I love it when a novel redeems itself in the last few pages. I didn’t think very much of this one until the end: it is well written throughout, but it drags a little. But then - that ending! That perfect ending! I felt so much for Lily’s despair and think that Wharton ended the novel beautifully.

The House of Mirth is the third Wharton novel I've finished so far, and while reading it, I was able to figure out why I love her books so much. Edith Wharton is witty, and her writing is beautiful, but more importantly, she is honest and realistic. She portrays rich, spoiled society exactly as it is - full of people who hide their own misery behind lavish homes and strict manners - and condemns it, but even as her characters realize how toxic this environment is, they are still driven by an insatiable need to belong to and be accepted by society. Basically what I'm saying is that Edith Wharton understood human nature better than almost any author I've ever read, and if she were alive today Mean Girls would totally be her favorite movie.

The House of Mirth follows Lily Bart, a young woman who grew up wealthy but lost everything when she was a teenager, and has been clawing and fighting to keep her place in society ever since. Lily Bart is clever and charming, but after spending years living independently, she finds herself approaching spinsterhood with dwindling prospects. The book follows her increasingly-desperate attempts to secure her future while retaining her independence and her place in society. If you've read even one other Wharton novel, you know that these desires are not compatible for women in this world.

As always, Wharton's depiction of the tiny battles that occur every day in polite society is fascinating - it's amazing to watch Lily navigate her life with careful planning and strategy, so simple conversations become as complicated and dangerous as naval battles. She has to be constantly on the alert, hyper-aware that she's always one mistake away from total failure and ruin. Only two things frustrated me about this book - one wasn't Wharton's fault, but the second one totally was.

It's not Wharton's fault, I realize, that Lily Bart can't get a Hollywood happy ending and marry Lawrence Selden, who is so obviously perfect for her that it was all I could do not to scream at the pages "kiss her kiss her KISS HER" every time they had a scene together. The couple is headed for a typically Wharton-style ending, but at least that means we get lots of great scenes where the characters are just drowning in sexual tension, and it's like crack to me. Edith Wharton could write a straight-up sex scene, and it still wouldn't be as hot as two characters taking a walk together while resisting the urge to make out.

Like I said, the ending is very, very Wharton, and unfortunately it's also very clearly telegraphed. As soon as the narration mentioned that Lily was taking medication to help her sleep, I thought, "well, now I know how she's going to die. But somehow the fact that I could see the ending a mile away made the book even more tragic and dramatic. But seriously, Seldon - nut up and marry her, for Christ's sake.

Lily Bart is the quintessential Wharton heroine. She is independent, headstrong, whip-smart, and charismatic. Another author would have allowed her heroine to strike out on her own, say to hell with these rich snobs and let Lily go off on adventures to Africa or something, but Wharton knows better. The world of the wealthy, spoiled New Yorker is the only one Lily has ever known, and like Newland Archer and Annabel St. George before her, she will sacrifice her own happiness in exchange for social acceptance and security. This is what drives Wharton's protagonists: a deep need to belong, and a fear of the unknown. They can never win, but it's fascinating to watch them try.

Romanzo drammatico, ambientato nell’America di inizi novecento, “La Casa della Gioia” del 1905 è la prima opera fondamentale che rese famosa la scrittrice americana Edith Wharton [1862-1937] e che raccontando la parabola della giovane Lily Bart, intelligente, elegante nel vestire, raffinata conversatrice ma senza un patrimonio e indecisa tra un matrimonio di interesse e un nubilato di stenti, svela la grettezza, l’egoismo, la pochezza di sentimenti che si nascondono dietro la facciata festaiola e gaudente della ricca società newyorkese del tempo divisa tra balli e pranzi, soggiorni in ville fuori città, viaggi di gruppo nel continente europeo, dove lo sfoggio e l’ostentazione della ricchezza e del potere che ne consegue sono le regole che tracciano la via da seguire: è la vita morigerata e la morale puritana dell’America pionieristica che si è venuta progressivamente a sgretolare nella società yankee lasciando il posto a un viluppo di menzogne, di apparenze, di maneggi, di egoismi che spingeranno inesorabilmente Lily a fare la sua scelta. Un romanzo perfetto dalla scrittura impeccabile con una protagonista femminile indimenticabile.

So depressing I had to read two Nancy Drew mysteries afterward to cheer up. This is Edith Wharton’s other masterpiece, a Gilded Age tragedy of the beautiful and charming Lily Bart, who is trained only to be an ornamental wife — a big problem if you care who you marry and you’re dependent on relatives for money. Although essentially honorable, Lily does have her share of weaknesses and more than her share of bad luck. Assisting her inevitable downward trajectory is a society full of opportunistic hypocrites. It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Part of the problem I had with this book was that I didn’t see the need for Lily’s sacrifices — is a loveless marriage really worse than abject poverty? Is blackmail that bad when the objects are scoundrels who have ruined your life? Am I unethical and mercenary because I ask these questions?? Great novel, but problematic. Get out the hankies and Nancy Drew.