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Ethan Frome
  
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Ethan Frome [Large Print] (Hardcover)

by Edith Wharton (Author) "I HAD THE STORY, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story ..." (more)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)

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From AudioFile

Kids will respond to the audio version of Ethan Frome, in the same way they have responded to the book. First, kids enjoy short fiction, and Marilyn Langbehn's fully voiced reading is short. Also kids like strong feelings, and what is stronger than Ethan's restrained fury at Zeena? Finally, kids are intrigued with irony and view with awe Ethan's twisted fate. Langbehn voices perfectly the carping, invidious Zeena. But in using her voice far below its natural range for Ethan, she weakens his characterization and the ironic effect. This, coupled with careless production editing, prevents full immersion in the text. This is a good audiobook but not a great one. P.E.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

TLS

'Edith Wharton is unique in the intimacy and sureness, not to mention the virile and satiric tone...' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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I HAD THE STORY, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story. Read the first page
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179 Reviews
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3.6 out of 5 stars (179 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars "We shall never be alone again like this...", Aug 3 2007
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Ethan Frome (Paperback)
Edith Wharton filled her novels with a feeling of ruin, passion and restriction. People can fall in love, but rarely do things turn out well.

But but few of even her books can evoke the feeling of "Ethan Frome," whick packs plenty of emotion, vibrancy and regrets into a short novella. While the claustrophobic feeling doesn't suit her writing well, she still spins a beautiful, horrifying story of a man facing a life without hope or joy.

It begins nearly a quarter of a century after the events of the novel, with an unnamed narrator watching middle-aged, crippled Ethan Frome drag himself to the post-office. He becomes interested in Frome's tragic past, and hears out his story.

Ethan Frome once hoped to live an urban, educated life, but ended up trapped in a bleak New England town with a hypochondriac wife, Zeena, whom he didn't love. But then his wife's cousin Mattie arrives, a bright young girl who understands Ethan far better than his wife ever tried to. Unsurprisingly, he begins to fall in love with her, but still feels an obligation to his wife.

But then Zeena threatens to send Mattie away and hire a new housekeeper, threatening the one bright spot in Ethan's dour life. Now Ethan must either rebel against the morals and strictures of his small village, or live out his life lonely. But when he and Mattie try for a third option, their affair ends in tragedy.

Wharton was always at her best when she wrote about society's strictures, morals, and love that defies that. But rather than the opulent backdrop of wealthy New York, here the setting is a bleak, snowy New England town, appropriately named Starkfield. It's a good reflection of Ethan Frome's life, and a good illustration of how the poor can be trapped.

Even when she describes a "ruin of a man" in a cold, distant town, Wharton spins beautiful prose ("the night was so transparent that the white house-fronts between the elms looked gray against the snow") and eloquent symbolism, like the shattered pickle dish. There's only minimal dialogue -- most of what the characters think and feel is kept inside.

Instead she piles on the atmosphere, and increases the tension between the three main characters, as attraction and responsibility pull Ethan in two directions. It all finally climaxes in the disaster hinted at in the first chapter, which is as beautifully written and wistful as it is tragic.

If the book has a flaw, it's the incredibly small cast -- mainly just the main love triangle. Ethan's not a strong or decisive man, but his desperation and loneliness are absolutely heartbreaking, as well as his final fate. Mattie seems more like a symbol of the life he wants that a full-fledged person, and Zeena is annoying and whiny up until the end, when we see a different side of her personality. Not a stereotypical shrew.

