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Summary: Fascinating look at 1900 NY
Review: Excellent view of life in the early 1900's among the New York rich, and by contrast the lives of ordinary people. Especially interesting was Wharton's descriptions of the different levels of upper class society, depending on how the people made their money and how they spent it. I read it in two days; couldn't put it down! It reads amazingly well for a book written at that time; you would expect convoluted, dense sentences but her writing style is clear. I felt as if I understood Lily Bart in the end and found her a sympathetic character, in spite of her scheming.
Rating: 
Summary: Lily, Lily
Review: Amazing heroine. Frivolous as a hen Lily Briscoe stands alone in the whole history of literature. Intelligent, witty, incredibly beatiful she doesn't get what she deserves because wuthin she is a Good person. ???
No morals and no ethics, just an internal force that acts straight and totally uncontrolled.
It's always a pleasure to read and it will always be.
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Summary: Tragic Love amidst societal decadence
Review: I have to admit that I genuinely enjoyed this novel, and I don't generally go for books of this genre. The story is truly an American tale of Romeo & Juliet, although the main characters, Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden, situation is not quite so "fated" as the original pair. What makes me truly appreciate this novel and what I believe makes it American is how, though the couple is indeed fated, they are more victims of their own free will. It is not so much society that has conspired against them, as much as they are products of that society; thus, their choices and failings are measured through the distorted values society has instilled in them. At any point within the story each might have gone to the other, but neither does, as they are both preoccupied with their appearance.
The ending was a bit ironic, but to affect real change one cannot leave the reader with a happy ending and a feeling of satisfaction. We all know the reality of the time was quite the contrary.
Bravo Ms. Wharton!
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Summary: New York, Gone with the wind
Review: The House of Mirth is Wharton's best. Lily Bart who is poor, pure and honest, bred to be a socialite was doomed amongst the rich and mighty, the hypocrite, her frinds and benefactors. She had so many opportunities to get even with her accusers, but Wharton keeps her heroine above that and keeps her self respect intact. There was Lawrence Selden who tried to rescue her many times. But Lily wanted to marry rich, spurned him. In the end when he finally runs to her to claim her, it was too late.
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Summary: Tragic saga of high society
Review: Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" offers a sharp, exquisitely detailed view of New York high society around the beginning of the twentieth century, a milieu in which Wharton spent her life and must have known so intimately she probably could be considered its greatest and shrewdest chronicler. It is a society and a time in which a person's influence is directly proportional to his or her wealth, and this novel is about how the vicious circle of such a society decides the fate of one particular girl. The heroine, Lily Bart, comes from a wealthy family, but her father had fallen into ruin just before his death, and now she is impecunious and living with her strident aunt, Mrs. Peniston. Ten years ago, she lost her chance to marry an Italian prince; now, approaching thirty and still single, she drifts through New York society attending dinners, playing bridge, and looking for money to marry -- one thing the novel makes clear is that there is nothing worse than being a Society Woman without money. Despite her financial situation, she retains her snobbishness and is addicted to the luxury provided by this society in which she was raised, even though she is frankly bored with most of the people in it. Lily's precarious position renders her vulnerable to the more predatory members of the society. One "friend," Bertha Dorset, invites her to the Riviera for a vacation, but her real intention is for Lily to distract her husband's attention from her extramarital affair; Lily, in turn, is falsely accused of seducing Mr. Dorset and plunged into further shame. Another of Lily's married friends, Gus Trenor, under the pretext of helping her invest what little money she has, gives her some financial aid in the hope that she will give him a little something else in return. To repay her debt to him, she regretfully considers marrying the very wealthy and very repugnant Simon Rosedale. A man Lily does love is Lawrence Selden, a lawyer, who moves in the same social circles as she, but he doesn't have much money nor does he care for the society people. She's also interested in Percy Gryce, a handsome but shy book collector, but she doesn't move fast enough to save him from becoming engaged to another girl. When financial circumstances finally force Lily to take a menial millinery job to make ends meet, we can sympathize with her because she has done nothing foolish to deserve her fate and accepts it with the dignity she deems appropriate for her bygone social status. What impressed me most about the novel is the intricate beauty of Wharton's prose, which is not only descriptively excellent with moments of sly and caustic humor, but conveys the characters' moods and motives with unthinkable subtlety. Was Wharton trying to stick a dagger into the society she knew so well, the one from which she derived her entire lifestyle? With her pen, the strange, unique social mentality in which people may find themselves torn between a fraternal obligation to "take care" of a friend and a snobbish urge to expel her from a society to which she can no longer afford to belong, becomes a great subject for literary commentary.
