There was so much to like and be intrigued by. Gissing's descriptions of class realities do echo Dickens, who Gissing wrote about at length. Though because New Grub Street takes place later than Dickens’ time, I think of Gissing providing a counterpoint to a later time, closer to very early Bloomsbury. And the way Gissing writes about women is surprisingly sensitive.
Jennifer's, Thank you so much for your summary and reflections of NGS. I confess that at the same time APStogether began the novel, I also was in process reading two other books with two other groups. One was O'Connor's Wise Blood (with A Public Space founding editor, Elizabeth Gaffney in her writer's space, the24hourroom.org) and the other was Woolf's Night and Day, (with the #woolfpack in the space formerly known as twitter.) Both of those books demanded my attention in a way NGS could not compete. I tried staying with it, but while I appreciated the themes, found little to enjoy or admire in the prose, and after about 100 pages I dropped out. I still have it on my kindle, maybe I'll return to it someday! And hope we'll read something else (aps) together again soon! xx
Hi Sadie, thanks for reading this post. I know the Gissing was hard to read and with Woolf and O’Connor tempting you, the choice is understandable. Gissing was fascinating in its way and opened up a whole area of literature for me. Looking forward to reading with you online again soon!
There were many lines foreshadowing the present concerns of writing and reading: short attention spans, fear of losing work to technology, the author trying to understand issues of copyright, publishers taking what they can. I guess the “present concerns” are not so limited to the present....but don’t read Gissing.
Whew! Thank you. There is so unendingly much to say. For now only, strangely, this: I think of Eliot's "Little Gidding". And then I hear myself say "Little Gissing".
It is a book like Lolita. One wonders how any subject so dreary and interminably unresolvable by an author could have been the focus of a year (or more) of his everyday life. As for me, I look to an author to resolve the problems he creates for his fictional characters through their actions and revelations. Otherwise, I do not see a point in writing fiction.
Thanks for reading, Richard. Though disturbing, Lolita is one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors! The question of whether authors should resolve problems is one of taste, I think. In fiction, I tend to love questions raised just as much as or even more than having problems resolved. Gissing’s bleak book fascinated me in many ways because the problems were not resolved. The power of his book may be in the fact that the challenges these characters face are still around. My reasons for not wanting to read more Gissing right now or to necessarily lead people to that book are conflicted. I do think he showed an uncomfortable reality of his and our time.
Thanks for introducing me to a provocative man and writer. Poverty seems intractable and an eternally rich (sorry) subject. As moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt wrote, anything like equality rests on the reduction or eradication nation of poverty. Almost all cultures have a very long road to travel.
Thanks for Frankfurt reference, Francesca. Gissing is a fascinating subject and certainly describes something unique and important in his writing. Most cultures indeed have a long way to go in terms of reducing poverty and in terms of finding a way to support writers and artists....
Indeed! Re support, I love that James Patterson, a very wealthy writer, recently gave $500 to each of 600 bookstore employees. I loved that years ago, while not wealthy, I was able to change the lives of eight small-town artists and writers suffering economic hardship. Every action helps, and not solely financial ones. I know you know that, but I wanted to write it.
While I understand your dilemma, I do think Gissing is very worth recommending, and I can't help but think your writing about him at such length here is a way of doing just that : ) I think he is as worthy of recommending as any other good and interesting writer, which he is both.
I have to disagree about the sentimentality. I can't think of a more unsentimental book, and I think the quote from Shakespeare was a touch of gentleness and a genuine cry from the heart.
I find the characters of New Grub Street have made an indelible impact and the idea of them as real does not seem at all farfetched.
I also think the ending of New Grub Street is pure genius and that he didn't attempt to soften it was an achievement in itself.
Thanks for reading the post, Amanda! I did love Gissing, though I understand not recommending him sounds like something else. For me, there was something too depressing (and I don’t even typically need cheer) about writers who believed in art getting killed off while the business savvy ones survived. It may be true....but maybe it just hit me at a bad time. The clearer understanding of the publishing industry at that time and the way women were brought into the scene as readers and writers was quite fascinating. Always good to read books I wouldn’t ordinarily turn to with everyone else at #APStogether. Kind of what good book groups are for!
I think Gissing was looking at a very narrow slice of the publishing world at a specific and short-lived time in its history. Though it does bear resemblances and more to the present day.
I agree his take on women in that world was very fascinating! I too probably would not have read New Grub Street without a lot of help from APS and the wonderful commenters. But I'm really glad I didn't miss out on it. It deserves a wider readership, I think!
Maybe your recommending/not recommending will send a few more his way ; )
There was so much to like and be intrigued by. Gissing's descriptions of class realities do echo Dickens, who Gissing wrote about at length. Though because New Grub Street takes place later than Dickens’ time, I think of Gissing providing a counterpoint to a later time, closer to very early Bloomsbury. And the way Gissing writes about women is surprisingly sensitive.
