recommended by Maura

If you enjoy short stories that you can read from one sitting to the next, this is a great read. Most of the stories are easily interpreted and pleasant. Others are just decent. I enjoy her novels more so. But she still remains one of my favorite female authors of the 20th Century.

Very rarely do I read a short story collection that is this charming and engrossing all the way through. Wharton's characters are satirical exaggerations of certain characteristics, but never are they taken too far. They still feel real, interesting, and layered even while certain aspects of their personalities are used narratively to provide societal commentary. The stories are engaging beyond their message, which gets the message across even more effectively than if I were too focused on what I was meant to learn.

My favorite story is either "The Other Two" or "Other Times" (I don't remember the french for it, lol). Both had main characters who were kind, well meaning people in a world destined to move past and take advantage of them. Wharton wrote about divorce in this volume a lot, specifically about how times are changing and divorce is becoming much more accepted by society. These two stories in particular dealt with the clash between old values that don't agree with new opinions, and the traditional need for politeness that keeps more traditional people quiet in the face of new rules. These differences were deftly handled from a variety of viewpoints- something which I think few authors take time to address. Each story was beautifully written and poignant. A must read, and a gorgeous introduction to Wharton's style.