Another One Down

I love that picture! Yes, another challenge completed. Yay! The Reading the Author Challenge was a fun one. But it's not quite done yet. First there are a few questions:

Why this particular challenge? After reading some of the biography of Wharton by Hermione Lee, I was planning to read several of her novels anyway. It was just good timing. Having the public challenge kept me focused on the goal that I might have otherwise let slip.

Which author and why? Edith Wharton because I fell in love with her book House of Mirth a few years ago. In a three year run of reading the classics it was my favorite. I am glad to have read more by her. All of her works move me in the same way.

Which books did you read? The Age of Innocence, The Ghost Stories of, and Ethan Frome.

Which would you recommend for someone trying this author for the first time? Of these three I'd say Ethan Frome, though I think Madame de Treymes would be a better starting place, but it's much harder to find.

How would you characterise this author or the books? A critical and accurate view of elite New York life in the early 1900s from a woman who knew first hand. Wharton plays out the struggle between desire and duty and it's not always pretty but it's always moving.

Thanks Verbivore for hosting and congrats to all the other participants.

Review: Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome
by Edith Wharton
99 pages
First sentence:

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

Ethan Frome is the old looking, disfigured owner of a dilapidated farm in Starkfield, Mass. Just the name of the town tells you about his life. While his neighbors all have problems, Ethan is known to have had abundantly more than his fair share in life. As we explore the events leading up to the defining moment in his life there is no turning back until it is all over with. Prepare for the full gamut of emotions.

The first emotion I experienced was curiosity, about what made Ethan Frome into such a shell of a man. Then there was anger at him because he is pursuing a young lady while his wife is home sick. There is disgust at the wife for being such a manipulative shrew. But soon Ethan redeems himself and sees the reality of his situation. After that is sorrow for the hard place he is in. And finally comes the stunned silence. I thought I knew what was coming but Wharton threw in a curve ball; a couple of them actually. When I finally put the book down I wanted to cry on my husband's shoulder, but I overcame that impulse. =)


I absolutely loved this book. This is my third completed selection for the Reading the Author Challenge. I am so glad I read it. It may be my new favorite Wharton. But then again, I still have The Buccaneers to look forward to.

Review:Ghost Stories

The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
304 pages

If you've been reading me for any length of time you already know what a huge fan of Edith Wharton I am. I find her writing to be so easy to rest in. What I mean is that I get so caught up in the story that I forget that I'm actually reading a book. It's not the vividness of the descriptions, though the descriptions are plentiful. It's something clear and unnoticeable about the writing that I find hard to describe. Her ghost stories are not all wonderful and not all in such a flowing and descriptive manner but they are all Wharton's own.

You can Google Wharton or Short Story Sunday to see some of the stories that I reviewed here. But the last few stories didn't get a place of their own; and I'm not likely to get around to them now that the book has been returned to the library. But I did want to tell a little bit about my favorite story.

Miss Mary Pask was a ghost story with a somewhat humorous twist. The protagonist visits the sister of a friend, then remembers that the sister had died. He ends up having a surreal conversation with Miss Pask where she makes comments such as, "I'm so lonely. No one ever visits me since I died." But that's not the twist. I highly recommend you read it for yourself.

Finishing this book marked the end of my RIP II Challenge books. I didn't finish on time but I did finish. Thank you, thank you Carl for all your encouragement and imagination, generosity and passion. It was a lot of fun.

I also get to count this as the second book completed for the Reading the Author Challenge. That's two birds with one stone. Yay for me!

Short Story Sunday

Kerfol

by Edith Wharton

Kerfol is the name of an estate(a castle to be exact) that our nameless protagonist is looking to buy. On a visit to check it out he is greeted by an handful of dogs. They don't bark; they just watch. Upon returning to the village we are told the story of the mystery of the dogs on the estate. We are told about a young, lonely woman married only 3 years and of her overprotective and ultimately cruel husband and how he lashes out when the maiden makes friends with a neighbor. Then we hear of the apparent murder of her husband and her defense in court. It has everything to do with the dogs.

Unhappy women contemplating an affair or entertaining inappropriate male company and the disaster that follows is a common theme is Wharton's stories. Was she trying to convince society or herself? And some innocent coming along to protect the afore mentioned women is also common. Her women are never confirmed to have committed any sins but the husbands are always portrayed as deserving of their fate. Wharton's pain comes through in her tales. I wonder what her husband thought?

