The House of Mirth

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Summary: I love this book.
Review: I read House of Mirth a couple of months ago and I really enoyed it. I don't have much extra time, but it was weel worth it to read this book. It left me thinking for quite awhile about the ways of society. I think it would be valuable to any reader!

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Summary: A Crucial Study in Women's Literature
Review: This was the 2nd book I had to read in women's writing. The book does drag at times, and this is not the drum I march to. But in all honesty, this is a crucial study in women's writing. In no other book that I have read (even in the women's writing class) has the specific pains and tribulations women are subject to displayed so tragic and yet beautifully. Lily (the protagonist) is in a painfully realistic situation. She is victimizied by several people who represent different aspects of society. Even around her own mother she is not safe. Lily's own mother sees Lily's beauty as a measure of wealth to be invested. If I was writing a paper and could only use one book to represent American Women's Writing, chances are this would be it.

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Summary: With "Custom of the Country" her most entertaining...
Review: This book is divine fun, but I believe I liked it a bit better when I was younger because at a certain point the conflicts of romance began to bore me...when you're married, happily, and pursuing a career you love, all that social stuff begins to pall. Still, I like to write about it myself, and Wharton's style is exquisite. Of course, it's also a feminist novel, in that it examines a woman's "place" in a society that did not allow her to earn her own living... women couldn't even have their own apartments in those times. Actually, a lot is still the same, psychologically, for women.END

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Summary: An American novel of manners
Review: The House of Mirth is Wharton's first big novel, and it isn't as good as some of her later works. Nevertheless, Lily Bart, the central character, is well crafted as a woman who cannot reconcile her emotional desires with her deep-seated hatred of what she calls "dinginess" -- financial poverty. The book meticulously depicts her long, slow social downfall as she runs out of money and becomes the victim of malicious rumors spread by her enemies. Ultimately, she cannot marry the man she really loves because he is not rich enough.

The House of Mirth certainly has plenty of juicy elements -- sex scandals, blackmail, gambling, unrequited love, exotic trips to France, etc. It is also a great character study, particularly of Lawrence Selden, who is portrayed as an outside observer looking in on the social world of New York, much like the reader is doing. The social world of the novel is based on the most minute details of all social graces; the book has to be read pretty carefully if you want to get the most from it. Just as all the characters analyze every detail of every other character's actions, so too must the reader. Don't try to use this book as brain candy on a long plane flight. If you've got the time, it's well worth reading, despite some of the cheesy plot twists towards the end.

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Summary: Wharton delivers her message
Review: In "The House of Mirth" there is a girl named Lily Bart whose family was much poorer than the majority of individuals around her. As she becomes older and lives with her moderately wealthy aunt, Lily faces a terrible split within herself. She is divided between her desire for money and material comforts, as well as her desire to be independent and self-reliant. The major problem is that in order to acquire the independence, she needs to marry a rich man - so she'd be dependent! This paradox is the central theme of the novel. Wharton churns out metaphors like I've never seen before. The language is beautiful. In my opinion, the main question Wharton is proposing to the reader is: "Can Lily compromise between her two desires, so as to acquire happiness (mirth)?" Read it and find out Wharton thinks!

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Summary: gillian anderson's movie!
Review: if you are an x-philer and you keep track of your favorite cast you would know that gillian anderson is about appear in the movie "the house of mirth"! this spurred me into reading the book but in the end i loved it! Edith Warton has a previllege of describing really great a woman in those days... trying to stand on her own feet! i love that! WOMEN RULE! hehe

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Summary: simply breathtaking
Review: this is my favorite book. absolute favorite. it's not unusual for me to get caught up in a story and its characters - and "Mirth" was no exception - but i cried at the end, and that's unusual. it took me forever to finish the book - i kept putting it down because i didn't want it to end. i am amazed by Wharton's style - timeless is the best word i can come up with to describe not only her beautiful descriptions of nature and life, but also her astute observations of the way people behave and why. this book is just stunning.

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Summary: Tragic, beautiful and captivating. I adored this book!
Review: I was totally overwhelmed by 'The House of Mirth'. Although it was clear that Lily's short sightedness was responsible for her downfall, I find it difficult to pin point exactly why the character evoked such strong feelings of sympathy from me. Her beauty makes her captivating, and she is so naieve and inexperienced, that you cannot help but feel so much sadness when things take an inevitable turn for the worse. The ending was incredibly emotional, and so moving, illustrating the point that, at the end of the day, beauty will not secure success or fulfillment. I cannot reccomend this book highly enough - it is beautifully written with a complex yet incredibly loveable female protagonist. In my opinion, this book is underrated. It is certainly worthy of the title "Modern Classic."

(I would so appreciate anyone who could e-mail me with their views on this book. After reading it I have decided to write my university dissertation on this and some of Wharton's other masterpieces - [e-mail]

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Summary: Poignant
Review: When I read this book for a college course two years ago, I couldn't stop crying. True, some aspects of the book might be dated, but the idea that there might be something transcendent beyond the daily facade of ordinary life--and people's striving for it--is still as relevant today as it ever was. And the thought that maybe there is no such transcendence, that Lily fell not because she was unlucky but because the "perfection" she was searching for or represented was only ever an illusion, can still bring tears to my eyes. (Sorry this is somewhat incoherent.)

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Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: This is an incredibly well-written book, with great period detail. It is far more believable and engrossing than Kate Chopin's The Awakening, which is similar in many ways. In response to the reviewer who disliked Lily Bart: her questionable character was part of what kept me interested in the book. Is she a hero or isn't she? I'm not sure, and I like it that way.