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A review by katiegilley
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
4.0
“She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.”
This is my first ever Edith Wharton novel! I picked it up because this is the book that the Novel Pairings podcast is discussing this week. I was nervous - classics always make me nervous - and had no reason to be. I listened on audio and was able to sit back and sink into the glamorous world of New York high society in the late 1800s. It almost felt like watching Gossip Girl - it was so full of petty plots and society climbers who were willing to hurt anyone if it helped their standing.
But Lily Bart, our protagonist, is in a precarious position. While still accepted by those in high society, her family lost their wealth and she is in tremendous debt and marriage is her only way out. The rumors about her morality are fierce but she still has several suitors, yet she can't bring herself to marry unless he is The One. Oh, Lily. She tries so hard to live a glamorous life, but with integrity. This book shows us just how impossible that is.
This is my first ever Edith Wharton novel! I picked it up because this is the book that the Novel Pairings podcast is discussing this week. I was nervous - classics always make me nervous - and had no reason to be. I listened on audio and was able to sit back and sink into the glamorous world of New York high society in the late 1800s. It almost felt like watching Gossip Girl - it was so full of petty plots and society climbers who were willing to hurt anyone if it helped their standing.
But Lily Bart, our protagonist, is in a precarious position. While still accepted by those in high society, her family lost their wealth and she is in tremendous debt and marriage is her only way out. The rumors about her morality are fierce but she still has several suitors, yet she can't bring herself to marry unless he is The One. Oh, Lily. She tries so hard to live a glamorous life, but with integrity. This book shows us just how impossible that is.