Ethan Frome

The setting for this piercing New England novel is the aptly named Starkfield, where, despite violently blue skies, the chill of cold and snow seems to have settled in the hearts of its inhabitants. Tethered to his farm, first by helpless parents, later by his querulous, hypochondriac wife Zeena, Ethan Frome ekes out a living. Then Zeena’s cousin, the impoverished and enchanting Mattie Silver, comes to work for them, and Ethan’s hopes and dreams are rekindled. Yet theirs is a forbidden love, constrained by Zeena’s presence. And the impossible intensity in which the three exist will have devastating consequences for all.