Started: March 27, 2024 | Finished: March 29. 2024
The Unclassed
An unconventional love triangle set in the midst of the struggles of London’s working class
After being disappointed by Gissing’s first novel Workers in the Dawn I remembered his better works and the beauty of his prose and tried his second novel The Unclassed.
I found the novel to be engaging. Right past the middle of it, it became more than engaging. It became riveting. I was of the mind that if I had come to that part of the book nearing my bedtime It would be hard for me to put the book down. That part had an emotional kick to it and lasted for a few chapters before things calmed down.
This is my fifth Gissing book, and, in the others, he had some villainous characters, but no one comes near Harriet Smales to raise my hackles - she’s the first Gissing character that I really wanted to throttle.
Unlike the previous Gissing books I have read, I detect no underlying social theme in this novel. What is present here is an involved and unique love triangle - a strong romance aspect.
What is also present here, as usual, is Gissing’s narrative on poverty. Although this book tackles people a bit above the realm of the extreme poor, still, the characters here are poor enough to become homeless at some points.
My one critique is that I found the coincidences in this novel to be a bit too convenient but that is a minor niggle.
This novel is about Ida Starr, who is forced by circumstances to become a prostitute. It is about the marriage of Julian Casti and Harriet Smales, described in detail by Gissing - a perfect example of a hellish marriage; for me it gives the book a horror-tinge. There is a character in this book, Waymark, who reminds me of Sidney Kirkland in The Nether World. Both of these characters strike me as archetypes for how people should behave when living in less than ideal circumstances - Gissings hero-figure.
Gissing has gotten over the plodding pace that made me give up on Workers in the Dawn. The Unclassed, though not a page turner except for that small part in the middle, goes along at an engaging pace.
As usual, and always, Gissings prose is top-tier, it flows and is nuanced, able to introduce layers of depth in the narrative.