Alex, prescribed Adderall for an ADD diagnosis, is on the verge of expulsion from her expensive alternative private school. Maddy, the Fromes’ live-in nanny, earns extra money as a cam girl via a gig site called Ten Spot. Zo, a freelance documentary filmmaker, struggles with her latest project while conspiring with her coven, a women’s group called All Them Witches, to protest Kavanaugh’s misogyny. The marketing firm Ethan cofounded faces financial ruin due to the sexual misconduct of his former business partner. It’s September 2018, the Senate is holding a hearing on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and Ethan and Zenobia (“Zo”) Frome and their exasperating 11-year-old daughter, Alex, navigate life in Starkfield, Mass.ĭrama abounds. This is exactly what Ali Benjamin has done with “ The Smash-Up,” which takes Wharton’s bleak, turn-of-the-century dirge and updates it to the equally bleak Trump era. But I also wondered: Who the hell would want to retell this story in a contemporary setting? After financial circumstances and propriety prevent Ethan and Mattie from running away together, they attempt double suicide by crashing their sled into a tree, so they’d “never have to leave each other any more.” Spoiler alert: The “smash-up,” as it’s referred to, permanently injures Ethan and leaves Mattie paralyzed, bitter and forever dependent on Zeena.Īs I reread “Ethan Frome” in preparation for this review, I found myself admiring Wharton’s sumptuous descriptions and her ability to infuse every moment with a sense of inexorable tragedy. Just in case you’ve forgotten (or possibly blocked out) that semester in high school or college when you read Edith Wharton’s 1911 novella “ Ethan Frome,” here is a brief refresher: During a desolate New England winter, a stoic, unhappy man, Ethan, yearns to leave his domineering wife, Zenobia (or Zeena), for her cousin Mattie, who has been living with the couple as Zeena’s aide. If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from, whose fees support independent bookstores.

Ethan frome by edith wharton