The novel is set in the New York of 1870s and traces the social milieu of the upper class society of that time, trapped in conventionalities and banalities so much so that even after the repeated attempts by the novel's protagonist, Newland Archer to break free from the set norms and lead a life governed by his heart, he miserably fails and meekly accepts and fits himself into the rigid cast set by society.He is thrown the challenge of either following his heart, finding happiness in the way and being ostracised by society in the due course or suppressing his desire, leading a mundane life bereft of joy and being confined to societal norms.The novel deals with the eventual choice he makes and the circumstances that aid him to make that choice and the course his life takes as a result of that choice. The plot revolves around the time when New York is on the threshold of transition to a cosmopolitan metropolis having a first brush with art, literature and other pursuits of intellect. Another noteworthy point is the novel's meticulous attention to detail right from what clothes the characters wore to what material furnished their houses.
All said about what the novel deals with, there comes the interesting question of whose fingers should flip through the pages of this novel.The following points are worth a mention:
1.Read the book only if you are a hard core literature fan and can stomach anything remotely dealing with literature.Put simply this is not for a casual reader who might be very easily put off by the novel's slow pace and elaborate description of the material environment peopled by its characters.
2.If your love for New York is of gargantuan proportions that, no matter what, you are keen to have a little peep into a past where life passed on untrammeled without something as colossal as electricity, the lack of which would at present bring this glitzy city to a screeching halt.
Some nuggets from the book:
"Newland Archer was a quiet and self-controlled young man. Conformity to the discipline of a small society had become almost his second nature. It was deeply distasteful to him to do anything melodramatic and conspicuous, anything Mr. van der Luyden would have deprecated and the club box condemned as bad form. But he had become suddenly unconscious of the clubbox, of Mr. van der Luyden, of all that had so long enclosed him in the warm shelter of habit. He walked along the semi-circular passage at the back of the house, and opened the door of Mrs. van der Luyden's box as if it had been a gate into the unknown."
"Something he knew he had missed: the flower of life. But he thought of it now as a thing so unattainable and improbable that to have repined would have been like despairing because one had not drawn the first prize in a lottery. There were a hundred million tickets in HIS lottery, and there was only one prize; the chances had been too decidedly against him."
Target Audience : Age 20 and above
Difficulty: Difficult
Rating: Excellent
My recommendation: To be read only by those who love either literature or New York
All said about what the novel deals with, there comes the interesting question of whose fingers should flip through the pages of this novel.The following points are worth a mention:
1.Read the book only if you are a hard core literature fan and can stomach anything remotely dealing with literature.Put simply this is not for a casual reader who might be very easily put off by the novel's slow pace and elaborate description of the material environment peopled by its characters.
2.If your love for New York is of gargantuan proportions that, no matter what, you are keen to have a little peep into a past where life passed on untrammeled without something as colossal as electricity, the lack of which would at present bring this glitzy city to a screeching halt.
Some nuggets from the book:
"Newland Archer was a quiet and self-controlled young man. Conformity to the discipline of a small society had become almost his second nature. It was deeply distasteful to him to do anything melodramatic and conspicuous, anything Mr. van der Luyden would have deprecated and the club box condemned as bad form. But he had become suddenly unconscious of the clubbox, of Mr. van der Luyden, of all that had so long enclosed him in the warm shelter of habit. He walked along the semi-circular passage at the back of the house, and opened the door of Mrs. van der Luyden's box as if it had been a gate into the unknown."
"Something he knew he had missed: the flower of life. But he thought of it now as a thing so unattainable and improbable that to have repined would have been like despairing because one had not drawn the first prize in a lottery. There were a hundred million tickets in HIS lottery, and there was only one prize; the chances had been too decidedly against him."
Target Audience : Age 20 and above
Difficulty: Difficult
Rating: Excellent
My recommendation: To be read only by those who love either literature or New York
