socorrobaptista's review against another edition
4.0
Uma narrativa cheia de desencontros, falhas de comunicação e hipocrisia social. Bastante interessante., mas que me deixou com muita raiva no final.
springinlondon's review against another edition
1.0
Could not finish this book, thought all the characters were ghastly. Gave up because it was repetitive and just did not hold my interest.
1outside's review against another edition
4.0
The reasons why I'm not giving this a 5/5 are threefold:
1. The melodrama of it all. The reliance on chance and coincidence. Sometimes, it renders the plot kind of soapy.
2. There are a lot of great observations in this book, dressed in some outstanding sentences. But about 30-40% of the book is just simply over-written. In combination with the soapyness, it results in the impression of overall too-muchness.
3. The antisemitism. It's a shame, Rosedale is actually a not-badly written character. But yeah, you can tell this book was written at a time when eugenics was all the rage, and clearly the author was into that scene. Sigh.
I'm glad I read this. My only Wharton so far. Not sure if not my last Wharton as well...but I've not read many pieces of classical American literature, so this was needed, I think.
It was worth the effort to trudge through the depression of the novel and even though the writing was a bit excessive, just trying so, so hard to be taken seriously, it wasn't too challenging to read in the end. A solid 4/5.
1. The melodrama of it all. The reliance on chance and coincidence. Sometimes, it renders the plot kind of soapy.
2. There are a lot of great observations in this book, dressed in some outstanding sentences. But about 30-40% of the book is just simply over-written. In combination with the soapyness, it results in the impression of overall too-muchness.
3. The antisemitism. It's a shame, Rosedale is actually a not-badly written character. But yeah, you can tell this book was written at a time when eugenics was all the rage, and clearly the author was into that scene. Sigh.
I'm glad I read this. My only Wharton so far. Not sure if not my last Wharton as well...but I've not read many pieces of classical American literature, so this was needed, I think.
It was worth the effort to trudge through the depression of the novel and even though the writing was a bit excessive, just trying so, so hard to be taken seriously, it wasn't too challenging to read in the end. A solid 4/5.
karenavila85's review against another edition
3.0
It's a good story but the only reason I gave it no more than three stars is because the story was way too long! Poor Lily Bart, I felt so bad for her. How can you not? Everyone took advantage of her and used her as a scapegoat when her "friends" did not need her anymore. Yet with every blow she received, she took it with stride. She never succumbed to black mail and lies to advance her way into society. Her only fault was never sharing her side of the story, not even with her closest friends. I understood her frustration of living in poverty but at the same time she always had love. I wanted Lily and Selden to end up together so badly but Lily always refused because he had no money and he could never help her advance her socialite status. Lily never stood a chance while Bertha Dorset was around. Whenever Lily was close to happiness, Bertha's always found a way to ruin Lily's life. I absolutely hated her hypocrisy and wished she would have suffered something dreadful. I enjoyed the author's point of view of the early 1900's and the way women were perceived to act during courtship and marriage and I'm so glad we have moved away from all that rubbish nonsense. However, I did wish the novel was shorter. It was hard to keep up with all the characters in the book and didn't necessarily affect the plot of the story.
eososray's review against another edition
2.0
This book just about drove me crazy, or I should say the character of Lily Bart did. I am sure that people could hear me yelling at the book while I told Lily how stupid she was and how annoying.
Now, there is no denying that Wharton is a fantastic writer. Someone who wasn't could not have elicited those emotional responses while I read the story. But did Lily have to be so shallow and weak? That's my big issue, I can not get over the fact that the heroine of the book, the main character, was such a sad and pathetic person.
The end of the book should not elicit the response "about time" but that is honestly how I felt. This is obviously not my kind of book, at least at this time in my life it isn't. Maybe when I have more sympathy...
Now, there is no denying that Wharton is a fantastic writer. Someone who wasn't could not have elicited those emotional responses while I read the story. But did Lily have to be so shallow and weak? That's my big issue, I can not get over the fact that the heroine of the book, the main character, was such a sad and pathetic person.
The end of the book should not elicit the response "about time" but that is honestly how I felt. This is obviously not my kind of book, at least at this time in my life it isn't. Maybe when I have more sympathy...
tahnoogey's review against another edition
5.0
Emotional review: THE HEARTBREAK. THE TRAGEDY. SUCH AN EPIC CHARACTER ARC AND ROMANCE THAT HAD MY WHOLE HEART IN ITS HANDS AND THEN C R U S H E D IT. CRYING.
Logical review: Soooo interesting and engaging to read a book from the early 1900s - most classics I like are earlier than that, so I loved seeing the change in what's 'proper' for women, and what high society looked like at the time (and in NYC!!). The undercurrents of drama in all their interactions!! The complex intelligence of all the women!!! The nuance!!! Ahhh. Very good. I'm still sniffling post-sobbing episode though.
Logical review: Soooo interesting and engaging to read a book from the early 1900s - most classics I like are earlier than that, so I loved seeing the change in what's 'proper' for women, and what high society looked like at the time (and in NYC!!). The undercurrents of drama in all their interactions!! The complex intelligence of all the women!!! The nuance!!! Ahhh. Very good. I'm still sniffling post-sobbing episode though.
lunaliz's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0