Ethan Frome (Signet Classics)

THIS BOOK! I can't even fully describe in a review my feelings on this book because they are so intense that i would probably exceed the word limit. I read this book in high school and it is truly so beautiful and well written that when certain things transpired i quite literally threw my book at a wall and broke it in half because of my sheer fury at Edith Wharton who obviously wanted me to feel like a black pit of despair. PRO's : This book will change you as a person. The book is so well written that it will make you a better writer just by having read it. Edith Wharton knows how to write an amazing unconventional love story that you will feel so vividly that you will think you are one of the characters. This is probably one of the greatest books ever written CON's: SPOILER: (it might not have the happiest of endings) This book will make you think that you are skipping around in a beautiful field of daises of joy and laughter and wonderment heading towards happily ever after highway - then out of nowhere because WE LIVE IN A CRUEL CRUEL WORLD you will realize that you are NOT headed to happily ever highway but actually to the darkest pit of despair and agony and horrific pain that you will wonder why did you ever want to read this book in the first place? You will wonder if your whole life is a LIE because nothing ever turns out as it seems. When you are done reading this book you will probably need a glass of wine, or a sedative, or a marathon of your favorite comedy tv show because you will feel like a dark cloud of torment and woe sits over you mocking your once faith in humanity and literature. You will never again trust any book as "safe" because as dear old Edith has taught us, writers love your misery. So overall i would highly recommend this book

This was an excellent audio book. I really liked the reading and it made you feel like you were living in the small, cold town. The ending was a huge bummer , but it was a good read.

I thoroughly enjoy reading this novel. It is one of the few that I have read more than once. It is short, but it is dynamic. One can read it in an afternoon. The main character is such a pitiful ruin of a man. He had so much potential, but was trapped by family obligations and his strong sense of duty to a dying farm and a cold, unfeeling wife. His last chance for love is destroyed when his selfish, bitter wife decides out of jealousy and revenge to send Ethan's true love away. The lovers decide to die together and even that plan goes awry when the sled they are on does not hit the target properly. The outcome is devastating and heartbreaking. Ethan is even more trapped after the accident and his lover becomes worse than his wife ever was. This story is wonderfully written. It is a story within a story and is a must read for anyone. One can not help but get lost in Ms. Wharton's sad tale. Perhaps this particular story is a bit autobiographical if one chooses to read about Ms. Wharton's life. She, too, lost at love. Look for lots of symbolism in the setting and in her descriptions.

thankful i got it on sale here bec it was required at my college, quick nice read

I had to read this book for a class, it was an interesting read!

A novel written at the beginning of last century about a man seen every day in town, looking defeated, discouraged, and with no zest for life. Nobody wants to talk about him, and only mention is made that his life is a tragedy. Finally, facts unfold and we discover that Ethan was married to a dominating woman, Zeeda, and fell in love with Mattie, a relative of Zeeda's who went to live with them to help her because "she could do nothing". The decisions made by each of these 3 characters will play a significant role in this tragedy. It is a tragic romantic story, and although it is so depressing, I enjoyed it because it is very well written.

Although a thoroughly well written and nostalgic book, the story is depressing to the uttermost. The story of a triangular love has the most ironic of endings with many unexpected and sad moments along the way. I tell my students that they need a sharp razor blade when reading the book, so that when the depression overwhelms them, they will not make a jagged cut. Perhaps the author is giving us a glimpse into her own ultimately failed marriage as she records the quest of love by the protagonist who is married to a shrew who is a bitter woman. His awkwardness and slowness to speak to his desire adds to the suspense and to the eventual loss of opportunity. This is a frame story, with a narrator who begins and ends the tale, being a traveler who inquires of the strange man he encountered, the one with the strange, deformed limp. The reader will not so much ENJOY this novel as they will come to APPRECIATE its art. Edith Wharton is a master story teller, but have a DVD of a very funny comedy available to cheer you up when you finish this short novel.

Very nice book. A gift. Nicely wrapped.

NICKEL

I've been loving the Penguin English Library editions.. because they're floppy paperbacks ( so no fear of cracking the spine) with really cute covers. And I've been waiting to buy Ethan Frome in this edition and finally ordered it when the price came down. The book was in great condition, no damages at all and it was delivered on time.

イーディス･ウォートンというと、19世紀後半、20世紀前半のニュー･ヨークにおいてまだ「上流階級」などとくくって呼ばれる社会について著した『エイジ･オブ･イノセンス』、『歓楽の家』や『カスタム･オブ･ザ･カントリー』などが有名である。 本著の舞台は冬のマセチューセッツの田舎。農業を営む寡黙の老人、イーサン･フロームについての比較的短い話である。建築関係の仕事上静かな農村にやってきた語り手がホーソーンの『緋文字』と同様のスタイルでイーサン･フロームの過去を推測を交えて描いてゆくものだ。 舞台も登場人物の階級もいつものウォートンとは異なっているので少々驚かれる方もいらっしゃるかもしれない。しかし、ウォートンの全作品に見られる育ちやそれに伴う運命に必死で立ち向かいながらも最終的には完全に打ち勝つことができない過程が非常によく出ている。やはり作者は場所を移しても変わらないものだなと思う。 アメリカの高校で大半のアメリカ人が読むこの作品、もしよろしければ、「暑いイーサン」と呼ばれる『サマー』と併せてお読みください。

An absorbing story told in sparkling style,a real page turner....what a great writer

Una hermosa novela. Vale la pena leerla.