Initially I found this novel to be an unbearable read. I was overwhelmed and bored by its lengthy depictions of the upper class society at the turn of the century and all of their folly. I found Lily Bart to be extremely unlikable and I found Selden to be even worse. However, towards the second half of The House of Mirth I became captivated by Lily Bart and her steady decline from society. The second-to-last chapter was one of the most compelling I've read in years.

Spoiler

The description of Lily's insomnia and then the effects of her sleeping medicine left me mesmerized, as if I was there through every moment.

I will never forget Lily Bart's story.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."