The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Review)
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- My sixth review in my series of the Top 125 Books of All-Time. Every time I read a classic I inevitably ask myself the same question: “Has this book finished saying what it has to say?” If it’s become out of touch then it isn’t a classic, because classics endure; they reinvent themselves. We continue to find value in classics well past their point of origin.
Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence is a nearly 100-year-old book about a society of fake, self-centred, and anxious people in 19th century New York and all I can think about after reading it is Facebook. If that’s not the definition of a classic in 2018 I don’t know what is.
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For more on my Top 125 Books project, click here: bit.ly/2nUErDB
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I just love it when booktubers can integrate so many things in a video, awesome job! I have been talking about the relationship between social media, narcissism, and depression for some time, so it makes me glad to see you have thought about those very current and relevant issues as well. Great review, Rick!
Thanks, Juan. It's obviously a pretty complicated issue, as we're all so entangled with it. I mean, I said this message ON social media for crying out loud. I think it's just healthy to get regular reminders about some of the ill effects it can have. Glad you enjoyed it, though! Thanks for the kind words. This video meant a lot to me.
This is the best "Booktube" video I've ever seen! What amazing thoughts, how well presented! I am just floored. You should be very proud of this.
Last year I reread Ethan Frome. I've never ventured into The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth. Maybe it's time I did. I assumed the books to be mannered, polite and out of touch with life today. But, you set me straight about that. This year I may tackle The Age of Innocence and see how it and I get along. Thanks for your insight and for sharing it with us!
Well this is the nicest thing that's been said to me in a long time. Thank you so much for the kind words, that really means a lot. I was actually proud of this one, so it makes me happy to know that it at least made a small mark.
Classics aren't for everyone, so if Wharton doesn't seem like your thing don't force it. But she's obviously been a huge influence on me so I will always recommend her. What did you think of Ethan Frome? It's one of my all-time favourites.
I loved Ethan Frome. I first read it right out of high school. What captured my attention was the crash. I didn't even notice the aftermath the crash had on the lives of the characters. Rereading it last year, the aftermath was what stuck with me. Consequence and responsibility shouted out at me this time. I was so impressed by what Wharton was saying in this small book.
I finished up my third reading of David Copperfield last night. Knowing that it would take several days to finish the book, I played around with what my next read would be. I picked up Robinson Crusoe because it was mentioned in Dickens' book. When I read it the first time (again, right out of high school) the part that stayed with me was when Crusoe made it back to Europe. There was a scene (in the snow?) with wolves that really came alive for me. I am thinking quite seriously that Robinson Crusoe will be my next read. Also, I read Nordhoff and Hall's Mutiny on the Bounty in high school. I quite enjoyed it. I'm not sure I would reread it but you never know. The urge may be felt at some time in the future.
Brutally honest but brutally profound. Perfectly executed. Edith would be proud. 😊
Hello, I’m an engineering student in France, and I need to read this novel for my exams at the end of the year. I wanted to thank you for this excellent review, which sparked my reflection on our current society and the roles each character performs in The Age of Innocence
I just finished reading this novel. I wanted so badky to shake them loose from convention and compliance to the peer pressure of bending the arc of love to self denial. Love it! Truth ...the un-farnished and un-adulterated honest interpretation. Ty!
Enjoyed reading the book and listening to this review. I'm looking forward to revisiting the book in later stages of my life. I feel that if you enjoyed this one, you will like Somerset Maugham novels.
Not to sound dramatic or anything but I almost consider it fate that I stumbled upon this video right this minute. Since yesterday, I’ve deleted a majority of things from my Facebook because I’m slowly learning that I don’t want to share the details of my life on such a public platform and I don’t need an audience to my achievements. I’ve been considering quitting Facebook because it almost feels like an obligation to post pictures when you travel and just talk about every small thing. I’ve never read anything by Edith Wharton but I feel like this will be the first of many things I read! Thank you for this insightful review and relating your life experiences here!
Glad you liked it, Nashwa. I've been (basically) Facebook free for 3-4 years, and it feels great. For whatever reason I just find people are so much more self-centred on there than on any other social platform. It's a bit exhausting to me. If others like it, then great, whatever floats their boat. Just not for me. Glad you liked the video, though! And yeah, if you're curious about Wharton, give her a try. Even start with Ethan Frome, as a taster. It's only like 100 pages and I absolutely adore it.
Just finished the book and came to see a review of it but this video opened my eyes to the amount of pretentious crap we see on a daily basis bcz of social media.. and the worst part is that we feel left out or feel that we’re boring bcz we don’t have these memories/moments in our life.. i love how you related the book with this.. all the best
Excellent review, Rick!
