The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the Midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary, and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. Wharton was re-creating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine's education for social success is chronicled in meticulous detail. The novel superbly captures the world of post-Civil War Ameria, as ruthless in its social ambitions as in its business and politics. - Back cover.

For as much as I detest Undine Spragg (and I really do, she's a terrible woman) I enjoyed this novel. I cannot, however, see me reading it again for pleasure.

What a wild ride. Inanity after insanity after twist and turn--Undine is insatiable chaotic good to a fault and watching her wreak havoc in 1910s New York Society was incredibly fun.

Wharton was completely ahead of her time, as she talks very frankly about divorce and terribly rigid societal expectations people wished they could run from. (e.g., Wharton throws out the term divorce-colony and it's Sioux Falls, Dakota; a divorce colony to encourage women to move West in exchange for a divorce.)

Undine's world is so vibrant and ever changing as she ascends the Society ladder a lá Rebecca Sharp. She looks ruin in the face many times and somehow keeps carving a path forward. The incredibly detailed world-building made this one such a page turner.

Watching Undine go head to head with Elmer Moffatt at different points in the story was thrilling. At times I underestimated Undine, Moffatt, or both. The rest of the poor souls around them are just collateral damage in their wake.

This story is about what we think will makes us happy, the boxes we put ourselves, and a cautionary tale of what happens when we look for external answers for internal problems. Great read.