Summer

"This was almost as depressing as [b:Ethan Frome|5246|Ethan Frome|Edith Wharton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630481181l/5246._SY75_.jpg|132919]. For all its hype about eroticism, there were only allusions to sex and it was never described. However, I'll give it props for discussing pregnancy outside of marriage even if it didn't directly say so in as many words."

"I have loved the other Edith Wharton books I've read--<i>Ethan Frome</i> and <i>The House of Mirth</i>--but somehow this one ended up repulsing me much more than it captivated me. Since it's a short novel, I read the first quarter of it during my first sitting, and it was only this sense of it being short (and having been on my reading list for a long time) that motivated me to just push through it. It was well-written, of course, as we would expect from Wharton...but that was the only thing recommending it to me.<br/><br/>The major deterrent for me was that I did not like one single character in this book. Charity's guardian was the closest I got to liking anyone, which is slightly ironic, because he is the person--okay, <i>one</i> of the people--Charity disparages throughout the novel. Charity herself struck me as selfish, immature, impulsive, and, sorry to say, just stupid. Even the setting itself, which I anticipated filling me with warmth and nostalgia for our recently-ended summer, was unappealing to me. The characters, the unexceptional village, the freakish descriptions of the Mountain people...all of these contributed to the bad taste that lingered in my mouth long after I had finished this book.<br/><br/>It is well-written and has some thought-provoking social/moral messages embedded in it, but I cannot recommend it beyond that. If you haven't read any Edith Wharton before, or if this is the only one you've read, I suggest trying another title first.<br/><br/>Reviews of life-changing vintage fiction you've never even heard of: www.Anotherlookbook.com"