Two Novellas, Two Men: A Hardscrabble Dinner at Dean's

Books: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson & Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

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.