On Monday, the Man Book Club accepted Dean’s challenge to double up and
read two novellas: Train Dreams and Ethan Frome. Both center on
men living hard, isolated lives in rural America around the turn of the 20th
century. Train Dreams traces the life of Robert Grainier in the wilds of
northern Idaho, while Ethan Frome gradually reveals—through
flashbacks—the bleak circumstances surrounding Ethan, his wife Zeena, and her
cousin Mattie in rural Massachusetts. Although both books depict stark,
unforgiving landscapes and lives, members’ reactions varied widely.
Highlights from the Discussion
- Dean (host): Reminded us that Wharton wrote
from her early 1900s vantage point as a New York City aristocrat. He found
Ethan overly melancholy and “whiney,” whereas Grainier in Train Dreams
showed more resilience. Both books, he noted, were so vividly written they
put you “right there.”
- Paul: Liked both books but especially Ethan
Frome, which struck him as Shakespearean with its annoying yet tragic
characters. He admired how both novellas managed to cover such broad spans
of time.
- Tom: Appreciated Train Dreams
for being short, well-written, and covering many years. He also liked Ethan
Frome but found it cold, pathetic, and surprisingly loveless, though
still well-crafted.
- Doug: Loved Johnson’s energetic
writing in Train Dreams—especially how animals are almost human
characters and how nature’s beauty shines through. Found Ethan Frome
cold and its characters flat.
- Andrew: Focused on Train Dreams.
Thought the third-person narration kept readers out of Grainier’s head but
admired how 60 years of life fit into so few pages. Noted that both
protagonists live at a subsistence level.
- Larry: Enjoyed Train Dreams’
historical sweep and was struck by Grainier’s lifelong guilt after joining
an unjust mob attack. Disliked Ethan Frome—he never sympathized
with Ethan and felt the climactic sledding accident was over-foreshadowed.
- Stan: Praised Ethan Frome as
well written but found Train Dreams “absolutely incredible,” with
much more substance.
- Jack: Came for Dean’s excellent dinner
(meat pie and pickle dish from Ethan Frome). Listening to both
books as audiobooks shaped his impressions: Ethan seemed “milquetoast,”
while Grainier came across as tough and admirable.
- Roy: Valued Train Dreams for
its vivid portrayal of nature and Grainier’s hermit-like life. Reflected
on his own family’s recent past with horses and no electricity. In Ethan
Frome, he focused on the simple domestic tasks and saw the ending as a
pact among the three characters.
- Glen: Liked both books. Described Train
Dreams as dreamlike, with Grainier’s visions of his dead wife and a wolf-girl
he believes to be his daughter. Enjoyed Wharton’s descriptive writing and
compared Grainier and Mattie’s sledding pact to Thelma & Louise.
- Terry: Called Train Dreams one
of the most impressive books MBC has read, likening the perspective to
looking down on Grainier’s life from above. Found Ethan Frome more
“ground level,” even giving readers a peek into Ethan’s brain at the sled
crash—yet still saw Ethan as a “lumox.”
The Vote
- Train Dreams: 8.2 average (scores
7–10)
- Ethan Frome: 6.9 average (scores 5–9)
MBC recommends reading the two together. At just over 100 pages each, they’re compact but powerful portraits of lonely men grappling with hardship. The group noted how much has changed since the early 1900s—and how much hasn’t, especially the sense of isolation felt by some young men today in the age of social media.
