The Age of Innocence

One of the most intricate book on relationships. I had no expectations when started this book apart from this being an American classic, but turned out to be a deep and beautifully told story of a fragile balance of social status, responsibilities, kindness and love. The storyline is perhaps another version of man’s spiritual journey as in Pushkin’s Eugen Onegin and a male version of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. The main character is an extremely well bread American gentleman who outgrew the norms of society and whose vague dissatisfaction with what life in the New York upper class of the late 19th century could give have transformed into a love to an equally intelligent and passionate woman he could never marry. The final part of the book give the novel several more layers of meaning and leave reader with an emotional aftertaste which is hard to dismiss without reflecting on one’s own life choices and their price for oneself and others close by.

A story about internal fight and feelings storm, American classic.
Американская классика, стиль повествования немного похож на сценарий пьесы или фильма.