I first read this book some years ago when I was in college because I was putting off studying for an organic chemistry final. It was a very sad but beautiful story. If I wasn't in the mood to cram for chemistry before reading it, I was even less inclined to do so afterwards! Because I'm not usually in the mood for sad stories I never reread it, until recently when I watched the Liam Neeson/Patricia Arquette film adaptation from the 1990's. It is very true to the book.
The story still affects me in the same way, except that now that I'm older and hopefully wiser, I am now able to see that the consequences suffered by the three main characters are at least partly caused by their own self centeredness and bad choices, instead of just being tragic victims of fate.
I'm also better able to appreciate Edith Wharton's use of symbols to foreshadow events or states of mind throughout the novel, rather than concentrating only on the plot. This was the first of Wharton's books I had ever read and she has since become one of my favorite novelists.
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