The Old Wives' Tale

Arnold Bennett, 1901 Date Read: 5/25/22

This novel is the story of two sisters. Constance, who does what is expected of her, and Sophia, who doesn't.

It reminded me a lot of my mother and her sister. My mother was Sophia, doing her own thing, living her own life, and Kathy was Constance who stayed with her parents and helped them until they each died. Though my mother and her sister were not estranged for decades like Sophia and Constance, and my mom has never been to Paris.

In some ways this novel reminded me of Vanity Fair, in that it told almost an entire life. The Old Wives' Tale begins when the sisters are in adolescence and ends with their deaths.

In some ways this novel also reminded me of myself and my older sister (though we have another sister who is considerably younger than us) because she was the one who lived 10 minutes away from our parents and I followed my ex-husband all over with the Air Force.

It was an enjoyable and engrossing read. It was sad, harrowing, and funny, as life is.

Length: 640 pages in hardcover

Rereadability: probably

Classic: yes! This is how novels should be done