Submitted by: Armenta Hinton
Generally, what inspires you to read?
I read for several reasons. I read to learn and for research. When my children were younger, I read to relax them to put them to sleep. Often I could read newspapers or even position papers. It was the sound of my voice that they enjoyed, not what I was reading. Often I read to relax and to find a happy ending!
When did you first read The Age of Innocence?
I first read this book in college.
How did you come to read this book?
I was learning about American Literature and women authors.
Why has this book inspired you the most?
I like Edith Wharton's use of the language. I love the scene that she set in the gilded age of turn of the century New York. It seems a time of sheltered enchantment. As a Black woman, it is hard to imagine that while my ancestors were recently freed from slavery that there was another part of society that was oblivious to the indignities that they suffered, and lived in a protected cocoon of society balls, social graces and the ceremony surrounding their lives.
In reading this book, how has your life been influenced or changed?
This book seems at times to be contemptuous of upper class society. It is refreshing to visit the other side, and to see where some of the customs and rituals that permeate polite African American society stem from. Wharton paints a wonderful picture. This book is candy for those that need and crave beautiful imagery in their reading.
