From the back of the book: Considered Edith Wharton's richest novel, and one of the first to deal with a woman's sexual awakening, SUMMER is the story of Charity Royall and her first summer as a woman.
I prefer this book over Ethan Frome. It has been compared to Kate Chopin's The Awakening. It really captures a woman's sexual awakening very entrancing novel. One of my favorite required reads for a women's lit class I took in college.
My personal favorite book by Edith Wharton. The story of Charity Royall, a young woman from a small New England town. Her story takes place over the course of one summer, and her meeting with the young man who will change her life forever. Wharton captures perfectly Charity's inexperience; determination; beauty and longing.
Nice and easy read. Classical and romantic/dramatic.
"Beautifully sensuous, "Summer" is named for that never-to-be-repeated period when sexual love seems to be 'everything'...[when] there can be only one first romance - one beginning, one sexual initiation with its exhilarating illusion of unending ecstasy and unlimited opportunity...
"Summer" is a work of fiction that deals frankly with feminine sexuality as a powerful, shaping life-force [and creates] a complex and honest portrait of a girl's problems as she confronts maturity...
"Summer" is a work of fiction that deals frankly with feminine sexuality as a powerful, shaping life-force [and creates] a complex and honest portrait of a girl's problems as she confronts maturity...
This novel is a companion-piece to Ethan Frome and focuses on the rebelling of Charity Royall against a cheerless New England hill-town. Edith Wharton's novels are truly an American treasure.
If you love Edith Wharton's writing this is a must read. Complex characters and an engaging plot with conflicts, this is not a formulaic novel and I enjoyed every minute of it.