Jennifer's, Thank you so much for your summary and reflections of NGS. I confess that at the same time APStogether began the novel, I also was in process reading two other books with two other groups. One was O'Connor's Wise Blood (with A Public Space founding editor, Elizabeth Gaffney in her writer's space, the24hourroom.org) and the other was Woolf's Night and Day, (with the #woolfpack in the space formerly known as twitter.) Both of those books demanded my attention in a way NGS could not compete. I tried staying with it, but while I appreciated the themes, found little to enjoy or admire in the prose, and after about 100 pages I dropped out. I still have it on my kindle, maybe I'll return to it someday! And hope we'll read something else (aps) together again soon! xx
Hi Sadie, thanks for reading this post. I know the Gissing was hard to read and with Woolf and O’Connor tempting you, the choice is understandable. Gissing was fascinating in its way and opened up a whole area of literature for me. Looking forward to reading with you online again soon!
I was struck by this rather prescient line:
”One of these “literary girls” fears she will lose her job to an imagined automaton or “literary machine.””
ChatGPT, anyone?
There were many lines foreshadowing the present concerns of writing and reading: short attention spans, fear of losing work to technology, the author trying to understand issues of copyright, publishers taking what they can. I guess the “present concerns” are not so limited to the present....but don’t read Gissing.
😆
Whew! Thank you. There is so unendingly much to say. For now only, strangely, this: I think of Eliot's "Little Gidding". And then I hear myself say "Little Gissing".
Such a fantastic connection! Thanks for reading!
It is a book like Lolita. One wonders how any subject so dreary and interminably unresolvable by an author could have been the focus of a year (or more) of his everyday life. As for me, I look to an author to resolve the problems he creates for his fictional characters through their actions and revelations. Otherwise, I do not see a point in writing fiction.
Thanks for reading, Richard. Though disturbing, Lolita is one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors! The question of whether authors should resolve problems is one of taste, I think. In fiction, I tend to love questions raised just as much as or even more than having problems resolved. Gissing’s bleak book fascinated me in many ways because the problems were not resolved. The power of his book may be in the fact that the challenges these characters face are still around. My reasons for not wanting to read more Gissing right now or to necessarily lead people to that book are conflicted. I do think he showed an uncomfortable reality of his and our time.
My pleasure, thank you for writing!
As described, sound like “a slog” indeed...
Thanks for introducing me to a provocative man and writer. Poverty seems intractable and an eternally rich (sorry) subject. As moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt wrote, anything like equality rests on the reduction or eradication nation of poverty. Almost all cultures have a very long road to travel.
Thanks for Frankfurt reference, Francesca. Gissing is a fascinating subject and certainly describes something unique and important in his writing. Most cultures indeed have a long way to go in terms of reducing poverty and in terms of finding a way to support writers and artists....
Indeed! Re support, I love that James Patterson, a very wealthy writer, recently gave $500 to each of 600 bookstore employees. I loved that years ago, while not wealthy, I was able to change the lives of eight small-town artists and writers suffering economic hardship. Every action helps, and not solely financial ones. I know you know that, but I wanted to write it.
🍀🌲🍀
While I understand your dilemma, I do think Gissing is very worth recommending, and I can't help but think your writing about him at such length here is a way of doing just that : ) I think he is as worthy of recommending as any other good and interesting writer, which he is both.
I have to disagree about the sentimentality. I can't think of a more unsentimental book, and I think the quote from Shakespeare was a touch of gentleness and a genuine cry from the heart.
I find the characters of New Grub Street have made an indelible impact and the idea of them as real does not seem at all farfetched.
I also think the ending of New Grub Street is pure genius and that he didn't attempt to soften it was an achievement in itself.
Thanks for reading the post, Amanda! I did love Gissing, though I understand not recommending him sounds like something else. For me, there was something too depressing (and I don’t even typically need cheer) about writers who believed in art getting killed off while the business savvy ones survived. It may be true....but maybe it just hit me at a bad time. The clearer understanding of the publishing industry at that time and the way women were brought into the scene as readers and writers was quite fascinating. Always good to read books I wouldn’t ordinarily turn to with everyone else at #APStogether. Kind of what good book groups are for!
I think Gissing was looking at a very narrow slice of the publishing world at a specific and short-lived time in its history. Though it does bear resemblances and more to the present day.
I agree his take on women in that world was very fascinating! I too probably would not have read New Grub Street without a lot of help from APS and the wonderful commenters. But I'm really glad I didn't miss out on it. It deserves a wider readership, I think!
Maybe your recommending/not recommending will send a few more his way ; )