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The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by the famous American author Edith Wharton. It was her twelfth novel, and was initially serialized in 1920 in four parts, in the magazine Pictorial Review.
A deceptively simple love story, told with great discipline by Edith Wharton so that the reader gets the space to think, as well as follow along. Three central characters -- a man and two women, who happen to reflect different phases of Wharton's own life -- play out conflicts of love and marriage within New York's old society at a time of rapid changes in that world. Wharton was at the peak of her powers when she wrote this in her late 50s, and it shows almost every step of the way. This was my
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I think I have a classic case of "interrogating the text from the wrong perspective" vis-à-vis this book. The question is, is this novel a satire of upper-class New York Society circa 1870, or is it a satire of a sad, hypocritical man who thinks he's above upper-class New York Society when really he's just as vile as all the people he goes around judging?
The first few chapters I liked. First of all, Wharton's writing style is witty and very accessible. I enjoyed learning about New York back in t ...more
The first few chapters I liked. First of all, Wharton's writing style is witty and very accessible. I enjoyed learning about New York back in t ...more
I'm revising my review and I've added one star to my rating.
I keep thinking about this story and it continues to pop up in my head in relation to other issues. Also, I'm drawn to Wharton's other works now, especially Summer and The Buccaneers. Therefore, I should probably revise my previous opinion. I liked this book better than I realized and I might even reread it in 2013 if I like the other Wharton novels I've mentioned.
There is something powerful about this story, about a time when the Unite ...more
I keep thinking about this story and it continues to pop up in my head in relation to other issues. Also, I'm drawn to Wharton's other works now, especially Summer and The Buccaneers. Therefore, I should probably revise my previous opinion. I liked this book better than I realized and I might even reread it in 2013 if I like the other Wharton novels I've mentioned.
There is something powerful about this story, about a time when the Unite ...more
Excellent. I really enjoyed the commentary on the way society was at this time. I got a real sense of what was or was not important. While I did not like the end (not a "happy ending") it was a realistic story, and I did like that it advanced over time so you go to an end... as opposed to being left wondering...
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Oct 19, 2009
Heather (DeathByBook)
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2010
Stephanie
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Aug 06, 2010
Kim
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Dec 20, 2010
Julia
marked it as to-read
Oct 06, 2011
Mary Dagel
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Oct 14, 2011
Anne
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Oct 20, 2011
Amanda
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Oct 25, 2011
Kat
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2013
Katy
marked it as to-read
