Friday, November 19, 2010

abode of despair

erk, i finished reading the most depressing 'classic' book ever today, lx. the house of mirth, edith wharton. i thought it would be a social lesson of the times in that jane austen-ish way, but no. tragedy not without comedy but definitely without a happy ending. to quote jfranz, 'the heroine of House of Mirth, Lily Bart, is one of the great characters in American literature, a pretty and smart but impecunious New York society woman who can't quite pull the trigger on marrying for money. Wharton's love for Lily is equal to the cruelty that Wharton's story relentlessly inflicts on her; and so we recognize our entire selves in her.'

also i read the entire thing in ebook on my phone, which was terribly disconcerting, because when i reached the second last page i had no clue that it was the end! i literally spluttered out loud. it might as well have been chapter 4 of book II or that swirly bruise on jupiter, that's how much i've realised progression through a book's thickness means to me.

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