0,4 estrellas

That should be enough kindle classic freebies for today. Couldn't stand seeing the box of credit card machine tape on my Amazon recent purchases :p

Sí, es preciso comenzar confesando mi debilidad por la prosa de Edith Wharton, debilidad que he venido a confirmar con "Santuario". Una novela breve, en la que si bien no encontramos la madurez en plenitud que es posible hallar en la celebérrima novela que es "La Edad de la Inocencia", comparte con ella la sutileza, la ironía y la mirada crítica sobre la sociedad burguesa en la que la propia Wharton se formó. Una de esas novelas que se disfrutan más cuando uno intenta ponerse en la mirada de un lector contemporáneo a la propia autora. Aspectos que hoy nos pueden parecer absurdos, adquieren una fuerza singular cuando se ponen en contexto.

Nuevamente la editorial Impedimenta se anota un valioso acierto para los admiradores de Wharton al traducir por primera vez esta obra en español. Para quienes comparten esta debilidad, vale la pena también leer "La Solterona", publicada por la misma casa.

I love Edith Wharton. I found this book at a used book sale, and the description on the flap (also the description on Sanctuary's Goodreads site) was intriguing. A dilemma of morality and a woman's honest efforts in conquering it or watching history repeat itself--I bought it and took it home to read.

Unfortunately, I found that reading the flap was not too dissimilar from reading the story. A powerhouse writer like Wharton should have devoted a novel-length work to such an idea. It felt abridged, in a sense, with too much exposition in Part 1. Wharton "tells" the reader about the character of Kate Orme, her engagement to Peyton, her feelings, her actions--the last of which there are few. The inner psyche is interesting, as Kate weighs the pros and cons of entering a marriage with a deliberate liar, but the resolution seems altogether too rushed; this is to create the effect of a surprise beginning in Part 2, which introduces Dick Peyton and his "mother" (the reader is supposed to "wonder" for the first few paragraphs if Kate went through with the marriage or not), but Wharton could have taken her time in developing the end of Part 1 and still created her tension.

Part 2 begins with Kate's adult son (because, come on, we all knew Kate went through with it). Again, Wharton "tells" the readers that Kate tried to inculcate moral value and judgment in her son, but it would have been much more effective to see this upbringing, especially as it figures so heavily in the conversation in the final scene of the book. Why is the reader deprived of a childhood, even a survey of one, of Dick and his mother, and why does she remain so passive with her son? Passive is the operative word here; I was astonished to see how passive Kate behaved throughout the whole novel; as the main character, it makes for a weak plot and a slow read. Kate reacts to and registers the world around her, and the bulk of the narration is either exposition or inner psyche. The dialogues are few, and the other characters get little "onscreen" time with Kate. An interesting concept of a story, but certainly not one of Wharton's finest.

I...hated this book. The main character was fucking unbearable, not to mention a total idiot. Would not recommend.

Do women still do this sort of thing - marry a man they suddenly find out is a very unsavory/immoral character because they want to make sure any child born to this man is raised not to be like his father? And then, once this child is all grown-up, instead of advising him what is right or wrong, stand back to let him take the wrong path? Such idealism and passivity are hard for me to comprehend. But, as always, written beautifully.

While this was not particularly extraordinary, it was a surprisingly “happy” ending as far as Wharton is concerned.

I’d love to see this book studied through the lens of the responsibility women take on in regards to “taking care of” and essentially “mothering” not only children but their partners.

Kate stays with a man she has lost all respect for because she fears for the morality of his future children—even if they aren’t hers. This leads her to marry him and have a child with him just so she can ensure a child of his will not inherit the unethical sensibilities of its father. She dedicates her entire life to the vigilant mothering of her son to prevent the boy from turning out like his father—to “save” him. Why does she feel this obligation? Why is it her job?

Maybe I’ll do some research and see if the book has been discussed in this light.

Having gone through an Edith Wharton phase years ago, I was totally surprised to find this little gem of a novella on a display at the public library. Not often one can read a Wharton book in a couple of hours, and less rare that the ending to the story is positive.

Kate Orme is a wealthy young woman, and like many of her class and era she is laughably innocent and totally in the dark about marriage and real life. On the eve of her wedding she discovers that her intended husband has done something so morally repugnant that Kate considers calling off the wedding. Instead she goes ahead with it, thinking that she can mold any children of the union so they don't develop their father's loose character. She has a son and just as he is on the cusp of manhood and career success, he is tested just as Kate always feared might happen.

Este libro fue una experiencia extraña. Nunca había leído nada de Edith Wharton.

La historia no tiene nada de extraordinario y creo que el mérito del texto no radica ahí, sino en la forma. Fue muy placentero leer algo tan "articulado", tan cerebral para describir un drama de corte tan doméstico y mundano. Es como leer una versión limpia y hasta algo snob (y utilizo el término como halago, no como insulto) de un escenario corriente de la vida privada.

Creo que el mérito de Santuario radica en la pericia de Wharton con el lenguaje. Lo disfruté mucho. Fue como platicar con una persona muy articulada y de amplio vocabulario y, eso, SIEMPRE, se disfruta.

I am sorry to report that Sanctuary simply was not of the same stuff that made Age of Innocence and House of Mirth great.

Many have addressed the morality angle behind this book: the main character married a morally deficient man with the hope that she could correct the deficiency in their children. Questionable judgment on her part? Probably. But I found that more impactful, if not interesting, part of Sanctuary to be the main character's inevitable development into what can only be called America's first helicopter parent. This woman's over-involvement in her growth son's life was pretty scary, and enough to make any (potential) daughter-in-law cringe. I would definitely file this book under the 'examples of bad parenting' category first, and 'importance of moral conduct' second!

En esta ocasión he leído una novela de Edith Wharton, autora que me produce un amor-odio. Esto es porque siempre odio o amo sus obras

When you should get a hobby, but decide to emotionally enmesh with your son instead.