Ethan Frome

by

mass market paperback, 176 pages

English language

Published June 15, 2000 by Signet Classics.

ISBN:
978-0-451-52766-0
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OCLC Number:
440817087

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5 stars (1 review)

A marked departure from Edith Wharton's usual ironic contemplation of the fashionable New York society to which she herself belonged, Ethan Frome is a sharply etched portrait of the simple inhabitants of a nineteenth-century New England village. The protagonist, Ethan Frome, is a man tormented by passionate love for his ailing wife's young cousin. trapped by the bonds of marriage and the fear of public condemnation, he is ultimately destroyed by that which offers him the greatest chance at happiness.

Like The House of Mirth and many of Edith Wharton's other novels, Ethan Frome centers on the power of local convention to smother the growth of the individual. Written with stark simplicity, this powerful and tragic novel has long been considered one of Wharton's greatest works.

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reviewed Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Review of 'Ethan Frome' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I expected to like this book because I loved the 1993 film with Liam Neeson and Patricia Arquette. The story a study of marriage and human nature with both great joy and great sadness.

Wharton is known for her commentaries on society. This book is a good starting place if you're looking to explore her writing, because it's not very long. She is fairly wordy with descriptions of feelings/emotions, so it's worth spending some time and not rushing through it, so you get to savor her beautiful prose. There are also some audiobook versions which are around 4 hours for the unabridged book.