A review by beckykeister
New Grub Street by George Gissing

3.0

I loved The Odd Women and hoped that this one would share its insightfulness. But it all came off too cynical for me and this particular edition's awesome annotations showed just how much Gissing wrapped up his own literary experiences in the lives of his characters who inhabit his same world. I'd like to say that it is a bit satirical, but I think that Gissing probably knew a person exactly like every character he wrote into this book. Which makes it all the more depressing. It dragged on in the middle (perhaps his own commentary on how authors must fill a certain number of pages) and it all felt a bit too real (also maybe an ironic nod to a repeated idea in the book that stories about real life don't sell). Anyway, it was fine. I got a little invested. But I don't really need to read it again and wouldn't recommend it to a general audience.