She comes to the realization of what she needs/wants in life to have solidarity in it, and then she dies. Of course. Why did I not see that coming? I thought through the entire book she would be flawed, but not flawed enough to end up dead. I was wrong. Edith Wharton definitely made it realistic. It was such a quiet, subtle ending to such a loud life. Then again, I couldn't see this particular anti-hero truly being happy.
The person I feel worst for is Selden. I think he would've made Lily happy, and I think he thought so too, which is why its so sad. He just had really bad timing. REALLY bad timing.
Overall, it was a good book. I just wish these authors would stop toying with my emotions.
Selden may be one of my favorite literary characters... even more so than Mr. Darcy... He was so honest and true. And he loved Lily so much, wanting only the best for her... poor, poor Selden!
ReplyDeleteI found him lame. Not to insult your literary taste, he just didn't leave an impression on me at all. He seemed like a coward a bit.
ReplyDeleteIf i would have read this and seen that the main character finally realizes what she wants in life only for her to end up dead i would have been seriously mad. Im glad I didnt read this one.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm torn. I kind of want to read this book because you made it sound interesting but I'm tired of books where the main characters die! Why are there never any happy endings in these books we have to read???
ReplyDeleteThe ending was quite shocking; I did not want the book to end that way. After all of the hardships that Lily had been through I just wanted her to have a happy ending. If Selden and Lily would have confessed their love for each other earlier maybe things would have turned out differently, but tragic heroines do not meet happy endings.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the books I've ever read, this might be one of the worst endings! I couldn't believe that lily died after Selden finally got the nerve to listen to his real emotions. I felt bad for him but I feel like it was his own fault that he did not proclaim his love for Lily sooner. What a shame!
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