You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Maybe I will like this book more once we discuss it during book club...
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent read for social customs of the wealthy in early 20th century New York written by someone who knew people just like the characters she created. The plot develops at the same pace those characters lived...slow and self consciously.
When I say I loved Edith Wharton’s writing it’s an understatement. The way she sentenced words together is truly an art form. I can’t wait to re-read it and pick more up next time.
I also enjoyed the ending. I think it fit the story very well and went well with the overall theme of the book.
Only grievance is that the plot is a little unconventional. Or at least it felt a bit repetitive when dealing with the drama of society.
I also enjoyed the ending. I think it fit the story very well and went well with the overall theme of the book.
Only grievance is that the plot is a little unconventional. Or at least it felt a bit repetitive when dealing with the drama of society.
Solamente Edith Wharton podría escribir sobre la ironía de la belleza con tanta maestría. Retrata como ninguna otra autora que haya leído, la crueldad de una sociedad sorda y vana, es imposible que esta tragedia no despierte la compasión del lector, así como una profunda tristeza.
To this day, I have not been able to read the last third of this book. I know what happens in the end, but I just can't make myself read it. The sensitive way Wharton wrote Lily Bart and Arthur, the subtle nuances and social cues she managed to capture on paper, are awe inspiring. This was the first story by Wharton I ever read, and even though it depressed and infuriated me, I was hooked on her from then on.
A really sad and moving story which was written beautifully. Through Lily Bart, Edith Wharton criticizes the constraints on women of that era, and also the greed and superficiality of the upper classes and society in general. How rumours, gossip and privilege (and also the lack of it) affects everybody. What I like about this book is that while it a social critique , all of the books characters are complex and well drawn. While Lily is shunned by the upper class society after one of the characters hurls a false accusation at her, there are also few who try to help her during those difficult time. This is obviously is contrast with those novels of social critique which look at these issues in black and white. Lily herself is a complex, ambiguous character. Throughout the book ,I was asking myself, is Lily principled ? or is she holding onto the society's idea of "perfection" which makes her act in a certain way. Was it her independence or her false pride which made her seek for employment.? We never really are given clear answers. But what is clear that Lily's upbringing (and those of other upper class women of her time) is limited , and there weren't many options for her . Thus Edith Wharton makes us sympathize with Lily despite her flaws.
The ending was sad but beautiful in a certain way .
The language was very flowery, and the sentences exquisite. A lot was said in many words signifying the strength of Wharton's writing. A must read book for lovers of Classic literature.
The ending was sad but beautiful in a certain way .
The language was very flowery, and the sentences exquisite. A lot was said in many words signifying the strength of Wharton's writing. A must read book for lovers of Classic literature.
This is an amazing book. Like so many great novels its failures seem huge because the whole book is huge, risky and ambitious.
In my imaginary fanfic of this book Lily does marry Rosedale and then slowly falls in love with him as they gain total social dominance on her terms, because in fact they are perfectly matched. After all, could moral coward Selden give lasting happiness to Lily? why not Rosedale, who offered concrete help to Lily over and over, and who has never wavered in his admiration of her as a person superior to himself?
In my imaginary fanfic of this book
The House of Mirth is one of those stories that has stayed with me for a long, long time. At a time when I had some difficult life choices to make, I took up reading Edith Wharton. Maybe not the best choice for someone who is already depressed, but I could totally identify with her heroines and the choices they had to make.
Lily Bart's life was balanced on the edge of a knife. She was beautiful, but at 29 years of age, she was beginning to worry that her beauty will fade. Although she was a part of New York society at the turn of the 20th Century, her lack of stable financial support meant that unless she married a wealthy man, she might gradually be turned away from the parlors and ballrooms that were the center of her world.
I found this book to be not so much an indictment of the society of Old New York as a character study of how those pressures affect one woman's psychology. Women in New York society at this time were subject to all sorts of strictures not placed upon the men. The press of societal expectations mixed with Lily's desire to remain true to herself make for one deeply meaningful book.
.
Lily Bart's life was balanced on the edge of a knife. She was beautiful, but at 29 years of age, she was beginning to worry that her beauty will fade. Although she was a part of New York society at the turn of the 20th Century, her lack of stable financial support meant that unless she married a wealthy man, she might gradually be turned away from the parlors and ballrooms that were the center of her world.
I found this book to be not so much an indictment of the society of Old New York as a character study of how those pressures affect one woman's psychology. Women in New York society at this time were subject to all sorts of strictures not placed upon the men. The press of societal expectations mixed with Lily's desire to remain true to herself make for one deeply meaningful book.
.