reverie_and_books's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton - Review
This was my third novel by Wharton and I immediately ordered my fourth. »Bunner Sisters« is a rather bleak story and after reading it, I know all too well why it is part of the anthology I own, which also consists of »Ethan Frome« and »Summer«. These three go well together.
The Bunner Sisters own a small shop in New York. They are unmarried and for this point in history rather old for being so. They live a simple life with no luxuries. But one day, for a birthday, the older sister gifts the younger a clock. With this clock its seller stumbles into their life and introduces them to a variety of new sensations.
In this novel, Wharton puts her focus on working class people with very limited possibilities. Combined with a stoic approach to life, especially regarding their own desires, the Bunner Sisters are a powerful image of perseverance. Thriving is another story.
Wharton has this gift to put my me right into her story. I find this author fascinating and I can’t wait to read more by her.
Note: It's diverse in the sense of class.
Note: It's diverse in the sense of class.
rkishu's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
booksbythecup's review against another edition
“When Ann Eliza, in later days, looked back on that afternoon she felt that there had been something prophetic in the quality of its solitude; it seemed to distill the triple essence of loneliness in which all her after- life was to be lived. No purchasers came; not a hand fell on the door- latch; and the tick of the clock in the back room ironically emphasized the passing of the empty hours.” —Bunner Sisters, Edith Wharton
The last novella I needed to read in this collection was Bunner Sisters. Edith Wharton never ceases to surprise me with the stories she creates.
We meet two sisters, Ann Eliza, the oldest and Evelina, who run a dressmaker's shop. Although poor, they have each other. In the early pages of the story, Ann Eliza is busy preparing a birthday surprise for Evelina. Not much but she makes the effort dressing in her nicest muslin dress, presenting Evelina with tea and cake along with the gift of a small clock.
When Ann Eliza tells Evelina about the shop owner she purchased the clock from, a man who seems lonely and perhaps sick. As time moves along, Mr. Hamy befriends the sisters.
Who would think the purchase of a clock could turn the life of these two sisters upside down in such a short time! Since this book is so short, I didn't figure much could happen, but how quickly it did. I wasn't sure what to expect but what did happen, I didn't expect at all. In Wharton fashion, she wound the clock and as it ticked toward the end, she packs in a few surprises.
The last novella I needed to read in this collection was Bunner Sisters. Edith Wharton never ceases to surprise me with the stories she creates.
We meet two sisters, Ann Eliza, the oldest and Evelina, who run a dressmaker's shop. Although poor, they have each other. In the early pages of the story, Ann Eliza is busy preparing a birthday surprise for Evelina. Not much but she makes the effort dressing in her nicest muslin dress, presenting Evelina with tea and cake along with the gift of a small clock.
When Ann Eliza tells Evelina about the shop owner she purchased the clock from, a man who seems lonely and perhaps sick. As time moves along, Mr. Hamy befriends the sisters.
Who would think the purchase of a clock could turn the life of these two sisters upside down in such a short time! Since this book is so short, I didn't figure much could happen, but how quickly it did. I wasn't sure what to expect but what did happen, I didn't expect at all. In Wharton fashion, she wound the clock and as it ticked toward the end, she packs in a few surprises.
richardhannay's review against another edition
4.0
Edith Wharton o como escribir maravillosamente sobre la pendiente de descenso de la vida. Dos hermanas, tienen una pequeña tienda de mercería, "Bunner Sisters" en el Nueva York del último tercio del siglo XIX. Viven, bien que pobremente, haciendo arreglos y flores de tela. Su círculo social es reducido pero su resignación es grande.
."Now and then, however, among their greyer hours there came one not bright enough to be called sunny, but rather of the silvery twilight hue which sometimes ends a day of storm."
Cuando la mayor, Ann Eliza regala a su hermana un reloj por su cumpleaños va a introducir en su vida al relojero alemán Herman Ramy. Un joven a quien la enfermedad, aparentemente, hizo abandonar un sólido puesto en Tiffany's. Spoiler alert: la cosa no acaba bien. Tal vez porque por vez primera los avances del capitalismo permitían que una parte cada vez mayor de la población escapara a la maldición secular de una vida "nasty, brutish and short" los novelistas de la época, de Zola a Gissing, y por supuesto Wharton parecen complacerse en el sufrimiento de sus personajes. No un sufrimiento accidental, ni siquiera ocasionado por sus propias flaquezas o mala cabeza. Un sufrimiento mecánico y pegajoso, casi cósmico y frente al cual no hay recurso. Evelina alcanzará un resquicio de consuelo. Tendrá un hijo. Que morirá al nacer. Las monjas que atienden a la madre lo bautizarán en el catolicismo y para poder reencontrarse con él en el cielo Evelina se convertirá también. ¿Magro consuelo? Para Ann Eliza ni eso. La pendiente resbaladiza, el juicio sin recurso, el castigo sin delito.
."Now and then, however, among their greyer hours there came one not bright enough to be called sunny, but rather of the silvery twilight hue which sometimes ends a day of storm."
Cuando la mayor, Ann Eliza regala a su hermana un reloj por su cumpleaños va a introducir en su vida al relojero alemán Herman Ramy. Un joven a quien la enfermedad, aparentemente, hizo abandonar un sólido puesto en Tiffany's. Spoiler alert: la cosa no acaba bien. Tal vez porque por vez primera los avances del capitalismo permitían que una parte cada vez mayor de la población escapara a la maldición secular de una vida "nasty, brutish and short" los novelistas de la época, de Zola a Gissing, y por supuesto Wharton parecen complacerse en el sufrimiento de sus personajes. No un sufrimiento accidental, ni siquiera ocasionado por sus propias flaquezas o mala cabeza. Un sufrimiento mecánico y pegajoso, casi cósmico y frente al cual no hay recurso. Evelina alcanzará un resquicio de consuelo. Tendrá un hijo. Que morirá al nacer. Las monjas que atienden a la madre lo bautizarán en el catolicismo y para poder reencontrarse con él en el cielo Evelina se convertirá también. ¿Magro consuelo? Para Ann Eliza ni eso. La pendiente resbaladiza, el juicio sin recurso, el castigo sin delito.
babychoby's review against another edition
4.0
All her books and stories are wonderfully written. Same here but this one should be called the Bummer sisters. Wharton's women can not catch a break!
flybyreader's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
“...they who exchange their independence for the sweet name of Wife must be prepared to find all is not gold that glitters…”
Very sad and depressing in the Wharton way. It broke my heart to see two sisters suffer from rushed decisions, wrong choices, agonising secrets and unshared emotions. My third Wharton novel after The Age of Innocence and House of Mirth and I can easily say that she knows how to grab her readers. Definitely recommended.
danaleanne's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely not a happy story, but a quick read that captured my interest quickly. I wanted to find out what happened to the sisters.