You certainly explained the spirit of book into a deeper perspective. I really liked how you address the current issue of social behavior on the digital age, it couldn't be more relevant.
Just finished this book exactly last night and i loved it. Edith's prose is just splendour.., and her social satire is impeccable!
Looking forward to see more clsssic review..
Have you read any other Wharton, by any chance?
@@RickMacDonnell not yet. this is my first book I read by her. I might check out The House of Mirth later i hope..
Best video I’ve seen in awhile, my friend. I love it when books resound in someone like this one clearly did with you.
Thanks, Jason. Every Edith Wharton book I read devastates me emotionally. In the best possible way.
*quote comes onscreen*
me: *flashbacks to all the deadbeat boyfriends I had that weren't smart enough for me but that I kept around anyway because I was too afraid of being alone*
fun times.
I'm new to this channel and haven't even read the book, but I love this series and the fact that you incorporated facts about her life, your personal experience, and your conclusions about the book into one kick-ass video. 👍
She Wants the Diction Oh this book definitely has moments that make you think of your own life and wince. But in a good way, I think. But hey, the deadbeats are gone, right? Sounds like you figured it out 😊
Welcome to the channel! Don’t be a stranger.
Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate how you relate the story to your own personal experience. When the film came out in 1993, it mirrored something I was going through at the time in a really surreal way. I can't really go into details, but my situation was quite different from yours. The Age of Innocence became a touchstone for me to reflect back on what happened. My perspective on the story has changed a lot over the years. It amazes me how people take so many different views on the characters and the choices they made. It's so good to hear that your story had a happy outcome.
I just finished this book today and I have to say that this is one of the best reviews I've seen. Very insightful. I especially appreciated your comparing the story to the opera. When I started this novel, my first (half-joking) thought was: any novel where the first scene takes place at the opera *has* to be good! Thankfully, I was right, although for many reasons aside from that one.
Totally Pretentious Thanks so much! Wharton is one of my favourites. Glad to hear that my review did the book at least some form of justice. So happy to hear that you read it. She’s an author I want to foist upon everyone I know 😄
Oh my gosh. This video was so compelling! Your review made the book sound very interesting.
I'm so thankful to have a relationship with passion and not going to look elsewhere, met my husband when I was 15, married by 20, it's gone by so fast lol. But I'm so proud that you ended your relationship before you took it to the next place and so happy that you're happy now. It must have taken a lot of courage. 💕
Yeah, I want to make it clear that the "affair" in the title of this video refers to the affair in the book, and not me. There was no affair in my story (besides, I suppose, an emotional one). But yeah, it was a crazy time, but it all worked out. My ex is also happily married now and everyone has found their person :)
Pretty wild that you met your husband at 15! And it's stuck. That's incredible. Are you from a smaller town?
Another Book Vlog oh gosh. I just realised how I phrased it that it may have seemed like I implied something 🙈 that wasn't how I intended it to sound lol. & You didn't give the impression of a physical affair from your video! By next step, I meant going into a marriage out of obligation.
But I am glad to hear you're both happily apart instead of miserably together.
We met I was 15, he was 18, but we were friends for a good year or closer to 2 before (I) made my feelings very clear 😂. And after that we just stuck. He was lead singer in a band with my cousin (who's also one of my best friends), my friends and I called him "hot band guy" for almost two years 😂. I never thought anything would ever come of us until it did. That was just shy of 12 years ago haha
& I guess it's not a huge city, but wouldn't say too small, around 90-100k? We actually grew up a couple blocks from one another, and he was in grade 12 when I started grade 9 but we never saw each other at school haha. Only met because of my cousin, who wasn't even in school by that time haha.
Don't worry, I didn't think you implied anything. I just wanted to clear the air officially in case anyone was confused LOL
I can't believe I actually found a RUclipsr reviewing classic books. 🙂🙂 I just watched the movie and loved it so much I immediately ordered the hardback. Can't wait to read it.
I just found this video after watching The Age of Innocence movie. I thought this was just a video explaining the story better, but damn I didn’t expect your little rant at the end! I loved it! Great video!
That rant is why this is (probably) my favourite video I've made (despite the awful lighting that makes me cringe every time I see it LOL). So glad you enjoyed the video! Your comment means a lot, truly. Have you read the book yet? Or, do you plan to now that you've watched the movie?
These Top125 reviews get better and better, Rick. I loved _The Age of Innocence_ when I read it last a decade ago. I really need to take that journey again.
