Scan barcode
A review by bohoautumn
The Odd Women by George Gissing
4.0
.
This wasn't what I expected. As much as I enjoy escapism, I really dig these novels of realism. There is a connection with characters, love them or loath them, that reaches a whole different level.
I expected this to be a little dry, albeit interesting for it's ideas on emancipation. Instead, I became quite involved, if in a detached way, in the individual lives and stories, along with admiring the concepts and ideals behind it all.
The dramas that unfold are unromantic - offering neither the heart-flutterings of Austen nor the grit of Eliot. We're given real women, real possibilities, and, utterly believable endings. I found myself torn between heart and mind, but ultimately satisfied and proud to be classed amongst Woman.
Gissing writes well, if not as elegantly as some other writers of his era, but it suits his perspective.
This wasn't what I expected. As much as I enjoy escapism, I really dig these novels of realism. There is a connection with characters, love them or loath them, that reaches a whole different level.
I expected this to be a little dry, albeit interesting for it's ideas on emancipation. Instead, I became quite involved, if in a detached way, in the individual lives and stories, along with admiring the concepts and ideals behind it all.
The dramas that unfold are unromantic - offering neither the heart-flutterings of Austen nor the grit of Eliot. We're given real women, real possibilities, and, utterly believable endings. I found myself torn between heart and mind, but ultimately satisfied and proud to be classed amongst Woman.
Gissing writes well, if not as elegantly as some other writers of his era, but it suits his perspective.