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A review by booksbythecup
The Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
“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.