The Valley of Decision

I told myself that, this year, I'd finish reading every book I start regardless of how I may feel about the book after encountering a stumbling block . Now, 20% into Edith Wharton's first novel, The Valley of Decision, I'm afraid I'm going to go back on my promise (to myself).

An historical novel, it is about the life and times of Odo Valsecca during the later part of 18th century Italy. Unfortunately, I'm finding the novel a bit of a grind.

Before completely giving up on the novel, I went to goodreads.com to read other reviews of the novel, in hopes that those reviews might change my mind. They didn't.

Most of the people giving reviews appear to be as disappointed in this novel as I am. Quite a few people gave the book three stars (or less) out of a possible five stars.

One of the reviewers - a rare person who gives the book four stars - wrote:
"I almost abandoned this book twice. Her writing is gorgeous but nothing of much consequence happens until well into the book. Then I finally fell into the story."

Sorry, but I can't wait that long. Maybe I'm impatient, but there are far too many books available to trudge through this one.

When I started reading The Valley of Decision, my plan was to move on and reread Wharton's second novel The House of Mirth, which I originally read in December, 2017. I'm not sure I'll do that now.

I was watching a video of Jordan Peterson yesterday, and following his suggestion, I may reread Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I first read that novel in 1977, and have read it several times over the years. Reading it again now might be a better decision than reading anything by Wharton.