Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Five novels that explore New York City's dark side

At the Christian Science Monitor, Megan Wasson identified five classic novels that beautifully explore the dark side of life in New York City, including:
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton is the quintessential Manhattan novelist. A society girl from the late 1800s herself, Wharton writes insightfully and brilliantly about New York high society in The House of Mirth. Her protagonist, Lily Bart, is a captivating, delicate, struggling socialite of few economic means who flits around Manhattan trying to scrape by enough to survive. You will be entranced by Lily, who seems too fragile and innocent for the cut-throat, harsh world she lives in.
Read about another book on the list.

The House of Mirth is one of Rachel Cusk's five best books on disgrace and Kate Christensen's six books that she rereads all the time; it appears on Robert McCrum's top ten list of books for Obama officials.

--Marshal Zeringue