The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

This book was something of a departure from the previous 2 this month, in that it was much lighter fare, although not a happy tale by any means. The story was very similar to that of The House of Mirth, in that the characters are trapped by the social mores of their time and place (in this case, upper class people in 1870s New York City) and are thereby unable to do what they would really like to do.  I found it really frustrating in that regard, because I despise the whole "what will the neighbors think??!!?!?!?!?!?!11211/?1" nonsense that was imposed on me my whole life, and this is just a larger variation on that, and twice as nonsensical. On the other hand, it is also a wicked satire of that very nonsense, so in that way it's at least a little satisfying.