Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome is set in the fictional New England town of Starkfield, where a visiting engineer tells the story of his encounter with Ethan Frome, a man with a history of thwarted dreams and desires. The accumulated longing of Frome ends in an ironic turn of events. The engineer, staying temporarily in town while he works nearby, is the narrator who tells the story of Frome. His initial impressions are based on his observations of Frome going about his mundane tasks in Starkfield, and something about him catches the eye and curiosity of the visitor, but no one in the town seems interested in revealing many details about the man or his history - or perhaps they are not able to. The narrator ultimately finds himself in the position of staying overnight at Frome's house in order to escape a winter storm, and from there he observes Frome and his private circumstances, which he shares and which triggers other people in town to be more forthcoming with their own knowledge and impressions.
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Community Reviews
This is the next one in the book club I have yet to attend and I finished it!
I chose a Librivox audiobook for this even though I had the actual book because I needed to keep knitting! The version I downloaded was 4 hours and done quite well (version 2).
I am unsure what to say about this one. I am unsure that I really like Wharton's books. I keep listening and reading because there is something about the story that gets me, but in the end, I wonder why I did. Ethan is a not very old man (52, I believe) when an outsider to the town meets him. He was crippled in an accident and we get the whole sad story. Sad. Depressing story. With a sledding accident.
At the time, Frome is about 28 and his wife's cousin comes to live with them because she has no one else. His wife, Zeena, is quite the woman. Suspicious and a hypochondriac. Mattie, her cousin, is young and pretty and she and Ethan take a liking to each other.
I suppose I could have thought this book would be hopeful. I suppose they could have went off and lived happily ever after. But a miserable existence was in their cards. And what a miserable one it is.
I need an uplifting book to read now.
I chose a Librivox audiobook for this even though I had the actual book because I needed to keep knitting! The version I downloaded was 4 hours and done quite well (version 2).
I am unsure what to say about this one. I am unsure that I really like Wharton's books. I keep listening and reading because there is something about the story that gets me, but in the end, I wonder why I did. Ethan is a not very old man (52, I believe) when an outsider to the town meets him. He was crippled in an accident and we get the whole sad story. Sad. Depressing story. With a sledding accident.
At the time, Frome is about 28 and his wife's cousin comes to live with them because she has no one else. His wife, Zeena, is quite the woman. Suspicious and a hypochondriac. Mattie, her cousin, is young and pretty and she and Ethan take a liking to each other.
I suppose I could have thought this book would be hopeful. I suppose they could have went off and lived happily ever after. But a miserable existence was in their cards. And what a miserable one it is.
I need an uplifting book to read now.
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