americanfiction

Hudson River Bracketed - Books 6 & 7 (the end)
#whartonbuddyread

(Unsure of what image to use, I found Caris Corfman, who played Halo in 1987 in a TV movie: Songs from the Heart: Edith Wharton)

A lot of up and down in Book 6. Then just down in Book 7. I thought it might be nice to reflect on Laura Lou, but the book quickly carries on. And the concludes with a lovely final sentence. But.. there‘s a sequel!

So, where did we all land with this?

Lcsmcat

Graywacke @AllDebooks @amysisson @Ann_Reads @arubabookwoman @batsy @BookishTrish @CarolynM @catebutler @Catherine_Willoughby @Cathythoughts 3mo

Graywacke @cindyash @Crazeedi @Currey @dabbe @Daisey @emilyhaldi @IMASLOWREADER @IndoorDame @jewright @KathyWheeler @kspenmoll @Leftcoastzen @LitStephanie 3mo

Graywacke @llwheeler @Louise @rubyslippersreads @SamAnne @sarahbellum @Sparklemn @Suet624 @Tamra @TheBookHippie @willaful 3mo

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Graywacke The sequel, published 3 years later in 1932, and including Halo, is:

The Gods Arrive

3mo

Graywacke The final line - which is gorgeous: ... And when at last he drew her arm through his and walked beside her in the darkness to the corner where she had left her motor, he wondered if at crucial moments the same veil of unreality would always fall between himself and the soul nearest him, if the creator of imaginary beings must always feel alone among the real ones. 3mo

Lcsmcat That final line gave me goosebumps! Was that how Wharton felt? 3mo

Lcsmcat Maybe we have to wait for the sequel to know, but how did everyone feel about Halo‘s reaction when sh learned of LauraLou‘s death? I was a bit taken aback. 3mo

Lcsmcat Some other things I highlighted besides that last sentence: “His [Tarrant‘s] restless vanity could never find sufficient pasturage,” and “All this Halo marked with the lucid second sight of married experience.” 3mo

Lcsmcat “Usually he required twenty-four hours to recover after he had given somebody hell—and here was his own wife, who knew better than anyone else how sensitive he was, how heavily he had to pay for every nervous strain, and who was ruthlessly forcing him into a second scene before he had recovered from the first!” 3mo

Lcsmcat Re: the grandmother “The fraud was there, it was only farther back, in the national tolerance of ignorance, the sentimental plausibility, the rush for immediate results, the get-rich-quick system applied to the spiritual life….” 3mo

Lcsmcat And about the doctor (because it made me chuckle) “He had a poor sort of face, not made for emotional emergencies, and seemed to know it.” 3mo

Currey @Lcsmcat I was also surprised at Halo‘s reaction although we know her to be a sensitive soul. 3mo

Lcsmcat @Currey I was surprised because she seemed more like the death upset her plans to renew her friendship with Vance. Maybe it was just being upset about the death. We‘ll have to see what the next volume brings! 3mo

Currey @Graywacke @Lcsmcat The final sentence brought into focus for me why exactly Wharton wanted to spend so long with these characters. She often has given us unlikeable people in her books but they always served some clarity of purpose that I could understand. In this book I felt I was missing that through much of the book. I felt particularly bad that when LauraLou passed away, part of my reaction was: Finally! 3mo

Lcsmcat @Currey My reaction too! Which is why Halo‘s tears didn‘t make sense to me. 3mo

Currey @Graywacke @Lcsmcat. I also have to admit that although I am still loving Wharton‘s writing, I am not looking forward to the sequel. 3mo

arubabookwoman @Curry I also felt throughout this book there was a lack of clarity to the characters. As I read the end, I thought it was rushed and a cop-out, but now that I know there is a sequel, it makes more sense. That being said, this was one of my least favorite Wharton's, though I will read the sequel. I thought Wharton tried to cover an enormous amount: the artistic/creative process, unhappy/unequal marriages, the publishing industry👇🏻👇🏻 3mo

arubabookwoman the evangelical/populist/religious movements sweeping the country at that time, and more. Despite such a broad range of themes I thought it became repetitious at times and it sometimes dragged for me. Even though, as always her prose is gorgeous, as I said, not one of my favorites. 3mo

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @currey - the last line - I think she did feel that way at times, although she was not a loner. She seemed to like to be the center of attention in RL. Embedded in the line is a comparison between creators - the author as a god. She may have felt that way too. 3mo

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @currey - when Halo shows up at the end, unaware, I was first confused. How would she not know? And second realized Wharton doesn‘t have narrative space or momentum for a proper response from Halo. The entire book has been building towards them getting together. This is success. LL and LT have been disposed of. How can Halo be sincere here, narratively? Anyway, she did enough for (😁). I‘m ready to move on too. 👇 3mo

