Alex and tabs book club

This summer I went on a vacation to NYC with my friend, Alex. We stopped at this cute book store called McNally Jackson. It was on a cobblestone street right by the water on the lower east side. While exploring the city, I thought it would be fun to purchase a book about NYC. I purchased the Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. I had never heard of the book before but the cover stood out to me and I knew it would be a fascinating read. I got to read the book in Central Park when we had a picnic. I already read the book at a cute coffee shop. The week in New York flew by and I became enamored in the high society world of the Customs of the Country. This book explores themes of wealth, greed, and gender inequalities. This author of this novel herself lived in the upper echelon of NYC.

Undine Spragg is the main character in the novel. She is from the midwest but moves to NYC. She aspires to become wealthy in the city and gets married. She gets married but her husband is not as rich as Undine had initially thought. Her husband reveals the true character of Undine as he learns her desire for fame and wealth. This leads to a spiral of events, Undine wanting a divorce, a child, travel abroad, politics, and suicide.

This book was published in 1913 and the writing stays true to its time. I thought it was fascinating to read a book written over a hundred years ago and see the changes in society. I thought that corruption was a major theme in the novel as well as ambition, for right and wrong. Though I found Undine not the most likable character, I did at times admire her for her determination and passion. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy classics and Jane Austen novels. I plan to reread this book and analyze the plot deeper because reading this book one time is not enough to delve into its deeper plot.