"Ethan Frome" is a true tragedy -- as beautifully written as it is, it's still Wharton's description of how a man merely survives instead of living, hopeless and devastated.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Ethan Frome Hell, July 13 2004
By Michelle Owen West "deltasol" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Signet Classics Ethan Frome (Paperback)
That was what my 10th grade class called this novel when we had to wade through it. The plot, like so many of her stories, centers around an impossible love which ends without consummation of any sort. The book drags in a vast white expanse of New England snow and hopelessness. In a time where women are usually the ones "trapped" into marriage, it was interesting to see the tables turned for poor Ethan, but overall the story seemed contrived and predictable with an overly melodramatic end. I feel very lucky that I tried other Edith Wharton novels after reading this one first, as I would have missed out on a fantastic view into the inner workings of high society through the Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth. This is arguably her worst novel and I would advise steering clear. The most interesting aspect any of us in our class could light upon was all the color symbolism. In the white snowy expanse of the environment every color had a meaning even down to the color of Mattie's hair ribbon. Still not enough to justify the time spent unfortunately. Sorry Edith....
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3.0 out of 5 stars Cogent theme, yet boring plot, Jun 23 2004
By Chris Salzer (Gainesville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Signet Classics Ethan Frome (Paperback)
While I appreciated the germane theme of "life is short -- so make the most of it," I did not, however, particularly appreciate the utter despondency and insufferable malaise of Wharton's storyline. The morose setting of a fictitious New England town in the cold winter adds to the gloom and dreariness of an already hopeless milieu engendered by the abject despair of title character Ethan and the incorrigible antagonism of his wife, Zeena.

I didn't know whether to pity Ethan - or to laugh at him. His weak lack of resolve against the insufferably truculent and extremely annoying Zeena as well as his glaring inability to make his own decisions both contribute to make this book to be anything but a "page-turner" -- to put it mildly. Ethan is nothing short of pathetic. I empathize with Mattie to a certain degree, yet the ending (with Mattie) of this short novella is so pathetic that I was left shaking my head -- at how stupid they all are.

I gave it a generous 3 stars for its pertinent message of "hey, don't be like us because we're morons." While I highly enjoyed Wharton's The House of Mirth, this book, in essence, is no House of Mirth - in more ways than one.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Ethan Frome
I believe this is one of if not the worst book ever writen. The stroy goes no where. It is the story of a sad man that does not teach us any thing useful. Read more
Published on Jun 4 2004 by j m

2.0 out of 5 stars CM says: YAWN...-A dull book that fails to interest
For a person who desires excitement, this book fails to give any. Set in the remote countryside of western Massachusetts, Ethan Frome explores the effects of isolation from... Read more
Published on May 25 2004 by Cash Money

1.0 out of 5 stars DONT READ!!!!
This book is the downer of the century. Just when you think something is going to happen BAM!!!! the book is over. I accidently finished the book. Thats pathetic! Read more
Published on April 23 2004 by Michael B. La Torre

3.0 out of 5 stars For the Love of Ethan Frome
In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton , the world is simple, yet confusing. Throughout the book Ethan struggles with the forbidden love for Mattie, while also trying to love and... Read more
Published on Feb 25 2004 by Livia Kingan

4.0 out of 5 stars A Required High School Book That's Actually Good!
I was required to read this book in my sophomore AP English class, and I was reluctant at first but then began to fall in love with this book. Read more
Published on Jan 11 2004 by Jordan Collier

2.0 out of 5 stars Depressing and boring
This book sucks. If this was the first book by Wharton that someone has read, they probably won't read any of her others, which is totalluy wrong, because she is a great author... Read more
Published on Jan 9 2004 by Hawk Key

3.0 out of 5 stars Extremely depressing
The book is so depressing it makes me retch. Though I must admit it has an interesting theme, as well as a good moral, and Wharton's foreshadowing skills are superb. Read more
Published on Jan 9 2004 by Hawk Key

5.0 out of 5 stars Different from other Wharton' s novels, but still very good
Considering Edith Wharton's works, this is virtually an alien among her books. Instead of setting the novel in her beloved and well-known New York, with the wealthy people, the... Read more
Published on Jan 8 2004 by Alysson Oliveira

5.0 out of 5 stars Expertly Written and Structured Tale of Woe
After reading the book Ethan Frome... at the age of thirty, I can't help but wish I had been assigned this one in High School. This was a very thought proking story. Read more
Published on Dec 22 2003 by T. Thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Critique of Ethan Frome
The novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton is a very exciting and eventful story. It tells of a man, Ethan, who is destined to a life of caring for others. Read more
Published on Nov 7 2003 by Mallory

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