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Summary: Stunningly Beautiful
Review: Until about a week ago, I had only a vague consciousness of Edith Wharton; although now, after reading The House of Mirth, I have a deep respect for her as a writer and I can't wait to read something else of hers. She captures society and human nature so vividly that the incidents in the novel reminded me of some from my own experience. Wharton creates characters that seem to be modelled after real people - how else could such expression of their trues characters have been possible? Lily and Selden are deeply complex - much of their characters Wharton conveys simply through description of what they do not do and what they do not say, although you come to know these characters so well that you KNOW what they are really feeling. Its true that these characters are hard to accept as full-fledged heroes, but that is because they are truly human characters - they are not perfect, and yet there is a great deal of goodness in them, along with the flaws. It is important for the reader to remember that society has a stong pull and that it is almost impossible for someone brought up in a flawed society to be free from those flaws. The fact that Lily and Selden are not perfect, but human, makes them all the more endearing. I also think that the way Wharton wrote was truly beautiful = she painted images so vividly that I could totally see the scenes she was describing. There are not long tedious paragraphs set aside for description of the setting, and yet, the reader can imagine exactly how everything looks. Wharton has such a comfortable natural ease with her words that none of it is awkward or showy - she picks the perfect words to convey emotions and moods, all through the way she writes. It's hard to really write about the way she writes, but I think that she is very talented. Her use of metaphor and imagery adds such complexity to an already lush story and the effect of this combination is truly thrilling and awesome. I don't know if all her readers feel this effect, but as I'm in an English class where I have to pay attention to things like diction and figurative language, the artistic qualities of The House of Mirth struck me. I really loved this book and I couldn't stop reading it - and at the same time I didn't want it to end. It is indeed very emotional as other commentators have noted and I think that the fact that this work evokes such emotion is a testament to Wharton's true talent. I don't agree with the idea that Lily saw no way out of her plight except death - her death (as I interpret it) was accidental and I think that she somehow finally had a new found sense of hope. It broke my heart the way Selden finally came to his senses at the last moment, but I don't think that any other ending would have been fitting. I had to pick a book as an outside reading book for my 11th grade English class, and after briefly skimming the possiblities, I chose to read The House of Mirth. I read all 330 pages of it in less than a week and I don't regret my choice. Some might say that this isn't pleasure reading, but I found it very entertaining and it also got me thinking, a merit not usually bestowed upon pleasure reading books. It is very thought provoking and moving, as well as an excellent sketch of 1905 New York. I've rambled a bit, but I definitely recommend this book to anyone who appreciates social history, New York life, human nature, love or a well written book!
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Summary: Very Moving
Review: Excellent. Felt like I was right in the middle of someone's drawing room. Lily Bart was a very interesting character. I loved her, but at the same time, I was frustrated by her and her bad choices.A new addition to my top ten list.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent Excellent Excellent. One can really grasp on to the characters in this book. The main protagonist, Lily Bart, is both pitiable and deplorable in her own unique ways. It is a great book to read when you want to take a break from the usual paperback.
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Summary: Brilliant society study
Review: Although the language was at times a little too difficult for me (since I'm not a native speaker), I liked the book pretty much and enjoyed it. Especially the way Edith Wharton described the characters and their interaction and relationships was brilliant.
It's fascinating how she introduces the reader into the world of the New York society. I thought the book was interesting and I can only recommend it.
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Summary: Edith Wharton is a master at bringing you into her world
Review: The House of Mirth is a wonderful novel describing New York Society at the turn of the century. Lily Bart is a socialite on the lookout for a rich husband. She is beautiful and feels that that is all she has or needs to offer. Her ending is predictably sad, but nonetheless you wish otherwise. Wharton is a master at describing the society of her time. The characters are very vivid, you can almost feel that you know them. Great book.
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