plot dragged for several more pages than it should have, and the description seemed to be in place just for the purpose of adding more, made the particular section boring, and impossible to get through.
In my opinion, the language choices for this book were appropriate. They were because it contained such vocabulary that would have been used back then, such as, cutter, pre-trolley, water-mill, coasting and other words that were customary but not hard at all to decipher. Wharton smartly didn't choose large words for the simple purpose of using large words. She used the correct vocabulary, tone, and language for the purpose of staying true to the setting, but also to be appealing to the reader. One of the most fascinating and strong statements she used was utilized as the last sentence said by Mrs. Hale. She says in Ethan Frome, "If she'd ha' died, Ethan might ha' lived; and the way they are now, I don't see's there's much difference between the Frome's up at the farm and the Frome's down in the graveyard..." (181). This insightful sentence means that by Ethan Frome surviving the accident, and Mattie Silver ending up crippled by it, Ethan Frome would be better off dead and in peace than a living dead. He is that because he is now living with Zeena and Silver, in which he must give much care to both women. This refers to him as a trapped man whose soul will suffer for years to come.
The symbolism in this novel was of few, yet important simple items. For example, when I was reading the part when Frome and Silver are sitting at the table eating a nice dinner by themselves and Zeena's beloved pickle dish is shattered on the floor, I thought that this part of the novel was nonsense, irrelevant and dull. However, I later learned that this is an important piece of the story. The pickle dish that is shattered represents Ethan and Zeena's relationship that is shattered, much to the result of Mattie Silver living with them and becoming the object of Frome's love. The fact that the pickle dish doesn't just break at any random time, but that it was during a dinner between the lovers illustrates even more that this shows the effect of Mattie on Zeena and Ethan.
In closing, the characterization, symbolism, foreshadowing and language described here are just some things that make this novel a brilliant one. As I stated earlier, in the opening chapters of the book, I figured I would not rate this as a first-class novel, but evidentially, my opinion has seemed to change. This book wasn't perfect but the cleverness of Edith Wharton, and how she depicts different character, scenes symbols and other things makes up for a lot of the dragging points during the course of the reading. I feel that if Wharton didn't write this novel a lot of the points and elements she added would have made this novel not as good as it is. Therefore, my rate after finishing this book and finally understanding the mind of Wharton a little better, is four stars.
Book Review: Boring!
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a boring novel about boring people in a boring town doing boring things. No excitement. The main character is very stupid and can't do anything interesting, even if he'd bother to try.