by Edith Wharton. 1920. Winner of the 1921 Pulitzer Prize.
This is the first book I've read by Edith Wharton and I was so pleasantly surprised. I confess that I saw Scorsese's film first - which is very faithful to the book, I found - and love it so much I watch it almost every time it's on cable.
The book is even better, though, really.
This is the story of Newland Archer, a very young attorney in very old New York. He leads a slow, stale and ultimately unsatisfactory life amidst incredibly sumptuous surroundings. Wharton writes in such fluid, rich detail, the reader sees and feels the glow of fireplaces in large, shadowy rooms lit only by candlelight; the clamminess of pale skin sticking to a satin bodice in the summer.
It is also the story of Newland's attempts to alleviate his boredom and fulfill his desires, and how the rich trappings of his own heritage thwart him at every turn.
The ending in the book is even more devastating than Scorses portrays it in the film.
I would also say this is Wharton's comment on social institutions and traditions that seem to have forgotten their original purpose - and those citizens that blindly follow them.
I rate this novel - excellent. I defintely want to read more Wharton (and since I received three collections of her work for my birthday recently, I shall).
Recommended for those who like period fiction, probably more for older people (I doubt I would have felt the sting of some events in Newland's life if I'd read this before my thirties.)