Glad you liked it, Robert! I just loved this book. Edith Wharton is my muse, basically.
Oh my I loved this video. I adore this book and author and you just enlightened me as to why I do. I love your definition of a classic. I have never realised before but my favourites are those that I can see relate as much to society today as then. Thank you for a thoughtful, interesting summation.
Thanks, Tracey. The idea of a classic never being finished saying what is has to say isn't mine. I can't recall where I heard that, but it's stuck with my for years. It's perfect, I think. And nice to see another Age of Innocence fan :)
If I could give this video a hundred thumbs up I would! How you went from talking about Age of Innocence to social media, to your experience and back again was masterful. Having your own private experience that is true to you beats what people think of you on social media any day.
Thanks for such a sweet message, Jo. Really happy you liked the video. Easily my favourite one I've made :)
Ok- you had a new subscriber at “this book stirs some shit up”. Fantastic review and video.
Thanks! Glad you liked it :)
Just read the book, you've done a great job with the review, strangely there aren't that many, so if if you're considering doing a podcast you've got a subscriber
Well, I don't have a podcast (yet?) but your compliment was very much appreciated anyway. Thanks for watching!
As soon as I saw you praising Ethan Frome in your introduction to the 125 books project, I rushed over here to see your response to The Age of Innocence which, in this humble reader's opinion, piddles on Frome from a literary height.
I love that you connected to it so personally. I think it's an extraordinary book that I would press onto anyone. I also think that the film adaptation is Scorsese's finest hour and I'll gladly fight anyone who argues with me. Thanks for this and for your honesty.
@guiltyfeat I have a very, very personal connection to Ethan Frome. So that book is always going to mean more to me. But I do love Age of Innocence. I think House or Mirth is on my TBR list this year
A real book review! Wow! I've become a little tired of channels that seem to be endless "book hauls" and TBRs. I am also turned off by the Facebook and Instagram psychosis infecting far too many people. So many people spend their free time glued to their cell phones, and they mistake that activity with real life and real relationships. Instead of being real, they assume on-line personae. They are poseurs. You did a great job tying together Wharton's book with these detrimental modern habits. I never read this book, but you have me very interested in it now.
Thanks for the kind words, Scott. Social media has its place, for sure. I'm a fan, in the broad sense. But we can all stand to use it a bit more honestly, I think. And depend less on it, for sure. Glad you liked the review!
Rick, the Age of Innocence and now facebook. I guess nothing ever changes unless we stop aiming to please and actually spend valuable time thinking of what we really want. This was a great review. Thank you.
Wow. The moral compass statement was so on point it was almost scary. The people who claim they're not an "ist" are always the ones I'm MOST suspicious of.
Gentlemen,
0:00 - You had my curiosity
7:24 - Now you have my attention
thank you for this video man !
These are the type of conversations I strive to have and stir up. Great video!
Thanks, Nina :) It's not always easy to get a bit raw with these videos but it usually feels pretty good.
Now that's what I call a review.
Great review.
Holy shit, yes!! I love how raw and real this is. The quotes and just the overall story from the book are so poignant and important to all the social media B.S from today. Thanks for doing this video and extra props for putting it out the day before Valentines 😄👍
The timing was a bit accidental, but it was a happy accident! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Excellent and thoughtful review.
Thank you!
The decorum WASN'T outdated among the wealthy in the 1870's.
I just deactivated Twitter and came over here to watch this, finally. Wonderful "performance" :)
You mean you've gotten rid of Twitter like 5 days after you came back to it? lol
@@RickMacDonnell yeah... I don't think it's possible for me to have a healthy relationship with Twitter. I know people say it's Facebook that manipulates people and creates addictive behaviour and what not, but for me, it's Twitter... I can reactivate within 30 days if I change my mind but I hope I don't.
@@LauraFreyReadinginBed I never had twitter but I divorced myself from FB a few weeks ago and I LOVE it. I feel so free.
@@RickMacDonnell can't take anymore of the shallow vacuous simpletons.
Hello Rick, Where to begin???!!! Delighted to hear you enjoy Edith Wharton. Edith has been my soulmate for her wry observations of the claustrophobic gilded age social conventions. House of Mirth, was my introduction to her work and I fell into her world head first. On a personal note, I grew up in a world where, as children and adolescence, we never ate with our parents. We were fed and told to disappear as our parents had dinner in the dining room. And, other ‘rules’ that were, in the words of my son, ‘messed up’! I applaud your attitude of 🖕to society bs.
