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Chrissie's Reviews > Summer
Summer
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Chrissie's review
bookshelves: shorts, classics, audible-us, love, 2018-read, hf, philo-psychol, life-stages
Sep 17, 2017
bookshelves: shorts, classics, audible-us, love, 2018-read, hf, philo-psychol, life-stages
Four reasons explain why this novella clicked for me:
*It is not about glitzy high society.
*It draws the life of ordinary people and it draws their lives realistically.
*It illustrates that real life consists most often of choosing between mediocre alternatives. Rarely are we given that chance in a million, but at the same time a less optimistic choice need not be without hope or possibility.
*It encourages readers to focus on the good that in fact does exist, in what appears at first glance only limited, unpromising choices. It is up to us to make the best of the choices given us. The message is not pounded in; it is delivered with subtlety.
There, that is the essential--what I think the book conveys and why I think the book is worth reading. Of course, your view may differ from mine.
The setting is the turn of the 20th century, a rural community near New Hampshire. We are told that the central character, Charity Royall, had been “taken down from the mountain�. Much of the story lies in discovering what exactly this means and subsequently its consequences. It is a novella about a summer dalliance--where this leads and how it changes those involved. Charity matures. Readers� views of the characters change as one comes to understand them more fully. The book is a character study and about social restraints.
How can I best describe Wharton’s writing style? Behind every action lies a balanced, nuanced understanding of human behavior. Actions are not melodramatic; they are instead quiet and sure. Each action is depicted precisely, exactly, with clarity. Each word is there for a purpose. All of this creates a particular feel to the prose.
The audiobook is very well narrated by Lyssa Browne. It is so very good that you scarcely even pay attention to the fact that it Is being read. I have given the narration four stars.
Summer 4 stars
Xingu 3 stars
Ethan Frome 1 star
The Age of Innocence 1 star
*It is not about glitzy high society.
*It draws the life of ordinary people and it draws their lives realistically.
*It illustrates that real life consists most often of choosing between mediocre alternatives. Rarely are we given that chance in a million, but at the same time a less optimistic choice need not be without hope or possibility.
*It encourages readers to focus on the good that in fact does exist, in what appears at first glance only limited, unpromising choices. It is up to us to make the best of the choices given us. The message is not pounded in; it is delivered with subtlety.
There, that is the essential--what I think the book conveys and why I think the book is worth reading. Of course, your view may differ from mine.
The setting is the turn of the 20th century, a rural community near New Hampshire. We are told that the central character, Charity Royall, had been “taken down from the mountain�. Much of the story lies in discovering what exactly this means and subsequently its consequences. It is a novella about a summer dalliance--where this leads and how it changes those involved. Charity matures. Readers� views of the characters change as one comes to understand them more fully. The book is a character study and about social restraints.
How can I best describe Wharton’s writing style? Behind every action lies a balanced, nuanced understanding of human behavior. Actions are not melodramatic; they are instead quiet and sure. Each action is depicted precisely, exactly, with clarity. Each word is there for a purpose. All of this creates a particular feel to the prose.
The audiobook is very well narrated by Lyssa Browne. It is so very good that you scarcely even pay attention to the fact that it Is being read. I have given the narration four stars.
Summer 4 stars
Xingu 3 stars
Ethan Frome 1 star
The Age of Innocence 1 star
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Reading Progress
September 17, 2017
– Shelved as:
wishlist-f
September 17, 2017
– Shelved
September 17, 2017
– Shelved as:
shorts
September 17, 2017
– Shelved as:
classics
September 17, 2017
– Shelved as:
audible-us
September 17, 2017
– Shelved as:
love
April 9, 2018
– Shelved as:
own-unlistened
April 9, 2018
– Shelved as:
2018-read
April 28, 2018
–
Started Reading
April 29, 2018
– Shelved as:
hf
April 29, 2018
– Shelved as:
philo-psychol
April 30, 2018
– Shelved as:
life-stages
April 30, 2018
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
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Luffy Sempai
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Apr 30, 2018 06:47AM
You are like a shape sifter, being able to like books of all genres. I envy your versatility! Loved the review!
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You really captured Wharton's writing style and what makes her work stand up. I really enjoyed her novella House of Mirth, Lily Bart has stayed with me 10+ years. I haven't read this one and sadly wasn't even aware of it.
Luffy wrote: "You are like a shape sifter, being able to like books of all genres. I envy your versatility! Loved the review!"Well, I try different books and I do give authors more than one chance. But honestly, I do not like all genre. Comics and science fiction and fluffy romance do not usually work. I do not read many mysteries either.
