The Age of Innocence

I read House of Mirth years ago and loved it. This book is exquisitely written. Many of the books I have read on Mustich's list this year have been "bombs" in my estimation, but this one has returned me to hope that there are many more great books to be had on his list. 

It is one of the best books I have ever read. I agree with everything that Mustich says in his evaluation of the book below.

Here is why James Mustich thinks it should be one of the 1000 Books You Read Before You Die:

Edith Wharton’s best fiction is a form of intelligence, a gathering of detailed information that turns revelatory under her persistent and insightful gaze. She wrote about the world she knew—New York high society at the turn of the twentieth century, where rules were unbreakable, money was silent, and retribution for social transgression was severe. Her novels are both art and espionage. Compared with her earlier novel, The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence paints a more nuanced and sympathetic portrait of the upper crust, both acknowledging and exposing the machinations that take place behind its genteel façade. It’s a brilliant social critique as well as a sweeping love story. Alongside The House of Mirth, it stands among the best novels ever written about the unraveling of individual destinies in the seductive—and enduring—bear pit of New York society.