Always so happy to meet a Wharton fan. She's the BEST. I still haven't tackled House of Mirth, but likely will by the end of the year. I would really love to read some short fiction from her, actually, to see if it feels any different. Have you?
Incredible.
If he had actually married Ellen I am sure he would soon be bored with her as well. Man who doesn't know what he wants or doesn't have courage to not buckle to pressure from others before committing to important life decision like marriage can't be trusted. Imagine May`s suffering knowing that her husband of few months wanted to break up and be with another woman but stayed back only for the sake of the baby.
Too bad this novel didn't stir up anything for you....But seriously, splendid rant-review, one of the things BookTube is most suited for and I'd love to see more often. You've certainly convinced me that I need to read this one!
Marian's Books on Toast Yes, it’s so good! Have you read any of Wharton before?
@@RickMacDonnell Yes! Read The House of Mirth, which I rather loved. I will observe that social media exacerbates the need to perform, but play devil's advocate and say that we all perform every day, unless we're sitting at home alone. Even then maybe. If you're that guy who hid out in the Maine woods for decades, you perform to expectations. We can negotiate it to a different extent, depending. And I wonder about the line between conformity and performance.
Have you ever thought of becoming an English professor? I think you'd be a great teacher.
At 55 & the single parent of a disabled adult, brought up in a strict Catholic family....I know all about performance.
Wow, Jacqueline, that sounds like a heavy load. Just remember to take some time for yourself once and a while. Self-care is so important! (I'm learning)
I actually wanted to be a professor went I started taking my English degree way back when. Dream fizzled fairly quickly though. Not entirely sure why. By 2nd year I'd already changed course away from that.
Another Book Vlog Never too late to return to academia. Because my son and I now live in London, performance isn't so much of an issue. If I still lived in N.Ireland I'd feel stifled. However, London can be an isolating place.
I read this book this year and boy did it make me mad. The worst was the part where he is "ready" to give up his predetermined life IF Olenska will be with him, but giving it up cuz it's not good for him he can't. Other moment was when Olenska herself was telling this guy who confesses his love to her: oh, no, you should go back and get married with my cousin (basically putting a cousin in an unhappy loveless marriage, very same she herself tries to get out of) that just made me puzzled. But overall it was an interesting read
Though it kept me wondering why after all the years he didn't want to go and see a love of his life?
Thanks for the review.
Imo it's because he realized that May was actually his "love". After his son tells him what she said on her deathbed.
@@trawlins396 i never thought of that. Interesting.
@@juju.ukrainiangirl I just watched the movie tonight and I immediately ordered the book. After I finish the book I may have a different perspective on why he didn't go in.
@@juju.ukrainiangirl I agree that the Countess was selfish for basically subjecting her cousin to a loveless marriage..
@@trawlins396 I haven't seen a movie, when you finish the book please share your opinion, it would be great to hear if your perspective has changed 😀
Wtf, Rick, after this review I want to start this book, sitting on my shelf for ages, IMMEDIATELY! But I have no time to do so. What are you doing to me?!
LOL. Just bookmark the video and re-watch it later to get you hyped for the book when you DO find some time for it :)
Evidently, when I clandestinely read Ms. Wharton's book , I believed she was an icon, a legion in journalism, newspaper writing. When, I got to the middle I was floored, this woman is not a legion but rather a woman by means of her own rite! I insist on reading about legions not boring people. Lisa
Great video. Totally agree about social media.
Glad you liked it! Social media has its uses, but man, it's a cesspool.
@@RickMacDonnell Agreed. Social media has many amazing applications. They are just generally not utilised for such things.
Great video!!!! 👍
i like very much
Iron bars do not a prison make....
Wow! I know nothing about Facebook (Twitter is my social media of choice) but ironically this video deserves to go viral - does Booktube ever "go viral"? 😂 Hits every note.
I'm a Twitter person, too (I haven't used Facebook in like 3+ years). But thanks for the kinds words! I don't think going viral is in the cards, but I appreciate the sentiment :D
Well said! 👍👏👊
dude, this was great!
Hey, thanks Billy. Really appreciate it.
Is she related to the Whartons of the Wharton School at UPenn???
Wow, I feel so sorry for your ex 😢
Fan- fucking-tastic!
Britta Böhler Hahaha! Thanks, Britta!
Superb.
Im disgusted, by your justification of lusting for another woman and no loyalty.
He wasn't yet married when he fell in love with Ellen.
I hate that you make me want to read everything you review, even the shitty ones.
One of the funniest compliments I've gotten in a long time LOL