Your praise is candy to a person who never eats candy. Thank you.
Dawn (& Ron) wrote: "You really captured Wharton's writing style and what makes her work stand up. I really enjoyed her novella House of Mirth, Lily Bart has stayed with me 10+ years. I haven't read this one and sadly..."
I had to think carefully to figure this out. Cool that we agree.
I don't think that I would have put this novella on my tbr just by looking at it but I might give it a chance after this review. Is the shortness of the book suitable or did you miss aspects? Just being curious because I usually struggle with short works.
Kathrin I am a NEW convert to short stories. This is a little longer, so a novella. I have always preferred long stories; they gives a reader depth. What I have discovered is that:1.Some authors are better at writing short pieces. I would put Edith Wharton in this group. At least for me.
2.A short piece is completely different from a long novel. It has to make its punch quickly. A good short story CAN deliver that punch. They can be very powerful in their conciseness.
3.When and how I read them has proved to be very important for my enjoyment. I had my son and family visiting for a week.With a long piece I like sinking in and engulfing myself in it. I never had time for that when my son was here, but I was starving for a book so I went online and found a short story, something that I could stick in without being interrupted. It was free(always good) and online (making it possible to get the font huge, a necessity for my poor vision) . Such stories are classics, and I like classics. Some classics are terrible but some merit their status. I started sith these:
* The Snows of Kilimanjaro
*The Open Boat
It helps if you like Hemingways writing style for the above two.
The Verger for Maugham fans
*Xingu
for a test of Wharton's short stuff--it had me laughing.
So what I am trying to say is that I have always been an inveterate fan of long novels, but I have found a few short stories that really did work for me. A BOOK of short stories does not work for me. I am pushed to read the whole book from start to finish. That is NOT the way to read them. You want to find super good ones that pack a punch and can be stuck in now and then.
The whole thing started for me when I discovered this thread in this group: /topic/show/...
Sorry for being so long-winded. I felt I had to explain properly. The short answer to your question would be -- since I gaveSummer four stars, I do think it is worth your time.
One of my favourites too.
Phyrnne, so which other ones are your favorites? Do you like the two I did not like?The Marne and The Reef have been recommended.
Chrissie wrote: "Kathrin I am a NEW convert to short stories. This is a little longer, so a novella. I have always preferred long stories; they gives a reader depth. What I have discovered is that:1.Some authors ..."
Thanks a lot for your long reply. This is exactly what I need to get me started. Whenever there isn't much time to read I tend to listen to short audiobooks and this always works.
However, I often made the mistake of getting a physical book with short stories and tried to read it from the start to the finish. Maybe this was my problem in the past. Funny that you mention this phenomenon, too.
Thanks for the recommendations - maybe I'll give a go soon.
Chrissie, you've got me intrigued; will have to get Summer. I did like Wharton's Ethan Frome, though I see you only gave it one star. Was just looking on here to see what your latest reads were since you said you were having a "terrible time" lately.
Janet wrote: "Chrissie, you've got me intrigued; will have to get Summer. I did like Wharton's Ethan Frome, though I see you only gave it one star. Was just looking on here to see what your latest reads were sin..."I am miserable at the moment, or have been all day. I hate dumping books but now I am going to do it. I hate these damn Audible sales. I try to save money and end up buying books that do not fit me. I do not like writing reviews for books I have not completed but on the other hand I want to warn others. Don't read Vanity Fair or The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. I do like long books but the books have to be good.
Kathrin wrote: "Chrissie wrote: "Kathrin I am a NEW convert to short stories. This is a little longer, so a novella. I have always preferred long stories; they gives a reader depth. What I have discovered is that:..."
It makes me feel good to hear that you too feel the need to read an entire book of short stories. This is wrong; we both have to tell ourselves to stop it. For me at least finding a short story to stick in now and then WORKS. Reading them becomes enjoyable. Of course it helps to know which stories to pick........
I have the same problem with reading a book of short stories. Although recently I finally gave in and read Tim O'Brien s Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried which had been recommended by my husband's niece. I was so hesitant but the stories were all connected and I really feel that helped. I don't know if that was just that this particular book and its writing worked for me or if the format contributed.
Dawn I have read that and did like it, but no love affair.
I really liked it and found it compelling but what I was inquiring about with my previous comment was whether the connection of short stories pulled together to loosely form a narrative worked better as far as readability. I don't know of any other examples since this is the only book of short stories I have been able to read.
There are other books like tats, i.e books with connected short stories. There is one I have been trying to get my hands on but it is not available. Of course, I cannot remember the title.........
