Book Review: The Reef

The Reef by Edith Wharton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Reef is a fascinating character study where the tension comes from the development of an impossible situation. George Darrow comes to France to be with the woman he has loved for years and intends to marry, Anna Leith. When he arrives, he is discovers that an old lover of his, Sophy Viner, is the governess to Anna’s daughter, as well as the betrothed of Anna’s stepson—and therein lies the impossibility. The past affair between Sophy and George begins to be an unbearably heavy and unwieldy weight—how can the past co-exist with the future?

It can’t, of course, and Wharton is an expert at exposing the intricacies of human emotion and expectation. The Reef starts brilliantly—the beauty of it is in how real it feels, and by midway through, I had become convinced that it was going to be my favorite of all Wharton’s works. The juxtaposition of Anna, who believes herself strong and decisive, and Sophy, who actually is, and whose emotional honesty and conviction is a stark contrast to Anna’s inexpressiveness and judgmental nature, is fascinating and very well drawn. As the story goes on, it becomes clear that Sophy, who is considered to be not quite upper class enough, and a bit vulgar, reveals herself to be more admirable than Anna, whose indecisiveness torments everyone around her and leads inexorably to her own unhappiness.

But the book drags in its last third, and Anna’s indecisiveness becomes wearying. When one adds to that a sharply abrupt ending which leaves one pondering the futures of all the characters, the story just isn’t satisfying enough. I LOVED the first two thirds of it, and I’d give this a very strong 3.5 if there were partial stars. Read it for the beginning—Wharton truly is a genius when it comes to exploring the many nuances of emotion




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