YMMV / Keep the Aspidistra Flying

• Values Dissonance: The book features an extended passage where Gordon mocks a gay man who frequents the bookshop, in particular singling out and sneering at his lisp. This kind of blatant homophobia was widely accepted in the 1930s, when queerness was criminalized all throughout the western world, but nearly a century later, the passage and the views they reflect are subject to far greater scrutiny.
• The Woobie:
  • Gordon's eternally-suffering sister Julia, an Old Maid who lives a pitifully lonely life and has repeatedly loaned money to her brother in the hope that he'll revive the family fortunes, to little avail. When Gordon does eventually receive enough money to pay her back, he gets drunk and attempts to spend it on prostitutes. It's possible she finally gets something of a break after Gordon gets his old job back at the end of the book.
  • Gordon himself can also be seen as a Jerkass Woobie, but it's much harder to feel sorry for him given his caustic personality and the fact that he's brought most of his troubles on himself.

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