lia ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ’s Reviews > The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton > Status Update

mr jones: i found the storyline of this quite entertaining in the way a bit unlike the others and found the characters more lovable. they felt a more realistic, less caricatures of things to make a thematic point

bewitched: very twin peaks, hampden college-esque setting which was of course very lovely. i really like the themes here, that spookily abrupt ending, and the plot itself. it was just unique enough to break up the monotony and similar enough to fit in the collection. definitely one of the more enjoyable stories

miss mary park: ehhh. this one switched it up but i think it was a bit TOO short. i felt like i needed more substance for it to actually mean anything to me, but im sure it’s just meant to be a fun little thing.

the duchess at prayer: ehh. the duchess is such a diva but these stories are getting a bit formulaic and repetitive to a fault. i understand it may be intentional, especially for such a specific kind of collection, but the editors need to do some serious reordering or smth

the triumph of the night: i enjoyed the writing of this one, but found it to be disinterested to my personal tastes in its themes. not bad though

kerfol; ehh. this one kind of felt like a repeat of afterwards, which i much preferred, but taken in a different direction to explore a different theme. would have been more enjoyable had it not been placed back to back with one so similar

afterwards: i was deliriously half-way asleep but really enjoyed this! thematically i think this was the strongest, though i wasn't too big a fan of the writing in the opening for whatever reason (again, very sleepy). wharton's potential becomes more and more apparent

reading a story every few days for october

the lady’s maid’s bell: setting and writing is beautifully & gloomy, reminding me of shirley jackson. a bit lacking thematically, but a good start

the eyes: so creepy and interesting thematically. each of these stories highlights a different one of wharton’s abilities and i can’t wait to see them all put together.