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Set among the elegant brownstones and opulent country houses of turn-of-the-century upper-class New York, Edith Wharton’s first great novel is a precise, satiric portrayal of what the author herself called “a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers.” Her brilliantly complex characterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty and dependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to a decorative object, is an incisive commentary on the status of women in that society. Lily is all too much a product of the world indicated by the title, a phrase taken from Ecclesiastes: “The heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” From her tragic attraction to bachelor lawyer Lawrence Seldon to her desperate relationship with the social-climbing Rosedale, it is Lily’s very specialness that threatens the fulfillment she seeks in life. Time after time, Lily fails to make the ultimate move, to abandon the possibility of a greater love and enter into a mercenary union. This masterful novel from one of literature’s greatest voices is a tragedy of money, morality, and missed opportunity.
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Summary
Summary
Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
One of Modern Library's 100 Best English-Language Novels of the Twentieth Century
Set among the elegant brownstones and opulent country houses of turn-of-the-century upper-class New York, Edith Wharton’s first great novel is a precise, satiric portrayal of what the author herself called “a society of irresponsible pleasure-seekers.” Her brilliantly complex characterization of the doomed Lily Bart, whose stunning beauty and dependence on marriage for economic survival reduce her to a decorative object, is an incisive commentary on the status of women in that society. Lily is all too much a product of the world indicated by the title, a phrase taken from Ecclesiastes: “The heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” From her tragic attraction to bachelor lawyer Lawrence Seldon to her desperate relationship with the social-climbing Rosedale, it is Lily’s very specialness that threatens the fulfillment she seeks in life.
Time after time, Lily fails to make the ultimate move, to abandon the possibility of a greater love and enter into a mercenary union. This masterful novel from one of literature’s greatest voices is a tragedy of money, morality, and missed opportunity.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Reviews
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Superb Social Satire is Diminished by a Mediocre Narrator
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This book is an incisive portrayal of high society life, written from the vantage point of a woman without the means to sustain such a life. It is gripping, elegant, and tightly written. I did not give this book 5 stars because its narrator, Anna Fields, is the wrong choice for this (and most) audiobooks.
I've listened to several of her readings, and I am always astounded by how poorly she produces male voices. All men sound the same when she reads them, and they sound comical. The voice of one of the protagonists in this text can hardly be distinguished from the Native American voices she produced for a Louise Erdrich text I listened to.
For a sharp contrast, I would recommend Pamela Garelick's narration for Thomas Hardy's, The Mayor of Casterbridge. Her male characters are all distinct and have noticeable dialects and accents. Her narration of the Hardy novel is an ideal example of how this material can be most effectively presented.
This book should have been read by someone who is very good at imitating Anglicized high-society voices, since such voices would have been consistent with the time period and used by these characters. If you can, I'd purchase the audiobook read by a different reader.
Details
Details
Available Formats : | Digital Download, Digital Rental, CD, MP3 CD |
Category: | Fiction/Classics |
Runtime: | 13.73 |
Audience: | Adult |
Language: | English |
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