Resumo de The Age Of Innocence ( 1 )

The Age of Innocence firstappeared In four large installments in The Pictorial Review, from July toOctober 1920. It was published that same year in book form by D. Appleton andCompany in New York and in London. Wharton made extensive stylistic,punctuation, and spelling changes and revisions between the serial and bookpublication, and more than thirty subsequent changes were made after the secondimpression of the book edition had been run off. This authoritative text isreprinted from the Library of America edition of Novels by Edith Wharton, andis based on the sixth impression of the first edition, which incorporates thelast set of extensive revisions that are obviously authorial. Not being aparticular fan of Edith Wharton, I was in no hurry to see this movie, butwanted to see what Scorsese & Day-Lewis did with it. I was absolutelyfloored! I think that, cinematically, it is the best picture Scorsese's donesince Raging Bull. Beautiful & brilliant. I even thought that some scenes,particularly the dinners, were slightly reminiscent of Kubrick.I thought Michelle Pfeiffer was absolutely superb. I don't follow her workmuch, but of what I do know, I find this to be her best - and most serious -performance to date. I was somewhat disappointed in Daniel Day-Lewis who Iotherwise love to watch. I felt his performance was uneven. When he was"on", he was on, but at times his performance was stilted and evenmelodramatic which jarred his credibility. Wynona did a terrific job ofportraying covert deviousness with a blank and/or airhead facade.But what shone above all the acting was Scorsese's paintbrush. I'm so happy tosee that he's still got it in him.Somewherein this book, Wharton observes that clever liars always come up with goodstories to back up their fabrications, but that really clever liars don'tbother to explain anything at all. This is the kind of insight that makes TheAge of Innocence so indispensable. Wharton's story of the upper classes ofOld New York, and Newland Archer's impossible love for the disgraced CountessOlenska, is a perfectly wrought book about an era when upper-class culture inthis country was still a mixture of American and European extracts, and when"society" had rules as rigid as any in history.. Welcome to the New York of the 1870's, where everyone in the upper crust fitsinto the mold or is ostracized for nonconformity. In spite of having marriedthe socially suitable May, Weland Archer wishes to be unconventional and seesthe Countess Olenska as a role model at the same time that he falls in lovewith her. Wanda McCaddon is a perfect narrator for this book. Her voice is ascold and sharp as the society she reads about. Through her intonation andphrasing, a stifling Victorian mask drops over each character. As Whartondescribes a society long ago, McCaddon brings it to life in a dry, droll,appropriately uncaptivating manner. M.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --Thistext refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. No one of her era writes of toxicmarriages better than Wharton; she had her own tragic marriage to a man whoused her fortune to set up a house for his mistress. And don't forget Wharton'sequally famous novel Ethan Frome, about another toxic marriage that ends ingrief. Goodnews,by the way; Wharton's home in Lennox, MA, the Mount, is being restored.It's home to a resident theater that does some brilliant Shakespeare. If youhave a chance to go, do so. It's a wonderful experience.individuals convincing themselves that obeyingsocial dictates is the right thing to do. Though the novel sometimes seemsclaustrophobic due to its limitations on action, Age of Innocence brilliantlycaptures the age and attitudes of the era. Mary Whipple

Resumos Relacionados