Published in 1920 and the winner of a Pulitzer prize, The Age of Innocence is what I would call a "peaceful read". It is not filled with traumatic drama, mystery, or gut-wrenching scenes. Instead it is a story of a man that must decide between two women. He eventually chooses the safe route honored by the New York society he lives in.
One of the main themes of the book is what society expects of us and how to live within that framework. The main character of the book Newland Archer decides to not buck the system and do what is expected of him. In the long run his choice makes him a likeable character (at least in my eyes).
While I am the type of reader that loves more drama and mystery, I still enjoyed The Age of Innocence because the protagonist made some honorable choices to stick to his commitments regardless of his happiness. While I did kind of lose a little interest in the middle of the book the ending made it all worth it! I loved the fact that Edith Wharton tied up all the loose ends and brought about a conclusion to the novel that is poetic and beautiful.
1 comment:
I think you summed it up nicely. It was a little too quiet a book for me, but I get what she was going for.
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