Summer discussion

I was monumentally disappointed in this book, but not altogether unsurprised in the fact that I am also unimpressed by Edith's writing. I cannot place her in the same category as Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Pearl Buck, Harper Lee, or any of our otherwise masterful writers.

An admirer of the ability of a writer to be subtle, and also in perspective of a much different time and setting that the book is placed in, the feeling even in the even "insinuated" meetings of the main character and her lover and quite without feeling and aside from the described author's pointed telling of the character wanting to meet with him again, this character, even in the explanation of her having to be a "tough mountain girl" in a Victorianesque town, does not explain away the utter lack of feeling that she has, or fully the lack of regard and complete" drop" that Lucius invokes upon her, nor does it begin to explain and explore for the reader ( yet again) the level of feeling for her to accept Mr. Royall, a man she had contempt for entirely from the beginning, middle and then suddenly " not as much" in the nd. Notably, again, yes, marriage was more a convenience factor during these times, and often used to avoid scandal, and to the credit of society then, things were done " for the greater good" or for "honor", not often enough done or accepted as such now, but still, the lack of feeling and decision in any of the characters, the lack of voice and development of these characters in general makes me unable to clarify why Edith Wharton is regarded as such a great writer.

"Age of Innocence" left me with much the same impressions

Nora

Nora wrote: "I was monumentally disappointed in this book, but not altogether unsurprised in the fact that I am also unimpressed by Edith's writing. I cannot place her in the same category as Charles Dickens, L..."
Hi Nora, I've read articles comparing Wharton and Henry James as the first great American writers. Now, based on Wharton's "Ethan Frome" and James "Portrait of a Lady", Wharton to me is easily the best of the two writers.
Now, to your question, "why is Edith Wharton regarded as such a great writer?" I think "Ethan Frome" is sensational, it's been on high school reading list most of the 20th century and all of the 21st century, it's one of the few books which does belong on a high school reading list, and when I read it again as an adult it resonated even deeper. It's a masterpiece to me and I do think Wharton is one of the best American writers. BUT, America is a young country, Wharton was writing basically only 100 years or so after the formation of America. Wharton is no Austen or Dickens or Hugo or Bronte or Shakespeare or Boccacio or Dostoevesky, but certainly rises way above Alcott or Lee, who are both to me very minor American writers.
In summary, I'm with you. Wharton is a fine writer, but when we look at the literary world, she's relatively low on the list, I'd even put Margaret Mitchell and Ayn Rand and Yanihigara and John Steinbeck and John Updike and Edgar Allan Poe and James Baldwin and Chaim Potok and Maya Angelou and Louis L'Amour and Anne Rice as better American writers. Some writers time come and go. Outside of "Ethan Frome" and James "Turn of the Screw", these authors works are fast disappearing from the world of great literature.. IMO only.