Publisher : Warner Adult
Publication Date : 1994 08 01
>> Very Moving
I cannot comment on this particular edition but felt compelled to review the novel anyway in the hope that others will read it
I didn t think I would feel sympathy for Lily but I don t think I ve ever wanted to help a character in any novel as much as I wanted to save Lily I didn t exactly fall in love with her frankly she is not my cup of tea But I desperately wanted to see her happy
For days I was affected by the end I was very very moved
That said I do not accept Edith Wharton s sense of determinism nor do I accept the basic plot with its scarcity of men Lily is the most beautiful woman in New York and there are only two or three obnoxious men she can choose from I found that hard to swallow I also found it difficult to accept that even for an unaccomplished woman it was either a life of frivolity with the rich set or a life of impoverished loneliness Even in 1905 there were more alternatives Lily for example could have learned her lesson that the rich were leading shallow lives and still have found happiness on a lower social scale with a hard working doctor or a military officer etc She also could have left New York and struck out West
I love the writing of Edith Wharton And I ve read most of her works But I don t buy the determinism and I think it was a little strained in this novel
But Lily is unforgettable
>> Protagonist Blame Thyself
High American society New York turn of the 19th century Lily Bart an associate of the well heeled who often attends their social functions has no fortune of her own What to do Marry into money This should be easy enough for Lily as she s found to be beautiful by many of the men who orbit about her but she seems to have no interest in them She longs for the trappings of aristocratic life but is unwilling to accept the sacrifices attendant to marrying simply for position Letting one too many opportunities slip by and being embroiled in a couple of social faux pases along the way she eventually finds that she s been dumped by polite society facing penury in a boarding house
House of Mirth is of course beautifully written though the plot moves quite slowly with few truly dramatic punctuations Lily is a largely unsympathetic character whose motives are not easy to understand and whose actions are often frustrating Indeed many of the misfortunes that befall her seem to be of her own making
>> Great Book
I received the book on time and it was exactly what I ordered It is a good novel to read and I highly recommend it
