Rating: 
Summary: Don't let it happen to you!
Review: I decided to write a review of this book because even though the last time I read it was over 20 years ago for a High School English class, I still remember the story so vividly. Obviously it had an impact on me. Other reviews here say, "Boring, nothing happened, the man was stupid and made stupid choices." That was exactly the point! At the age of 14 it was brought home to me that it is easy to get into a situation where one small bad decision after another leads you to a life that is just plain awful. It encouraged me to consider the concequences of my actions 5, 10, even 20 years down the road. The concepts in this book are relevant to so many modern situations (How will your later life be affected if you get pregnant/do drugs/flunk school now?) A smart English teacher will incorporate these discussions into any class requiring this book for reading.
Rating: 
Summary: An emotionally scarring experience
Review: To the dismay of many young, bright, energetic high school English students, this is perhaps the poorest possible example of American literature. Ethan, a depressed, pathetic man whose life is repetitive and uninteresting, stars in this book as its main character. His life, disappointment after disappointment, is slowly retold to the reader. It is bad enough that Ms. Wharton has chosen a main character which no human could admire--a man who has destroyed himself of his own free will. However, the worst part of this book is the way Ms. Wharton tells her story: page after page of pointless, obscure symbolism. Additionally, her characters are all wonderfully stupid. Their choices and actions seem irrelevant to their surroundings and desires, which gives the reader a sense of unreality, as if such writing should not and could not exist. If you are fond of understanding the motivations of the main characters in books you read, Ethan Frome is certainly not for you. The climax of this book was its best moment, not because it was serious or thought-provoking, but rather for its unintentional yet copious humor. The climax was the culmination of terrible symbolism and irrational behavior which should make any intelligent person burst out laughing on the spot. This uninspiring book has one positive point: its brevity. Having been forced to read such terrible literary works as Great Expectations, the shortness of this worthless book is a very welcome change. Thus, I give it 2 stars. My overall recommendation: avoid Ethan Frome like the plague.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring!
Review: This is a boring novel about boring people in a boring town doing boring things. No excitement. The main character is very stupid and can't do anything interesting, even if he'd bother to try.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing...
Review: For starters, nothing good happens in this book. Why is it that books assigned to schoolkids (statistically the most likely to commit suicide and suffer from depression) are usually relentlessly depressing? I found this novel extremely hard to get through, not just because of its dark subject matter but because I wanted to run, screaming, from these characters and the setting.
BTW, I also hated the Great Gatsby, so there.
I give it two stars because the quality of the writing is pretty high, but this is a book few (sadists?) would read for enjoyment.
Rating:
Summary: A work of Art
Review: A delightfully hideous tale of irony. Ethan Frome pulled at my heart as I imagined mimicking his life of self-torture and imprisonment. Edith Wharton's attention to detail and description in Frome's setting extracted my soul and placed it poignantly in early 20th century New England. A must read for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: This book is awful!!
Review: Ethan Frome was on the required reading list for Sophmore Honors English. I don't understand why only the honors class had to read this "easy to read" piece of literature, with no plot. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing happened
Review: This book was the most uneventful book I have ever read. I kept waiting for a big scene or something interesting to happen. The only halfway interesting thing happened at the very end and it wasnt even that good. I don't know how this book became a classic. I do not recommend this book to anyone. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of one was because it was easy to follow and it only took me one day. I didn't waste anymore of my life reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Ethan Frome
Review: Ethan Frome is a compelling mysterious tale that takes you back to the days when Ethan Frome was in his early 20's. The book unfolds into a story aimed to explain the cause of a horrific accident. Although this book was captivating, some parts were lacking especially the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Trapped in your life?
Review: Ethan Fromme is trapped in his life. He is a bright and inquisitive man whose academic career is cut short by family obligation, a man who sees all the fine detail in nature and is profoundly alone with this "mournful privilege". If you've ever felt alone, trapped in a life you did not choose, and alienated from everyone around you, Ethan's life and sorrow will be recognizable. The words are so rich, so carefully chosen, that this needn't be a long story to say so much. On the first reading some sentences nearly took my breath away and I had to pause to collect myself before going on. My only regret about this story is that it offers no hope. In the end Ethan's brief hope for escape is only a mirage.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story! Real characters
Review: Don't read this novel if you need to be cheered up, but Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome" entertained me. The narrator first sees Ethan at a local post office in his gloomy New England town- walking like the "jerk of a chain," scarred, and looking depressed. As the narrator meets Ethan, and talks to the town about him, he is able to uncover Ethan's tragic story of his two loves in life- his wife, whom he feels a deep about of commitment to, and her cousin, who is like a fresh spring field of flowers he needs in his dark, cold life. The novel is FULL of symbolism, and at the end you'll suddenly realize what all of it meant. I can't tell anymore without ruining it. Enjoy!!
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