Graywacke 👆But i liked Laura Lou. She stayed true to character, true to herself. Her tragedy would have made a good end to the book. Vance and Halo‘s book could have become hers if Wharton had ended there. Then we‘re rethinking the whole book in LL‘s perspective. But once Halo shows up again, LL reverts back to a narrative diversion 3mo

Graywacke @arubabookwoman goodness, I‘m sorry this one beat you up so much. I feel like Wharton hadn‘t done much with the last two books. Words were churning, but the spark underneath was a little ho-hum. There were real sparks here - the sunrises, Halo‘s youth and service as muse, the insights into the writer‘s mind. But it also drags. A lot of unsatisfying parts too. 3mo

Graywacke @Currey will you carry on to the sequel? 3mo

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Laura Lou and Vance both annoyed me for the same reason - they each expected the other to be someone different from who they were. But unhappy marriage is a theme we‘ve seen over and over again in Wharton, so I‘m not surprised. 3mo

Sparklemn @graywacke You can take me off the group thread. I wish I'd focused more on my reading but just got really behind. Enjoy the book & discussion! 😊 3mo

AllDebooks I've just finished and yes, that last line was a real gut punch. I enjoyed all the themes, particularly the literary/writer ones. However, it did feel like Wharton was cramming too much content into the story. I think the grandmothers evangelical plot could be edited out. This would add to coherence around the artist/authorship plot. 3mo

AllDebooks This played out in my head as a black and white Jimmy Stewart movie, esp. everytime 'See here' was said. 3mo

Graywacke @Lcsmcat i kept wanting Vance and LL to work out. But i guess it was never going to be happy. Happier than Halo‘s marriage 3mo

Graywacke @Sparklemn no problem 3mo

Graywacke @AllDebooks that‘s funny about the way they talk. You might be right, too much. But surely Wharton knew, by this point, how to judge that… right? 😕 3mo

AllDebooks @Graywacke You're right. I just think she had so much to say, she got carried away. The evangelism would have worked better as a theme in another novel imo. I got bored reading that section as I was invested in V, LL, & H and the literary themes. 2mo

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I‘m not sure ranking unhappiness is something I am competent at, but all four characters seemed incredibly lonely in their respective marriages. 2mo

Lcsmcat @AllDebooks @Graywacke I feel like the book needed the grandmother and her evangelism. I‘m going to have trouble articulating why, but here goes. Growing up V knew the shallowness of his parents‘ values and that they didn‘t feed his soul. He didn‘t understand his grandparents but got something there, to the point of trying to invent his own religion. Then grandfather‘s behavior takes the comfort of the place away, and his exposure to history 👇🏻 2mo

Lcsmcat 👆🏻philosophy and broader ideas shows him his “invented” religion was a sham and Halo exposes his writing as weak. So all the supports are knocked out from under him. He has gotten to a place just so far, but has exchanged one illusion for another. When those two worlds collide, he is faced with the evidence that there‘s as much sham in the new set as the old. It emphasizes his aloneness and that he has no one to rely on. 👇🏻 2mo

Lcsmcat 👆🏻Finally, he thinks Halo will be that one person who understands him and shares “truth” with him. But I guess we‘ll have to read the sequel to know if he‘s right or not. 😀 (Sorry to be long-winded but I couldn‘t find a way to explain my opinion concisely,) 2mo

AllDebooks @Lcsmcat I think you explained that perfectly, and it makes complete sense. You've changed my mind x 😅 2mo

Graywacke @Lcsmcat thank you. Great stuff. It wasn‘t that long winded, just Litsy makes it seem that way. Appreciate your thoughts and working through this aspect and laying it out for us. 2mo

CarolynM I‘ve just got around to reading this, at last, & caught up with the discussions -so interesting! @lcsmcat has expressed some of my ideas better than I could. I would add that, although V is horribly self absorbed, I felt for him in being caught between his talent (which I think we have to believe in even though we‘re not shown it directly) & his upbringing. 1mo

CarolynM Also, did you notice that everyone except Halo always believed the worst of him - that he was unfaithful to LL, that he asked Mrs P for an advance on the prize money rather than a genuine loan, that he approached the other publisher about breaking the contract - when he had no ill intentions, he was just too naive to see how his actions may appear. 1mo

Graywacke @CarolynM he was naive. But also careless and insensitive. What a tragedy he was to L‘s mom. Takes away her daughter and causes endless problems, and then doesn‘t even tell mom her daughter is dreadfully sick. I had trouble with that. But, i agree, he was also beautiful here, blissfully ignorant. Glad you have caught up! @Currey @Lcsmcat 1mo

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