WordsofaReader

I had been interested in reading something, anything by Edith Wharton for some time now. She's such an iconic author with a reputation for detail and beauty. I finally decided to dive in head first with The House of Mirth. The House of Mirth follows our heroine, Lily Bart through her spiritually devoid life of money worship and society issues.Despite Lilys many flaws I found myself caring very deeply about her and her plights. Set in New York City at the turn of the last century I was instantly in love with the unfamiliar world in which Wharton has created so beautifully.The thing that struck me most about this text; however, was the writing. Wharton writes such lyrical prose. Simply gorgeous. She's descriptive but also very dry. There were moments when I had to go back and reread certain paragraphs because they just swam so beautifully through my head.I could sit here and quote half the book to you but instead I'm going to be restrained and just give you one example of her wit and writing I particularly enjoyed."That very afternoon they had seemed full of brilliant qualities; now she saw that they were merely dull in a loud way."I adore it! That particular quote to me seems like it wouldn't go amiss along side the likes of Oscar Wilde.While Lily Barts story itself is well worth the ride I honestly feel like it stands second to the actual quality of the writing but I'll be interested to see how my opinion changes over time. The House of Mirth is definitely one of those books that you have to read multiple times to understand its full value and I certainly intend on revisiting Lily Bart and her somewhat heartbreaking world in the not too distant future.