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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. Not my favorite kind of book--more of an extended character study than a story. Definitely appreciated the subversive, sly humor and wanted more of it.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
medium-paced
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist; austere towers of steel and cement and limestone, sturdy as cliffs and delicate as silver rods." Sturdy and delicate, towering and aspiring...perfect words to describe this brilliant, funny, poignant and very contemporary-feeling novel by someone who has now (after two books read) become one of my favorite authors. Lewis takes us from loathing Babbitt to loving him over a long, twisting course. Human insight and compassion beautiful presented.
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Babbitt is one of the most uninspiring titular characters in the history of literature. He is a bumbling ignoramus, pretending to knowledge and blustering his way through ignorance; a perfect curmudgeon, grumbling about socialism and the changing of the times. He is the exact middle of the middle class, an exemplar of mediocrity.
One chapter in particular summed up for me the experience of reading this novel: in it, Babbitt first gives and then attends a dinner party; during the former, he is snubbed by the millionaire McKelveys, while during the latter, he snubs the less well off Overbrooks. Everyone is obsessed with social position, looking disdainfully on those a rung or two down on the ladder, while setting their sights hungrily on a rung or two above.
Babbitt is, of course, unaware of the irony that he is treated by the McKelveys as he treats the Overbrooks. He is Sinclair Lewis' constant fool, almost to the point of sneering cruelty, though the author maintains just enough sympathy for his protagonist to humanise his faults.
Babbit is, after all, merely a pawn. He and his circle are all occupying the middle ground between the truly wealthy and the have-nots. He is manipulated constantly by advertising, sales pitches, the newspaper, just as he manipulates others to buy his cars. Intellect is sacrificed to moneymaking, aesthetics to standardisation and conformity.
He has moments of clarity about the banality of his disappointments, but doesn't seem to be able to escape his existence. He undertakes a spree with his idolised (and similarly disillusioned) childhood friend Paul, and is for a brief moment free, only to get sucked back into the same old rat race.
He looks past economic motivators to politics and religion for succour, but while he gains prestige from these he does not gain a lasting sense of fulfilment. There is another volte face waiting in the wings, one that reveals the hollow satisfaction of respectability.
This may make the book sound like a downer, and in some ways it is, but Sinclair Lewis also imbues his satire with plenty of humour. George F. Babbit is, after all, the ultimate jester, who, in the Shakespearean tradition, exudes absurdity as well as pathos.
One chapter in particular summed up for me the experience of reading this novel: in it, Babbitt first gives and then attends a dinner party; during the former, he is snubbed by the millionaire McKelveys, while during the latter, he snubs the less well off Overbrooks. Everyone is obsessed with social position, looking disdainfully on those a rung or two down on the ladder, while setting their sights hungrily on a rung or two above.
Babbitt is, of course, unaware of the irony that he is treated by the McKelveys as he treats the Overbrooks. He is Sinclair Lewis' constant fool, almost to the point of sneering cruelty, though the author maintains just enough sympathy for his protagonist to humanise his faults.
Babbit is, after all, merely a pawn. He and his circle are all occupying the middle ground between the truly wealthy and the have-nots. He is manipulated constantly by advertising, sales pitches, the newspaper, just as he manipulates others to buy his cars. Intellect is sacrificed to moneymaking, aesthetics to standardisation and conformity.
He has moments of clarity about the banality of his disappointments, but doesn't seem to be able to escape his existence. He undertakes a spree with his idolised (and similarly disillusioned) childhood friend Paul, and is for a brief moment free, only to get sucked back into the same old rat race.
He looks past economic motivators to politics and religion for succour, but while he gains prestige from these he does not gain a lasting sense of fulfilment. There is another volte face waiting in the wings, one that reveals the hollow satisfaction of respectability.
This may make the book sound like a downer, and in some ways it is, but Sinclair Lewis also imbues his satire with plenty of humour. George F. Babbit is, after all, the ultimate jester, who, in the Shakespearean tradition, exudes absurdity as well as pathos.
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Way too long to not be very interesting.