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scuba888's review against another edition
5.0
My friend Haley wrote part of her dissertation on House of Mirth and did a House of Mirth read-a-long series on her Substack -“closely reading”. I highly recommend it! It was incredible to read this novel with her expertise, thoughtful questions, historical context, contemporary connections, and literary knowledge to guide me every step of the way. Now I feel spoiled and will have a hard time reading any classic without an expert holding my hand through the experience- it felt like being in a college literature class again and I LOVED it.
Edith Wharton’s every sentence is a masterpiece— I would frequently read one over and over and just marvel at how *good* that sentence was! This book contains some of the best prose I’ve ever read.
Edith Wharton’s every sentence is a masterpiece— I would frequently read one over and over and just marvel at how *good* that sentence was! This book contains some of the best prose I’ve ever read.
rachelparaski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kashna83's review against another edition
2.0
Lo siento.... es que el final no me gustó nada... supongo que no estaba en el mood adecuado y me sentó fatal.
marilenakarra26's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thejessman's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
Solidly between Ethan Frome and Glimpses of the Moon for me; not quite as depressing as the first, but neither as light as the latter. Quite a slog if I’m honest, though it dazzled at times.
mina_chang's review against another edition
4.5
rich people doing rich people things. could write a hell of a marxist criticism about this thought-provoking book.
erinalbion's review against another edition
5.0
Good lord, all the stars and all the tears! Wharton's first novel was historical fiction, and did not allow her to use her strengths. With this second, she finds her true subject matter (which she had already been exploring in her short stories), life in the upper class world of New York that Wharton knew all too well. Apparently, she had wondered if anyone would feel that there was enough material here for a longer work. Oh, there certainly was. Lily Bart is someone who would have been completely familiar to Wharton, and she is a perfect symbol of how crippling society life was in general, and particularly to its women. When one is brought up to believe that one's livelihood depends upon marriage to the right man, and that a woman's role is to be beautiful, cultured, sensitive, and well dressed, what happens to that woman when the men in her life leave her practically penniless? A butterfly, while exquisitely beautiful, does not thrive under harsh conditions.