Becoming Visible

1. 15
   Jan
   

   Book 1 of 52—The Age of Innocence

   I finished listening to The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Meh. I didn’t get much out of the book. I did like the ending’s message—that sometimes keeping one’s fantasy intact is better than trying to recreate the past by reconnecting. Something has been bugging me, though. The wife, May, is portrayed as a simple character who does not want to see the unpleasantness of life. She is described as going to her death with the illusion that all families are as warm and loving as hers. The tone of the statements regarding May seem to imply that there is something wrong with this approach to living. I am not so sure, however. At the same time, however, May works to ensure that her family stays intact, doing whatever is necessary.May gave her husband a choice to leave before they actually married. He refused, and chose to marry her, and now he must remain so. I don’t think it is unfair of her to expect him to do so, or to make things happen that prevent him from leaving.  His cowardice should not be the cause of her unhappiness.

   I used Audiobooks for the iPhone, which uses titles from librivox.org. I had some issues with book—listening to the same chapter 3 times because of various malfunctions and a not very well designed fast forward button—but overall it was a good experience. Especially for .99.