The Triumph of Night

by Edith Wharton

Mr. Faxon, a personal secretary traveling to his position, is forgotten at the train station on a snowy winter's night but is given shelter by the young Mr. Frank Rainer, a man threatened by a severe case of tuberculosis. Mr. Rainer is the ward of one of the richest men in the area. But as Faxon watches the interactions between Rainer and his uncle he is disturbed with the vision of a ghost that looks exactly like the uncle but the uncle's usual benevolent face is replaced on the ghost with one of the darkest hatred. When Faxon flees in the night he is followed by disaster.

I really enjoyed this story. First of all, there were no unfaithful wives and abusive husbands. Secondly, it was well-written and well presented to hold on to its mystery to the end. It was long enough to be engaging but easy to get through in a sitting. And no confusing endings.

Short Story Sunday on Monday (again)

Where Their Fire is not Quenched
by May Sinclair

Eva's review had me reading this story. I once held the fear that hell would be to put me back into the worst situation in my life and then to replay it for eternity. Now I know it was not an original idea. Ms. Sinclair puts an interesting spin on the unquenchable fires of hell. In this short story we quickly follow the disappointing love life of Harriet Leigh til her death where the story continues to explain her afterlife experience. And what a chilling thought it is.

I had not heard of May Sinclair before but according to Wikipedia she was a popular and prolific writer. She coined the phrase "stream-of-consciousness writing" in regards to Dorothy Richardson who preferred to think of the technique as interior monologues. I like that phrase better myself.

Afterward
by Edith Wharton

"Oh, there is one, of course, but you'll never know it." This is the opening line in regards to the ghost who inhabits an old house that Mary and Ned Boyne will be buying. They are told that the ghost is not discovered to be a ghost til some time afterward. And that is the case in this story. There is a playful guessing about who the ghost is but once all the facts are known it is without a doubt.

I always find it amusing when a short story has chapter breaks. That tells you it is a longer short story. This one is about 40 pages in length. This allows dimension instead of just simple two-dimensional storytelling. And finally, a Wharton tale that doesn't leave you confused at the end. It is all clearly laid out.

Review:The Age of Innocence

The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton
321 pages
First Sentence:

On a January evening of the early seventies, Christine Nilsson was singing Faust at the Academy of Music in New York.

It's a bit of a boring introduction sentence, especially since the book is neither about Christine Nilsson or the Academy of Music, but Edith Wharton likes to display "pop NY culture" in her novels, perhaps as a way of saying, "Hey, I'm one of one Old NY. I know your trends and tastes." Edith Wharton was born into New York's elite. And she despised it and what it represented.

Our story opens with the formal announcement of the engagement of Newland Archer and his beloved, May Welland, and the introduction of a would be scandal, May's cousin Countess Ellen Olenska's recent fleeing from her dastardly husband. We never find out what exactly her husband has done but it is common knowledge that he is a scoundrel and she had every right to leave to protect herself. While everyone concedes that Ellen is not to blame, society has a hard time accepting her boldness in desiring a divorce(to leave is all right but to divorce is not allowed). As Ellen is completely different than Newland's native Old New York he soon falls madly in love with her. He then must chose between love and duty.

I can't say much about Wharton's ideology without giving away the plot. The ending was a little puzzling at first(as seems to be her trademark) but with a little analysis it becomes a story that is rich with moral guidance. After reading some of Hermione Lee's thick biography about Wharton I can see that she may have been writing these novels to speak to herself as much as society. She struggled in a loveless marriage for many many years before divorcing. There was at least one man to whom she was extremely close to both before the divorce and after. There was also an affair at one point. Edith's life was very unsatisfying and depressing except for her writing.

This was the first book I've completed for the Reading the Author Challenge. It's also on my list for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. I recently purchased Summer and Short Stories by Wharton. I will try to read at least one Wharton book a month.

BTW, the picture at the top is on the cover of my B&N version of The Age of Innocence. I couldn't find a picture of the cover so I looked up the artwork(I love those colors!). I think I have found a new artist to admire. James Tissot's work is full of the beauty of the Victorian age. I will be asking for a book of his artwork for Christmas. It will snuggle nicely next to Leighton, Renoir and Waterhouse.

Review: The Eyes

When I was in 5th grade, my friends conspired to scare the living tar out of me by telling me Bloody Mary stories. If you haven't had the benefit of hearing these tales you can consider yourself very fortunate because they had the effect of scarring me for life. To this day I cannot look at a reflective surface at night, whether it be mirror or the glass in a picture frame, even the chrome faucet in the sink. As a child I would crawl past the mirror between my light switch and the bed. I had nightmares for years about ghosts trying to possess my body, or those of my family. I slept with a nightlight until I was in high school when I realized that the light created more shadows that just scared me more. I even slept with my head under my blanket until I was an adult. These stories indeed left a deep scar.


