classical_learner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Masterful. I won’t waste too many words trying to describe something that can only be read in full. Imagine Jane Austen had been born a century later and felt the same duty to examine society. A beautiful study of what it means to feel love or will it, whether we actually want to change, and how society mingles.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
kiri_johnston's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
urmominmybed69's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
i cant stand the main character of this book and have never in my life hated a character more. it might be partially the point but it doesn't make it any easier to read
puzzleguzzler's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this witty critique of "society." I didn't particularly like Archer, but I liked how the author talked about him and his contradictions, and dare I say I felt sympathetic? While some references went over my head (this books is 100years old this year, after all!) a lot of the discussion still felt very relevant and illuminating. I want to talk to everyone about it!
tammeke's review against another edition
3.0
Tegelikult sain juba Positivuse ajal selle lõpetatud, aga kuidagi ei jõudnud peale seda goodreadsi.. No igal juhul raamat meeldis mulle kuidagi palju rohkem kui ma oleks arvanud. See oli huvitav vaade nendele väärtushinnangutele ja sellele ühiskonnale, mis sellel ajal (aaa kui ma vaid hetkel mäletaks mitmekümnendad need olid) eksisteeris. Tegelased ja nende teod olid praeguse aja standardite kohaselt loomulikult imeveidrad, aga nende lugu oli südamelähedane.
biacoelho's review against another edition
4.0
4,5. A beautiful story about how not all dreams are meant to be lived.
fionamcpartlan's review against another edition
5.0
Read this for book club, and what an absolute masterpiece it is. Really beautiful, descriptive writing, and just a wonderful plot.
If you love stories about yearning, this is the masterclass in it.
Definitely a must read.
If you love stories about yearning, this is the masterclass in it.
Definitely a must read.
magicraft's review against another edition
4.0
I'm just as frustrated today as I was reading this in college. I've always been annoyed with the expectations of society in our own time...so this book makes one wonder how people managed to get through the drudgery of daily life in 1870's New York. The ridiculousness of propriety that kept people gasping if a woman decided not to marry or to seek a divorce and the scandal it would have caused is cringe-worthy today.
Also, the idea that your world and future was laid out before depending upon what family you were born into, or what your occupation was is frightening. Wharton has made this frustration very clear:
"Archer was dealing hurriedly with crowding thoughts. His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen."
Terrifying.
That said, obviously this was a wonderful book in its own time and the writing is fantastic. One of my favorite paragraphs:
"He was reminded of this by trying to picture the society in which the Countess Olenska had lived and suffered, and also-perhaps-tasted mysterious joys. He remembered with what amusement she had told him that her grandmother Mingott and the Wellands objected to her living in a 'Bohemian' quarter given over to 'people who wrote'. It was not the peril but the poverty that her family disliked; but that shade escaped her, and she supposed they considered literature compromising."
Imagining that writers and journalists were terrible and poor professions is interesting in light of our modern world. At any rate, the end of this book left me annoyed, but the book itself certainly has carried through time and will continue to be a fascinating commentary.
Also, the idea that your world and future was laid out before depending upon what family you were born into, or what your occupation was is frightening. Wharton has made this frustration very clear:
"Archer was dealing hurriedly with crowding thoughts. His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen."
Terrifying.
That said, obviously this was a wonderful book in its own time and the writing is fantastic. One of my favorite paragraphs:
"He was reminded of this by trying to picture the society in which the Countess Olenska had lived and suffered, and also-perhaps-tasted mysterious joys. He remembered with what amusement she had told him that her grandmother Mingott and the Wellands objected to her living in a 'Bohemian' quarter given over to 'people who wrote'. It was not the peril but the poverty that her family disliked; but that shade escaped her, and she supposed they considered literature compromising."
Imagining that writers and journalists were terrible and poor professions is interesting in light of our modern world. At any rate, the end of this book left me annoyed, but the book itself certainly has carried through time and will continue to be a fascinating commentary.
katescholastica's review against another edition
4.0
A rich man’s Catcher in the Rye, this book is extraordinary in the way it describes class structure and romantic tension in its era. But newland archer grinds your nerves a bit more than a main character has a right to.