A review by megankholley
Ethan Frome & Selected Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Edith Wharton

5.0

Ethan Frome, my grandmother says, is a perfect short story. I agree. However, I don’t agree with the historical perspective that Ethan’s wife Zeena is a villain and Ethan the tragic hero. The story is epically sad and needlessly so, if the characters had felt free to tell the truth. Wharton’s understated commentary about the plight of women in this era is poignant noting her own personal story. I was really shocked by the two twists and overall enjoyed Ethan Frome immensely. I enjoyed the story “The Pretext” which was also quite depressing and hopeless (sensing a theme from Ms Wharton).