Scan barcode
A review by imme_van_gorp
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
4.5
Gosh… The drama, the intrigue, the scandal, the tragedy! I loved it!
This book had me on the edge of my seat, clutching my proverbial pearls, the whole way through!
I felt indignation and sympathy from beginning to end, but above all, a deep want to find out how everything would end for Lily. I never expected to become so deeply invested in this story, but I genuinely found myself caring.
It’s crazy to me that someone so vain, materialistic, and self-pitying, living a life so selfishly and uselessly, could still evoke such a passionate reaction out of me.
Whereas I logically should have felt nothing but disdain or contempt towards Lily’s ideals and goals, I foolishly found myself wishing for her success, in whatever way she wanted to obtain it. I saw hints of kindness and selflessness in the smallest of gestures from her, and I continually made excuses for any of her faults, right along with all of her many blinded admirers.
I even went as far as to feel hatred or spite towards those who did her wrong or passed judgement on her, even though I know I would have, personally, disliked her just as much as any of them if I had to deal with her in real life, perhaps even more.
Such a funny yet intriguing contrast that all is, isn’t it? Makes you think about how much more lenient and forgiving we would be of people in our own lives if we took the time to understand their inner-world better…
The in-depth analysis of Lily’s character as well as the machinations of how she relentlessly operated in an artificial high-society, were more layered and intriguing than I could have figured. It was filled with criticisms as well as introspection on some interesting matters, but never went too far with them. With that I mean to say, the author never went ahead of herself by preaching or droning on about a particular subject or message, but instead always kept the focus on the story and the characters themselves.
Not to mention, the writing was absolutely exquisite; insightful without the usual pretentiousness attributed to that particular adjective, grippingly emotional to the point of true investment from the reader, and seamlessly flowing in a way that kept your attention throughout.
On a whole other note, though, I want to say that when it came to the romantic department of this book, I never quite understood Lily, and found her to be insanely foolish. Not only could she have saved herself from all her problems through marriage a million times over, but it was not merely her flightiness in this regard that bothered me. Mostly, it was her inability to see a good thing when it was right in front of her.
I was always a big fan of Rosedale, and grew more and more fond of him as the book went on, while I simply didn’t care one bit for Selden. All Selden ever did was judge her by means of some pretentious moral superiority he claimed to possess, whereas Rosedale held her in immense admiration. He was a powerful, broody, rich, imposing man, seen as cut-throat by many, yet he had a soft spot only for her that made him willing to help her without any intent to give up.
You cannot possibly convince me that, had this been a contemporary romance novel rather than a dramatic tragedy written over a hundred years ago, he would not have been the “love interest” instead of Selden. There would have simply been no way, since he was clearly the better choice.
Anyway, in conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that this book was oddly addictive as well as engaging, and that I couldn’t help but be engrossed entirely!
This book had me on the edge of my seat, clutching my proverbial pearls, the whole way through!
I felt indignation and sympathy from beginning to end, but above all, a deep want to find out how everything would end for Lily. I never expected to become so deeply invested in this story, but I genuinely found myself caring.
It’s crazy to me that someone so vain, materialistic, and self-pitying, living a life so selfishly and uselessly, could still evoke such a passionate reaction out of me.
Whereas I logically should have felt nothing but disdain or contempt towards Lily’s ideals and goals, I foolishly found myself wishing for her success, in whatever way she wanted to obtain it. I saw hints of kindness and selflessness in the smallest of gestures from her, and I continually made excuses for any of her faults, right along with all of her many blinded admirers.
I even went as far as to feel hatred or spite towards those who did her wrong or passed judgement on her, even though I know I would have, personally, disliked her just as much as any of them if I had to deal with her in real life, perhaps even more.
Such a funny yet intriguing contrast that all is, isn’t it? Makes you think about how much more lenient and forgiving we would be of people in our own lives if we took the time to understand their inner-world better…
The in-depth analysis of Lily’s character as well as the machinations of how she relentlessly operated in an artificial high-society, were more layered and intriguing than I could have figured. It was filled with criticisms as well as introspection on some interesting matters, but never went too far with them. With that I mean to say, the author never went ahead of herself by preaching or droning on about a particular subject or message, but instead always kept the focus on the story and the characters themselves.
Not to mention, the writing was absolutely exquisite; insightful without the usual pretentiousness attributed to that particular adjective, grippingly emotional to the point of true investment from the reader, and seamlessly flowing in a way that kept your attention throughout.
On a whole other note, though, I want to say that when it came to the romantic department of this book, I never quite understood Lily, and found her to be insanely foolish. Not only could she have saved herself from all her problems through marriage a million times over, but it was not merely her flightiness in this regard that bothered me. Mostly, it was her inability to see a good thing when it was right in front of her.
I was always a big fan of Rosedale, and grew more and more fond of him as the book went on, while I simply didn’t care one bit for Selden. All Selden ever did was judge her by means of some pretentious moral superiority he claimed to possess, whereas Rosedale held her in immense admiration. He was a powerful, broody, rich, imposing man, seen as cut-throat by many, yet he had a soft spot only for her that made him willing to help her without any intent to give up.
You cannot possibly convince me that, had this been a contemporary romance novel rather than a dramatic tragedy written over a hundred years ago, he would not have been the “love interest” instead of Selden. There would have simply been no way, since he was clearly the better choice.
Anyway, in conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that this book was oddly addictive as well as engaging, and that I couldn’t help but be engrossed entirely!