Adventures in Reading: "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton

I really loved "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. A reference to "Ethan Frome" by my high school English teacher is actually the first I ever heard of Wharton, and for some reason it stuck with me. When I was wandering around the library a week or so ago and came across "Ethan Frome" on the shelf, I knew it was finally time.

Wharton's writing is just perfect. "Ethan Frome" is very short, about one hundred pages, so it could be considered more of a long short story than a novel, I suppose. And in my opinion, those are much more difficult to write. A short story writer must craft a story that is engaging and compelling, while being concise and to-the-point at the same time. Anyway...

"Ethan Frome" is the story of the title character, and how he came to be the broken man he is at the beginning of the story. The bulk of the story is told through a flashback, and recounts the tragic romance between Frome and his wife's cousin Mattie. Wharton's description of the tension and anticipation between all of the characters and the dynamics the contribute to their circumstances is spot on, and makes the entire story move at a steady pace.

Since the story is so short, I don't want to say too much about it as to give anything away, but I would definitely recommend this one. It will only take a couple of hours to read, and it's well worth it.