Born In Exile illustrated by George Gissing

3.63 AVERAGE

psychohobbit's review against another edition

2.0
Written in the late 19th century, human nature is the same but the differences in society make it hard for me to determine how likeable/unlikeable the main characters are. Set in England in the late 19th century, Godwin Peak is smart but comes from a working class background, something he feels acutely as he has total disgust for the vulgar masses. He aspires to become wealthy but finds barriers--not the least which is he himself when setting his goals. This comes to a central point when he find the woman of his dreams, stationed in society above himself. Despite his basic pretentious unpleasantness, he still manages to find a core group of friends. The only consolation of reading this is seeing what becomes of them all. I know class was a big thing back then (I remember this coming up in Dickens' novels) but I'm just too modern to really relate to it. These upward striving characters just seem like snobs. However, like people today, these young men reject things when they become too popular as they do not support what's common and they do struggle with how much of their idealism to give up in order to gain advantages.

mavenbooks's review against another edition

3.0
This was a difficult read, not just due to some slower passages, but because the main character is so unsympathetic. Not only is he a opinionated and close-minded, but he sees himself as a victim, mainly of the class system and society. He goes on like this, despite contradictions to his worldview, never giving other people a chance to prove him wrong, and it's difficult to see this unfold. The other people he encounters are a little more sympathetic, but not by much.

As with other Gissing novels, this also deal with several heavier topics, like whether religion can survive in a science-oriented world, and whether women should be educated and "emancipated."

After all the drama, I sort of felt like the ending was almost deserved.