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.
I had a difficult time with this book. I wanted to like the premis of the story. However, I could not find the main character to be likeable. He was pitiable at times, but not engaging. The idea of struggling to overcome social class seemed almost over-used in the book. Especially since, the only characters in the story who seemed concerned with it were Mrs. Warricombe and Godwin Peak himself. It seemed to be more about Peak's inability to overcome his overwhelming contempt of his own family and those he considered lower class, than socieity's ability to accept one of uncommon intelect into the upper reaches of the middle class. The supporting theme of the book seemed to be religion versus science and agnosticism. It was discussed in mintue detail quite thorughly. An interesting topic, but one that seemed to detract from the story after a while as opposed to add to it.I can say that this book did cause me to reflect more openly about my own prejudices and ideas about class and for that, it was worth reading.
Do You like book Born In Exile (2007)?
Godwin Peak is highly intelligent, but has no money. After his school years, he leaves his family and travels to another part of England to represent himself as interested in becoming part of the clergy. His real aim is to make a good marriage which also means to gain an estate through this "good" marriage and to rise in society. What Peak realizes is that, try as he does, he cannot escape his place in society. Gissing presents an England conscious of class and propriety and the inability of the people, whether or not well born, to conceive of lives lived outside the confines of tradition.
—Nancy
There are always some difficulties with reading a book from a completely different era, and this book is no exception. Though the language wasn't difficult to understand, I did have some trouble relating to the ideas of class and social status that Godwin Peak was so concerned about. However, I had no trouble understanding the broken promise of Peak's idealism, and his inability to escape who he is and where he came from. Though Peak's scheme was less than noble, it did shed light on some interesting ideas regarding religious hypocrisy and the futility of basing actions on other people's perceived expectations.
—Lee (Rocky)
