**spoiler alert** This was an audiobook listen, read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki. I wasn't particularly fond of the latter, but I adored **spoiler alert** This was an audiobook listen, read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki. I wasn't particularly fond of the latter, but I adored the former.
The book is a compilation of four novellas that were designed to explore themes and styles of four different decades: False Dawn (1840s), The Old Maid (1850s), The Spark (1860s), and New Year's Day (the 1870s) - yet each of them spanned several decades within their stories. I think it would be fascinating to see a television series or film exploring them, with sets and costumes to visually contrast all the eras contained within. Since Wharton's style of writing is more about the humans than their surroundings, and the eras are so far in the past compared to when they were conceived, they felt like characters floating through barely-noticeable eras rather than the period-specific tales they were meant to be.
One review of Wharton I read recently, by Rebecca Russavage, said of these four novellas: "In the first, the question is what do we value? The second, what does family mean? The third is the same question dressed differently—what do we owe to each other? What is right and wrong when measured against our actions toward others? The fourth is so much more targeted: what choice does this type of woman have in this situation? Not just what does she do, but who does she start as and who does she become? What does it mean to not be ruled by the society in which you live? What does it mean to be free, and what are the consequences of that?"
The first and third stories - about what we value and what we owe each other - were masculine in nature, featuring men in families. The second and fourth were more feminine, addressing the consequences of women's actions after they moved against society, in some form or other. The third story (The Spark) was by far the least interesting of the lot and is considered to be the least developed story, while the second (The Old Maid) was my favorite, and compelling enough to warrant stage and film adaptations.
I do love the inherent conflict within Wharton's writing, where she has a disdain for New York and its society, and the way it turns its back on women and those in need - yet she was so very much a part of the "old money" set and thought European values were being lost in America, and sought to reflect the more respectable and elegant times of her past. But she's the writer who explores many of the faux pas of Victorian society - pre-marital sex, prostitution, affairs and mistresses - without that strong a judgment against the individuals. It's a fascinating look at the society we tend to consider reserved and stuffy when, like the gilded age, it simply had a veneer to cover the indecency beneath, ...more
**spoiler alert** There was a lot to unpack in this collection of short stories; I think my favorites are about the girl in the stars-and-bars bikini **spoiler alert** There was a lot to unpack in this collection of short stories; I think my favorites are about the girl in the stars-and-bars bikini (omg, so much insight into how someone who isn't politically motivated will double down and become the spearhead of a movement because they're not being listened to. Oof.) and the story upon which the anthology's title was based - The Office of Historical Corrections. That was a tough read, and it was both amusing (at first) and poignant (at last) in ways that have stuck with me for the last month.
Like the last novella I read (“My Monticello”, by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson), it deals with race in the US and white supremacy and all the issues that should make us feel uneasy and angry. Interestingly, both novellas feature a sympathetic white man that the protagonist is or has been romantically linked to, which allows some incredibly thought-provoking speculation about how we fill the space around us: what we expect, what we feel we need to prove, how we feel others should listen to us, how we can escalate or de-escalate a situation with our presence or our words. Both of the stories were amazing and filled with a sense of history. I think I prefer “The Office of Historical Corrections” because it starts out as a dream for a pedantic historian - the notion that there could be a group dedicated to fixing signs and tidbits around a city that are not quite factually accurate. But then, of course, there’s the fallout when someone says you’re erasing their heritage or that you have an agenda, when your only agenda is to make sure the information is factual. And of course, there are some who feel that the role of the historian IS to be a prosecutor, and paint the image you wish others to see (Thanks, Aristotle!) with the hope that they will judge the facts as you’ve presented them.
I’ve always said that truth is subjective and personal, while the facts are the foundation upon which we should be building our truths. This novella explores that concept full tilt and I love it....more
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