House of Mirth (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

Mixed Feelings

This is one of those classic books I always meant to read, but never got around to actually doing it. I finally got my hands on this weekend, and finished it within a day. The characters are sympathetic, and the plot engaging. I couldn't put it down, but then again I am one of those people who get completed engrossed in a book and have to finish it as soon as possible.

Although, I was a tad disappointed. Im an avid Austen fan, and I guess I was expecting a similar turbulent love story, which ultimately will end happily, but Wharton did not deliver such story.

The novel is fantastic, and if it was not for the things I put off doing while reading the book, I might have not hated the ending as much. But when a girl puts off studying for midterms, and stays until 3am reading a novel, dang it, it better end happily.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Classic Turn-of-the-Century Story of Wealth, Poverty, Love, and Life

My 10th-grade English teacher handed me a copy of the House of Mirth about halfway through that school year and told me she thought I'd really enjoy it and Edith Wharton. I was hesitant, but I read it because I was 15 and a teacher was suggesting it, which might have been mixed up with assigning it in my mind. But boy, am I glad I read it! Reading The House of Mirth was the start of a lifelong love affair with Edith Wharton, her books, her characters, and her stories. I have since re-read House of Mirth, seen the movie multiple times, and ventured out to Wharton's other texts, all of which I love for her detail, her honest writing, her fully realized characters, and the tragic lives they all lead. I will continue to say that The House of Mirth is my all-time favorite book for as long as I'm reading, because I doubt I will ever find something that I connect with as much as this one.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Best Classic I've Ever Read

I can't say enough how much I loved this book. About a no longer "young" woman who needs to marry for money in order to stay within the class she's grown accustomed to - she finds she always sabotages herself. She makes decisions that are bad for the time she's living in and ends up having to suffer the consequences. Reading it from a 21st century perspective, it all seems so unfair - if she were alive today she'd be doing just fine. But in her time, she was trapped and had to choose between the luxury she craved, but with men she didn't even like, or a life of poverty. Both were traps. It makes you appreciate the freedom we now have to live the way we please. But even though she's trapped in a way that I'll never experience, I still identified very much with her character - above all with her increasing inability to be the kind of person she wanted to be. Because in the end, we're all trying to be better people, then life gets in the way. I can't wait to read this one again!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book, great social commentary

I really enjoyed reading this book, because of its engrossing plot and very intriguing themes. The characterization, particularly that of Lily Bart, is very realistic and extremely well written. Wharton takes a hard look at the traditions and lifestyles of the wealthy upper-class in ways that reveal the hypocrisy and cutthroat behaviors that dominate some circles of that social class. The other very interesting theme is the power of women in society, which has pertinence in today's world. For instance, Wharton addresses issues such as the value put on women by society, the meaning of customs such as marriage, the rules of behavior that women are expected to follow 'and many do not', as well as the power of women over each other, which is perhaps the most interesting concept of all that this book presents. Overall, this book is very well written, has a great ending that leaves the reader thinking, and is also a great social commentary. I would highly recommend this book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The House of Horror

The House of Mirth is a traditional novel of manners compromising a dramatic plot encircling a fatally flawed character. Lily Bart is a single socialite existing at the turn of the 20th century in upper class New York whose life ambition is to achieve inconceivable heights of social prominence through the security of a lucrative, venerable marriage. To Lily, social standing means everything it is something to be worked for and perfected no matter the cost. This selfish, single-minded desire for material wealth and social glory proves to be a constant struggle for Lily throughout the novel, as her morality comes into question through several trials, which consequently result in grave irrevocable errors. One such internal battle surfaces when Lily encounters the rare opportunity to marry for love, but ultimately banishes the possibility from her mind in favor of a more financially stable union. Another major tribulation concerns Lily¿s inclination to accumulating overwhelming debts, which force her to ask for favors from ¿friends,¿ leaving her vulnerable and free to manipulation. Unfortunately, Lily¿s purely self-interested motivations induce the opposite of the desired effect as they eventually serve to reduce her to a destitute social pariah. Through Lily¿s tragic character it is illustrated that excessive concern for material riches is detrimental to one¿s wellbeing, because it inevitably breeds moral decay and supersedes the more precious facets of life. It is through her poor decisions that Lily begins her downward spiral from her position as an esteemed lady of high society to a figure of public humiliation and defeat, a journey that takes readers along for a thrilling ride and leaves them with an impression of personal loss.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Spark of Genius

Brilliant character development of Ms. Lily Bart. I love how Wharton gives her readers an omnipotent view of the battle between good and evil that precedes each character's words and actions. It just shows how truly discerning and insightful she is. The protagonist's heroic adherence to her morals will really make you question the strenght of your own character. The ending depressed me, but I still think it the appropriate outcome. This book is a real classic!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book to read. Edith Wharton is one of the m

