Throughout the novel the characters enjoy their wealth by going to exclusive restaurants, jetting around the world, and dressing in designer clothes, among other things. What was the one thing that you envied about the lifestyle? And why?
I honestly didn’t envy them - actually, there was more a likelihood to pity them. Despite all their money, the characters, with the exception of Martha Dung, seemed to lack a sense of their own identity, a purposeful direction, and even, freedom at choosing their own path.
If I had to pick one aspect, I would like a jet at my beck and call.
I didn’t envy them because they appeared to be very shallow people.
The clothes and jewelry. Love both!
I didn’t envy the parties or the stress of keeping up appearances. I did, however, envy the instant travel - go anywhere, whenever.
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I’m not sure “envy” is the right word. A combination of fascination, incredulity, and relief that it’s not my lifestyle seems to better describe my feelings.
I agree with most posters - nothing to envy here. BUT, I’d love to be able to jet off to anywhere, any time, and at that level of comfort! And have the perfect outfit to wear whenever I went out, but definitely not in high fashion brands!
The one thing I envied was the ease/luxury of world traveling in the private jets. It seemed there was little emphasis on TSA security…less red tape.
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I don’t envy any of them. I rather pity them, They were always looking for acceptance and a sense of direction. I was not drawn to any of the characters. Each of them had their own Achilles’ Heel, didn’t they?? No one seemed to have a solid backbone.
If I had to pick one aspect of their life, it would be the ability to travel and see the world.
I did not envy the clothes or the estates or the jet setting. I envied their not having to stress about how they did not have to worry about work stressors. They did not have to worry about how to pay their bills and put food on the table. I feel like I spend so much time and energy worrying about money (as do most of us) that I would love to devote to other things. It is not that I envy the lifestyle so much as it is that I envy the lack of stress they seem to have.
I really didn’t envy them. They weren’t happy, just competitive.
I did not envy one single thing about them. I felt all of them lived shallow, unfulfilling lives always trying to one up the next person. The women, except for Eden & Martha had eating disorders and were so obsessed with clothes, jewelry & makeup that they clearly didn’t enjoy life. All of the men, except for Thomas & Rufus could barely breathe as money and the next business deal, good or bad was always hanging over their heads. I travel several times a month and at times I do think it would make life much easier to fly on a private jet; however, meeting new people & interacting with strangers makes life real & meaningful.
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Agree with many other responses - I didn’t envy them at all, they were not happy with their wealth or appreciating it. I will say, that I would enjoy the ability to travel anywhere, any time, and that aspect I do think is enviable by itself.
I agree with other posters about the travel aspect for sure but as far as exclusive restaurants or expensive designer clothing, I couldn’t care less. It would be great to be able to buy what I need without concern for the cost though. Most of the folks in the book were so extravagant that I couldn’t even begin to imagine what a life like that would be like. No thanks. No envy here.
I think the only thing I truly envy is the freedom of choice that wealth provides. It means that the wealthy can choose whether or not to buy a yacht or rescue stray dogs, to invest in the stock market or to donate to a charity.
I didn’t envy the clothes, jewelry, or uber-fancy restaurants at all. The travel though - that would be so much fun! Mostly if it was private / first class travel with nice (not super fancy, just nice) places to stay along with good food.
While I really don’t envy that lifestyle at this point in my life, when I was younger, I would have loved all of the jewelry and clothes and high end parties! I still do love to travel though, and would enjoy having a jet and a carefree lifestyle to enjoy seeing as many places in the world that I could !