For a book with magnificent use of time and place, try "The Age of Innocence" (the title itself is, of course, in itself an exercise in irony). I revisited it last year courtesy of the David Horovitch audio and was blown away all over again. By the audio, too, incidentally.
I'll read the other other novellas in this series first. Apparently, they kinda lead into the world of The Age of Innocence – including some cross-overs with recurring characters.
Yeah, at some point I'm probably going to move on to the "Old New York" novellas, too. I have a feeling, though, that after the stunners I started with ("Age of Innocence" and "Ethan Frome"), these may come off just a tad bit flat in comparison -- and your comments on not feeling the atmosphere of 1850s New York sort of underscore that.
Umm. Yes. Liquifaction. Anyway, I'm pretty sure my brain would be mush before any axioms and symbol definitions ever had the chance to (de)liquify it ...
I love, love, love Edith Wharton! I can understand the association with James - they were contemporaries after all, and they both share some stylistic similarities, writing with detached scrutiny about simmering repressed emotions. But, where James seems bloodless to me, his style so detached that his books feel carved from marble, Wharton's shiny world is frayed, and I can see the humanity and the pain of her characters who are trapped in a beautiful, suffocating prison. I loved The Age of Innocence, and The House of Mirth is one of the most painful books I've ever read.
Oh the James aspect was really putting me off. I just can't with James. I really can't.
But I totally get why Wharton has such a fan base.
7 years ago
Another vote for The House of Mirth!
It's one of my favorite books of all time. It is so sad, while at the same time being a scathing commentary regarding class, privilege, and the place of women in American society at the time. I enjoyed Age of Innocence also, but it didn't affect me as much as Lily Bart's situation in HOM.
ETA: a *form* of said process as well.
But I totally get why Wharton has such a fan base.
It's one of my favorite books of all time. It is so sad, while at the same time being a scathing commentary regarding class, privilege, and the place of women in American society at the time. I enjoyed Age of Innocence also, but it didn't affect me as much as Lily Bart's situation in HOM.