Genius by Theodore Dreiser is a thought-provoking novel that delves into the life of Eugene Witla, a talented but troubled artist grappling with the complexities of love, ambition, and artistic vision. Set against the backdrop of early 20th century New York City, the novel explores Eugene's tumultuous relationships with women, his struggle to find success as an artist, and his inner battle with his own inner demons.

Dreiser's prose is both lyrical and unflinchingly honest, painting a vivid portrait of a man torn between his desire for greatness and his own self-destructive tendencies. The characters are richly drawn and fully realized, with all their flaws and complexities laid bare for the reader to ponder.

What sets Genius apart is Dreiser's exploration of the creative process and the sacrifices one must make in order to achieve true artistic greatness. The novel poses challenging questions about the nature of talent, the price of success, and the limits of artistic expression.

Overall, Genius is a compelling and nuanced exploration of ambition, love, and the pursuit of artistic perfection. Dreiser's keen insights into the human psyche and the complexities of artistic genius make this novel a must-read for anyone interested in the inner workings of the creative mind.

Book Description:
"The only figure of literary repute who ever rated The "Genius" as first among the novels of Theodore Dreiser was Theodore Dreiser," literary historian Larzer Ziff observed. His fifth published novel, The "Genius" was actually the third novel Dreiser began work on and, as his most autobiographical work, remained the novel closest to his heart. He worked on it in stages over a four-year period. The credit he felt he deserved (and did not receive) for his honesty about sexual urges and damaged relationships and his original publisher's decision not to stand by the novel in the face of criticism contributed to his lifelong feeling that the book had never been given its due. After An American Tragedy, it is his longest book; the final draft ran to over 700 pages in a close-set type. While the protagonist of the book is in many ways a portrait of its author, Dreiser also loosely based Eugene Witla on some of the painters, artists working in an Ashcan realist style, whom he knew in New York at the time and whose studios he visited. The most likely candidate for a model is Everett Shinn, who painted urban scenes of the kind attributed to Witla and who was known as a promiscuous man. The novel is divided intro three sections: "Youth," "Struggle," and "Revolt." In Book I, Eugene Witla (like Sister Carrie, in Dreiser's earlier novel) escapes the confines of the small town in Illinois where he has been raised to make his way in Chicago. There he studies painting at the Chicago Art Institute and enjoys the excitement of the city and his first sexual experiences. He becomes engaged to a young woman, Angela Blue, with whom he is intimate before their marriage but, at all times, he finds it difficult to remain faithful. A life based on monogamy seems beyond him. In Book II, Eugene and Angela move to New York City, where he makes a name for himself in the art world as an urban realist but finds his marriage with the increasingly conventional Angela painfully limiting. They travel to Europe, he suffers a breakdown, and they return to New York where Eugene attempts to make a better living in the advertising world. Book III chronicles the deterioration of Eugene and Angela's marriage as he begins an affair with Suzanne Dale. (wikipedia)