Comments on: The House of Mirth – Book Review

By: Caribousmom

Caribousmom — Sun, 09 May 2010 16:48:03 +0000

Ms. Smartypants (love the name!): I love hearing different perspectives on books and characters, so thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. Wharton is one of my favorite classic writers!

By: Ms. Smartypants

Ms. Smartypants — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:05:25 +0000

I came out of this book with just a slightly different read on Lily Bart. I consider her one of the most complex heroines I have ever encountered. It seems like a lot of her difficulties came about because she couldn’t be stupid, shallow, or “immoral” enough. Whenever the social ladder opened in front of her, she just couldn’t pull the trigger, even after all her work to get to that point. I’ve heard it described as making all the right choices at all the wrong times.

I can totally see your take as well, and I would consider the different interpretations to be a compliment to Wharton’s writing. I loved her style and am itching to read more.

By: Caribousmom

Caribousmom — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:08:24 +0000

Valerie: I agree – I think that is truly what makes a book a “classic,” don’t you?

Carrie: You’ve read the same ones as I have – I am also looking forward to reading more of Wharton’s work…

Teddy: Funny – I actually enjoyed this one more than The Age of Innocence *laughs* I always wonder how much my mood at the time of reading a book influences my feelings for it!

Rebecca: *nods* I’ve read some mixed reviews of the book –

Kailana: I recommend Ethan Frome as a first look at Wharton’s work – it is more of a novella and so well written…

By: kailana

kailana — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:32:45 +0000

I can’t believe I have never read this or anything else by her before…

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:35:23 +0000

I too found this quite sad. I think you liked it more than I did but I do enjoy Wharton’s “sardonic” look at the world.

By: Teddy

Teddy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:38:56 +0000

Great review Wendy. I prefer Age of Innocence to House of Mirth, but you have made some good points.

By: Carrie K.

Carrie K. — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:56:01 +0000

I have been enjoying Wharton lately- read Age of Innocence, Ethan Frome, and House of Mirth toward the end of last year. Age of Innocence is my favorite so far, but I’m looking forward to reading the rest of her novels.

By: Valerie

Valerie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:28:19 +0000

I read this one years ago, and I still remember the basic storyline and its’ ending. If a book can do that to me after all those years, it’s a good one!

By: Caribousmom

Caribousmom — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:52:00 +0000

Serena: There are so many classics I read years ago which I now have little recall of…it makes me want to revisit many of them.

Michelle: I haven’t seen the movie (sounds like I could safely skip it!). I read another of Wharton’s books which is probably my favorite: Ethan Frome (here is my review of that one)…you are so right about her being ahead of her time. Her history is really interesting.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:44:41 +0000

I just finished this book a few weeks ago, and watched the (admittedly awful) movie Monday night. I had only a passing acquaintance with Wharton prior to this, mostly in college survey courses, but I have to say that I love her writing. It’s so descriptive and subtly critical that she really was a woman ahead of her time.

Thanks for the review!