Pavel Nedelcu's Reviews > The Age of Innocence

New York society at the end of the 19th century. An impossible love story.

I’ve been so amazed by this novel that I don’t even know how to begin my comment on it. The book starts slowly, mentioning the (actually not so) many names and families composing New York society of the time: their intertwining and relationships are difficult to follow.

Then, around page 40-60, the story unfolds: it is a love story between two members of New York society. One (Archer), a conformist who cannot escape etiquette and is about to get married and the other (Countess Olenska), who fights every day against it, and left her Polish husband running away from Europe in the hope that she will be backed up by her family in New York.



But what I enjoyed most in this love story was Wharton's great ability to tell it without falling into pathetic tones and exaggerations (like, for instance, the Brontë sisters) and, above all, starting from the very subtle and, at times, ironic description of the characters’ thoughts (in particular, Newland Archer's).

Only through this expedient can we truly understand the New York society of the time, pity its non-conformist members, laugh at their bigotry and tribal organization.

And then comes the ending, one of the most beautiful endings ever: Archer's society, with all its rules and conventions has almost vanished in the following thirty years.

What is left is his regret that he didn’t act when and how he would have liked. Not having made the right decision at the right time, against all those changing social norms.

Beautifully delivered, although the second part was better than the first. But am I to deny the novel 5 stars just for this dense and a bit confusing beginning.

P.S. : Also, see the excellent movie by Scorsese (1993)!