Gissing - an underappreciated writer?

Sometimes I find Gissing a bit clunky, particularly when he steps forward to explain a character's background. I also find it odd when he finds it necessary to explain to his readership the social circumstances that shape his characters' behaviour, as if the were bushmen of the Kalahari, rather than the working class from his own country's capital city. I do not always look forward eagerly to the next chapter, and am glad they all tend to be ten to twelve pages long. Nevertheless, he is extraordinarily good at bringing his characters to life. All his characters (well, most of them) seem like real people. They always keep and speak in character. I like what Gissing tries to do; I just don't always enjoy it a great deal.

Gissing is a much better writer than Conrad in my opinion. Conrad's insistence in killing off all his main protagonists at the end of each book is silly. Plenty of characters die or suffer in Gissing's books, but in the everyday tragic way that was common then. Having sneaked a look at the remaining chapter titles, I expect the main hero and heroine are going to survive to the end of the book, but I am seriously concerned there will be no happy ending. The baddies may win and the goodies may suffer.

I thought while reading New Grub Street and The Odd Women that they could make good television mini-series. I think the Nether World could be too. The dialogue could be just lifted off the page, while the instances of clunkiness could be dispensed with. It has been said that if Dickens were alive today he would be writing for soap operas. I think that may be truer of Gissing. If Gissing were alive today and writing for a soap opera, it would be one I could bring myself to watch.

I've never, never read any Gissing, although I've read lots of forgotten names. What would you recommend for starters, kev? (I can't imagine I'll be a great fan, though.)

I have only read three: New Grub Street, The Odd Women and The Nether World. These are the three reckoned to be his best, although George Orwell preferred Demos to The Nether World. In his lifetime, I think The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft was his most popular. New Grub Street is probably the best to start with. First, it is about the difficulties in trying to earn a living from writing, which I suppose is interesting to people interested in literature. Secondly, it has so many characters that one or two are allowed a happy ending.

Ta, kev. It's not at the top of my reading list, but I'll bear it in mind.

Well, that was bleak and depressing, although perfectly plausible. Actually, I think The Nether World was the best of the three Gissing books I have read. If I was absurdly rich, I would turn it into a TV series, only I am not sure it would be a very popular for a costume drama.

Hang on, kev67. Which one was particularly bleak and depressing??

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Originally Posted by JonathanB

Hang on, kev67. Which one was particularly bleak and depressing??

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The Nether World. It's a vision of hell, in particular for one unfortunate character. TBF, there are the seeds of a happy ending in there somewhere, no doubt in the sequel that Gissing never got around to writing.