So you can imagine my fright as I was reading Edith Wharton's short ghost story The Eyes about a man haunted by ghostly eyes glaring at him at night. He cannot figure out why they appear when they do except that they seem to be connected in some way with a choice he has made earlier in the day. All he knows for sure is that they leave him unable to sleep, for days sometimes, until they finally go away.


The night I read the story I went to bed laughing at myself for being such a baby but really my heart was pounding ferociously in my chest during the long, dark walk to my room. Once in bed I felt compelled to look down the long hallway which is lit halfway by a mild green light, then pitch black. "Don't look!" I scolded myself. So I glued my eyes shut and attempted to sleep. The few times I succeeded in falling asleep I was plagued with disturbing dreams that I couldn't remember upon awakening but I would look again toward the black hole down the hall and start the process all over again. It was of course a horrendous way to spend a night, remembering all the anxiety and insecurity of my youth and realizing again that I still had not outgrown this irrational fear.


The Eyes was a creepy story to be sure but in typical Wharton style there is left a huge question mark at the end. "What just happened?" The ending was thoroughly confusing. After several readings of the same section I gave up. I'm beginning to see a pattern in Wharton's ghost stories. Ghosts and apparitions she can deal with. It is the old fear of the unknown or of that which cannot be understood that really chills her blood. Me? I'm just afraid of the ghost.

Short Story Sunday(on Monday)

So my first Short Story Sunday is on a Monday. Late by one day; the story of my life. But to make up for being tardy I will review 2 ghost stories for ya.

The Lady's Maid's Bell
by Edith Wharton

That title feels awkward to my mind. Is that just me? Anyway. It is the tale of Miss Hartley, a lady's maid in a new position for Mrs. Brympton. While there are a few peculiarities, Miss Hartley is satisfied in her new position until she hears that no maid has stayed on at the Brymptons' for more than a couple of weeks. Later that night she is to learn why; the ghost of a former and beloved lady's maid that appears when the bell is wrung. What happens in the end may leave you a bit dumbfounded.

There is a climax at the end of the story but it can leave some in a state of confusion as to what exactly took place. I was not confused but neither was I scared. What I was was enthralled by the writing. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you will know my unending love for Edith Wharton. She might be classed as my favorite author. If not favorite then at least in the Top 3. She gives just enough detail to capture your imagination without causing a lull in the storytelling. You feel like you have enough information to draw the correct conclusions about a character's personality. Of course, her characters in her shorter stories will not have as much depth as in her novels but that is to be expected. It didn't interfere with this story. It may not be for everyone but I was satisfied.

To Be Taken with a Grain of Salt
by Charles Dickens

I like to visit the local Salvation Army about once a week to scour the book aisle. I rarely come home empty handed. This week's visit proved productive as usual. I picked up a copy of Great Ghost Stories, a thin Dover Thrift Edition with a variety of authors. Dickens being another of my favorites, and the only name I recognized, I started with his story first.

The protagonist is telling the story of the trial of a murderer that he(said protagonist) is the Foreman on the jury for(talk about awkward!). He is not telling about the trial as much as explaining the mysterious ghostly appearances that lead to the verdict.

I was glad this story was short because the details would have been overwhelming in a longer format. He gives a piece of useful(or unuseful) information and then qualifies it. He does this for just about every bit of information he shares. It makes it a bit tedious. But in the end there is a shiver-down-the-spine moment that makes it worth the 10 minutes it takes to get to the end.

This is a fun addition to the regular challenge for the RIP II Challenge. I do like short stories, though I don't read them all that often. They are great for reading while the children are up and running around as I don't need too much time to get through them. And this also works on fulfilling a read for the Reading the Author Challenge, Edith Wharton being my author of choice. So far, so good!

Reading the Author Challenge

And I was just commenting over at Trish's Reading Nook that I would not be joining any more challenges because 3 is enough till the end of the year. But then I read about this challenge.

– beginning in September and lasting through December. Read as many books by
a single author as you like, but to make things somewhat official I’ll put the
minimum at 3.

Actually this fits in perfectly with a personal challenge I had set for myself, that is to read Edith Wharton. I have been reading the biography by Hermione Lee and planned to read everything I could find of Mrs. Wharton's so this isn't adding anything new to my plate, just making a public commitment to something I had already promised myself to do. So here are my book choices:

• Age of Innocence
• The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
• Ethan Frome
• The Buccaneers