This is an excellent book to read. Edith Wharton is one of the most important female writers in American literature. Her "Age of Innocence" and "The House of Mirth" is an absolutely must read books in the list of anyone. Wharton's style is unique to her which is chided with criticism of her time, New York's socialites and the wealthy, along with the psyche of U.S. at the time. Wharton delivers much in-depth insight to her readers through the language she uses, lively and fresh descriptions and the irony she presents in this novel.
The whole novel is a critique of the New York's aristocracy in the Gilded age. Lily Bart is a 29 year old single young woman who is taken care of by her aunt (who is old fashioned, and thinks she has covered every single a young lady at Lily's age might need, both financially and other wise), addicted to gambling and who has ambitious goals of marrying into the wealth and continue to stay within her social class. This is the plight and the tragedy that revolves around Lily, making her one of the most likeable and also frustrating characters in the literature that I know.
Lily is probably one of the most human, fallible characters that are represented in a positive light, but due to her plights, tragically ends her life/ There are a lot of details within this book, concretely set rules of social etiquette and vivid details of the characters, settings and rules of the society. However, there are certain vagueness to the novel that at the end is open to interpretation, which makes it readily one of the most arguable novels in American literature. This is the genius of Wharton bringing the certainty and uncertainty in a harmonized light.
Lily is an extremely attractive young woman who is pushing the boundaries of her marriageability firstly because of her age, (which even by today's standards is debatable), secondly by her addiction to gambling and later to the scandalous rumors about her non-existent affair with George Dorset. While Lily has had many who has proposed to her, Lily has always been unable to decide and later jeopardize those proposes by acting out of character in hopes of being with someone better. Lily's ambitions and her own self righteous attitude gets the better of her. (She could have easily pulled her out of her financial troubles by marrying any one of her eligible suitors--which makes one critically think about Lily that although she wants to have a wealthy husband who will secure her foothold in the higher elite social class, she also wants to marry for love).
With all of this said and done, Lawrence Seldon is an attorney from the middle class who often hangs around the wealthy. Seldon and Lily do love each other, however Lily never takes the leap to be with Seldon due to his inferior social standing. Her inability to let go of her desire to be in the society of the elite-regardless of their cruel, unhappy, polite but back-stabbing, gossiping circle overwhelms her desire to be happy. Lily is stuck in between love and wealth--which being unable to commit to either one brings her tragic death.
Lily is such an interesting antagonist, especially considering the time where women writers were barely existent and usually were not taken seriously Wharton offers a critique of not only the New York's finest, however a glimpse of the mindset of a woman who lived in between the turn of the 19th Century. Wharton delivers her characters trough an interpretive and exposing lens that serves the modern.

Boring

I liked the movie but not the book,so slow.

Frustrating

This edition was unreadable with the gibberish that marred every page.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommend- very compelling

I read this book for a college course. From the first page I was drawn to continue reading. The book is identifiable with all sorts of people. If you're looking for a love story this is not the book for you. Lily Bart is one of the most complex and humanistic character ever written. This book is definitely recommended, even though it is full of heart break.

Dark story that has a new follow-up

I always think of this novel in conjunction with "The Great Gatsby" as the best American novels about money, envy, and doomed romance. It gets better every time I read it, but I've often wondered about one of the characters Wharton presents ambivalently: Simon Rosedale, the Jewish financier. To my delight, there's now a novel which answer my questions about that very enigmatic man: Lev Raphael's "Rosedale in Love." After you read Wharton, download his book for a whole new take on the story of Lily Bart and her Gilded Age New York. Raphael's portrait of excess in 1905 New York absolutely blew my mind and his novel reads as if it were written by a contemporary of Wharton's. It moved me almost as deeply as "The House of Mirth," and that's very high praise.

Some errors in editing

Sometimes, there were paragraph breaks in the middle of words at the end of lines, or closing quotes would be moved to the beginning of the next paragraph. Readable, but annoying. I figure I paid for superior editing, and this didn't measure up.

Not Recommended

This book has garbled words throughout. It is illegible and should not be offered even as a free e-book. Doesn't someone proof read these books? I spent a great deal of time with nook technicians via the phone and then at a Barnes and Noble Store trying to determine if it was the Nook or the book! I learned it was the book, and that you may especially get these illegible books when they are free. I only gave it one star because it would not be submitted without a rating. I really shouldn't give it any stars because I couldn't read it! Not nice!

Use your Nook to catch up on classics, starting with this one!

The House of Mirth is a brilliantly constructed novel, with emotional tugs that will stick with you. Although some might find it a little dated in subject matter (social mores in the very early 20th century in New York), it does impart a fascinating picture of that place and time among the rich (and wealthy want to bes). Thoroughly readable and enjoyable.

Loving the Classics

:)

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended

I read this book with my book club and loved it. It is well-written, the story is interesting and it provokes wonderful conversation. In addition, it provides an excellent depiction of the times.

Not a favorite, however, worth trying

I was entertained by Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome" and decided to give this book a try.

I have read half of this book, and due to the fact that I have yet to finish it, I am probably the wrong person to be reviewing it. However, I am going to do just that.

Through countless hours of trying to get through this book, I have found that I am not a fan. I would classify this book as a novel about late 19th, early 20th century New York bourgeoise keen on profitable marriages and much discussion regarding aristocratic dinner parties.

The main character, Lily Bart, seems eager to please her socialite friends in a prosperous marriage, yet she continuously sabotages her opportunites with the priviledged men.

This is as far as I have read in this book, and I think it is also where I will stop. However, if you love books by Jane Austin or Kate Chopin then this may be the book for you.

THE LOVELY MS. BART

I THINK EVERY MAN HAS AT SOME POINT FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A MS. BART. SO UNATTAINABLE. SO DELICIOUSLY RESCUABLE. FRUSTRATING TO THINK THAT IN THIS DAY AND AGE SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN UNSTOPPABLE STAR. NOT A VICTIM OF SOCIETY. OR IS THAT CASE? MAYBE THE GREATEST TRUTH IN THIS NOVEL IS THAT THE SAME TRAGIC STORY WOULD HAVE PLAYED OUT REGARDLESS OF THE AGE.

Truly Hearbreaking.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton is absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Wharton depicts struggle and heartbreak in an all too accurate fashion.

Not to be forgotten

I was hooked the minute I started reading this novel. If you want to dramatically increase your vocabulary, read Edith Wharton ! This story is involving and Lily Bart will evoke sympathy from even the most cynical reader.