A review by gastronauta
The Odd Women by George Gissing

5.0

Forget about Edith Wharton - this the best, most ahead-of-its-time, social commentary book I have read in a long, long time, if not ever. How come it wasn't on my radar before? It speaks about women's equality in a way that makes it incredible that it was written in the freaking 1800s. If only, the fact that it was makes it even more refreshing - because these are problems that we're already aware of but we still haven't managed to resolve, seeing it all discussed like it's new and devoid of connotations... well, it makes a change from all the angry-sounding articles on my Facebook feed, that's for sure. I guess the contrast should feel depressing, but the book is the one that reads surprisingly modern, so I had to keep reminding myself that we have truly come a long way in most of these respects. Just look at quote:
"True. But a free union presupposes equality of position. No honest man would propose it, for instance, to a woman incapable of understanding all it involved, or incapable of resuming her separate life if that became desirable."
This is GOLD, people. Read it!