Reviews

The Crowded Street by Winifred Holtby

pilarentrelibros's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

See my review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/day-1002-the-crowded-street/

readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

3.0

"Only sorrow comes upon us with a sudden blow, but happiness is built from long years of small pleasant things. You can't put that into a short story."

I'm a little torn on how to rate this one. Holtby's writing is wonderful, thoughtful, and expressive, weaving effortlessly through time, from the adolescence and into the maturity of Muriel Hammond. Nearly all of the characters engage in a certain level of complexity — each has their faults and their virtues, and while they at first might seem to occupy stock roles in Muriel's life, Holtby never allows them to follow into such shallow pits.

However, as a modern reader, it's hard not to be infuriated by the social paralysis that plagues Muriel throughout this period in her life. The novel takes place over a time where opportunities and mobility were rapidly changing for women, so it's hard to understand why Muriel seems so unable to seize hold of these opportunities, or even speak up for herself at all. Tradition and lack of self-confidence certainly play a huge role in charting Muriel's course of action (or lack thereof) — I can understand that. It's the point of the whole novel, really. But that doesn't make it any less infuriating.

I kind of knew the end was coming, and while part of me suddenly wanted her to

Spoiler

fulfill the destiny the book seemed to have hinted at from the prologue, the destiny that was her mother's greatest desire, at the same time, it was also incredibly satsifying, and Holtby makes it clear that she made the right choice in the end.

I wouldn't say that this is up there with any of my favorite Persephones, but it's certainly gotten me interested in exploring more of Holtby's writing. Always love a little Yorkshire rep as well.

sofabell's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ellie_remlap's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

lucyandherbooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

andrew61's review against another edition

4.0

Muriel Hammond is introduced to us in the prologue of this engaging book as we see her as an anxious child at a children's party. Her pushy, social climbing mother, wants her to blossom and dance with the boys but Muriel is overlooked by everyone, she is the classic wall flower but the prologue ends with an embarrassing incident involving sweets that left me squirming.
The subsequent chapters allow us to follow Muriel's life in the small village of Marshington where as an adult she has negotiate social expectations and her very emotionally controlling mother who both demands her exclusive attention while also hoping that she will make a match with a local man that can raise the families status.
This book was both a pleasure and an excruciatingly uncomfortable read as we follow a heroine who cannot blossom and shine and in a world where class and cosmetic beauty appear to count more than the character and personality of the individual. Written in the 1920's Winifred Holtby brings her own frustrations about the society in which she lives, both the claustrophobia of small village society and society's expectations of women to aspire to a good marriage.
The final chapters allow some positive hopes as the new wave of feminism epitomised by her friend Delia ( Vera Brittain) allow her to reject the old ways . a brilliant final chapter had me on edge to the very end but I would have loved a sequel to find out about Muriel as she grows into a new future.

flappermyrtle's review against another edition

4.0

As so many of Persephone's reprints, this book deals with the pressure of society on young women to get married, and what happens if they fail to procure a husband and therefore - directly connected - respectability. The Crowded Street might be called outdated, as we are no more truly of the opinion that an unmarried woman is a sad spinster, and we start acknowledging there are other ways for women to find fulfilment outside marriage and motherhood. I would argue it is still very relevant though, as marriage is still seen as the road to take and an unmarried woman ought to be very successful in all other aspects of life in order for people to think she has done well for herself. Mothers perhaps do not prepare their daughters for matrimony only, anymore, teaching them to play the courtship game, but it might be said magazines definitely have that goal in mind still with all their beauty, sex, and relationship tips.

The novel drags at times, it must be added. But so does Muriel's life, so it is appropriate, really. There are several climactic moments, pivotal points in which something changes in Muriel's life, and these stand out the more. I absolutely loved the ending, as it shows how far Muriel has come, how much she now respects herself and is her own person, while Godfrey truly is still in the same place. Muriel might not be as revolutionary as Delia, but she is a new woman.

The Connie arc is terrible, showing Muriel's sister as a foil to Muriel, and displaying the catastrophic results of girls who try to break through the mold. Delia is another example, being a fierce campaigner for women's rights and the likes. In a sense, Muriel manages to find a middle ground - but only after she has spent several bitter years in Marshington, realising life has absolutely nothing more to offer her.

The Crowded Street is not an easy novel to read, but it does reflect starkly on the WW1 period and interwar years and their effects not on men, but on the women who had to stay behind - the emptiness of their lives, the lack of men, the search for suitable husbands, and the testing attempt at finding other ways to make oneself live a respectable and enjoyable life.

goldfishtish's review against another edition

3.0

The Crowded Room is one of the most authentic portrayals I’ve read of childhood shyness and social failure. Of the shame and stifling inaction of it, and how women in particular are stymied and trapped and corralled into set paths. There were some passages that hit me very hard and made me wish I was the kind of person who copied quotes from books to reread later. But the flip side of such assiduous commitment to its theme is that at times the plot and characters are dull and dismal and overly didactic. Rarely have I both empathised so deeply with and been so frustrated (and even occasionally disgusted) by a character as I was with Muriel. Just as I was accepting that ultimately, The Crowded Room would be a dissatisfying, relentlessly slow decline, it did go somewhere, but it was hard work for a while in the middle. I think I have to let this settle for a while before I really know what I think.

catebutler's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

#PersephoneClub on Litsy - April 2022