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jabnj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
danielle1187's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
wshier's review against another edition
5.0
This book is to the medical/health care/science industry what Babbitt is to upper middle class/striving/rotary club/middle America and Elmer Gantry is to televangelism/fire & brimstone. The only difference is that Martin Arrowsmith (while certainly not perfect) comes out on the right end of things. He is not an anti-hero. This book is hilarious, insightful, and still incredibly relevant and enduring.
sarahheidmann's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
airi3new's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
bobbo49's review against another edition
4.0
A well written story of the struggle of a young doctor toward "pure science", in the face of worldly and commercial demands from his colleagues and wife. The ending is too rote for my tastes, but overall an enjoyable read. Particularly enjoyed the philosophical struggle in his field work with plague (science vs. humanitarianism), in light of my concurrent reading of "Year of Wonders", a novel about the plague in Europe in the 1600s.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
4.0
A Novel in which the writer analyses the adverse effects that mercantilist zeal may have on the man of science.
We can thus reveal, in the discursive fabric of the text, an apology for the values of the spirit, practically dying in a society in which everything becomes a tradable good. Nevertheless, the whole novel structure shows the protagonist's moral integrity and dignity because this gives the story an aura of idealism, not achieved in the author's previous works.
We can thus reveal, in the discursive fabric of the text, an apology for the values of the spirit, practically dying in a society in which everything becomes a tradable good. Nevertheless, the whole novel structure shows the protagonist's moral integrity and dignity because this gives the story an aura of idealism, not achieved in the author's previous works.
glasses's review against another edition
5.0
Sinclair Lewis is a master of descriptions. He boils all manner of people down to the essentials, then boils them some more. Out of the viscous sludge of stereotype he drags out fully formed pictures, so vivid that within seconds you feel like you have known these people and places forever. And perhaps you have. This is a tale of very ordinary people, the ones we are and meet. In anyone else's hands such a story would almost certainly have been drab and uninteresting (aside from Mark Twain, perhaps). But Sinclair revels in the mundane and mediocre. While his gaze is sardonic and cynical, it has a heartfelt understanding of the trappings of human society and science.
A beautiful piece of writing.
A beautiful piece of writing.