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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I rarely change my mind about a book based on the way it ends. With this book, I make an exception. I went through various phases with this book.
To start, it seemed like a fun satire of one of the most shallow characters imaginable. George Babbit is a real estate man, utterly conventional, and without a thought or opinion of his own. He defines himself by the products he buys. He doesn't know what to think about something unless he's read the opinion in the editorials (conservative, of course). His chief concerns in life are fitting in and doing business, and that's about it. No hobbies. A drab family life with a wife he has never loved.
Then I started to bog down and rather dislike the book. It was clear that Lewis hated all of his characters. It also seemed clear that he considered himself far superior to any of these boorish mid-Westerners. And he was pouring it on so hard. I couldn't see the point of it, or rather, I saw the point all too clearly, and I didn't get why he was going on and on. Worse, I had a suspicion that Lewis did not understand these characters all that well, and that's why the satire was so broad. Of course, there were Babbit's little doubts about his life, but these seemed always to extinguish themselves, and seemed largely to show that Babbit was a hypocrite on top of everything else.
Then, the book changed and I realized that Lewis was writing about mid-life crisis before anyone invented the term. George goes through a bunch of changes in search of his lost youth. And at this point I thought the book was OK, and still had some fun moments. But here, his dissipation was altogether conventional. Instead of defining himself by one set, he started to define himself by another contrary set, and he was still acting as a conformist. But now he was conforming in a way that would lead to his self-destruction. I didn't know how Lewis would resolve it. I could see him destroying this character he seemed to hate from the start. Or I could see him giving up his dissipation and going back to his totally shallow, greedy, conventional life.
And then I found myself liking the resolution. Babbit returns to his conventionality, but it's entirely outward. Along his misadventures, he has grown a conscience and learned how to think for himself. In some ways, I think this story is very much like Pinnochio. Babbitt starts out as a puppet who yearns to be human, and even though he ends up in roughly the same position at the end as when he started, in the process he grows up and gets a soul. In the end, I liked this book very much and thought it better than the other Lewis I've read (Main Street and Elmer Gantry).
To start, it seemed like a fun satire of one of the most shallow characters imaginable. George Babbit is a real estate man, utterly conventional, and without a thought or opinion of his own. He defines himself by the products he buys. He doesn't know what to think about something unless he's read the opinion in the editorials (conservative, of course). His chief concerns in life are fitting in and doing business, and that's about it. No hobbies. A drab family life with a wife he has never loved.
Then I started to bog down and rather dislike the book. It was clear that Lewis hated all of his characters. It also seemed clear that he considered himself far superior to any of these boorish mid-Westerners. And he was pouring it on so hard. I couldn't see the point of it, or rather, I saw the point all too clearly, and I didn't get why he was going on and on. Worse, I had a suspicion that Lewis did not understand these characters all that well, and that's why the satire was so broad. Of course, there were Babbit's little doubts about his life, but these seemed always to extinguish themselves, and seemed largely to show that Babbit was a hypocrite on top of everything else.
Then, the book changed and I realized that Lewis was writing about mid-life crisis before anyone invented the term. George goes through a bunch of changes in search of his lost youth. And at this point I thought the book was OK, and still had some fun moments. But here, his dissipation was altogether conventional. Instead of defining himself by one set, he started to define himself by another contrary set, and he was still acting as a conformist. But now he was conforming in a way that would lead to his self-destruction. I didn't know how Lewis would resolve it. I could see him destroying this character he seemed to hate from the start. Or I could see him giving up his dissipation and going back to his totally shallow, greedy, conventional life.
And then I found myself liking the resolution. Babbit returns to his conventionality, but it's entirely outward. Along his misadventures, he has grown a conscience and learned how to think for himself. In some ways, I think this story is very much like Pinnochio. Babbitt starts out as a puppet who yearns to be human, and even though he ends up in roughly the same position at the end as when he started, in the process he grows up and gets a soul. In the end, I liked this book very much and thought it better than the other Lewis I've read (Main Street and Elmer Gantry).
Interesting in parts, but a bit long-winded in parts. I’m not always certain that I understand ‘vintage’ satire, but I think I get enough to get along. And the rest of the story certainly makes an entertainment out of it. It’s probably worth 4 stars, but I’m not feeling particularly generous today.
I've not read any Sinclair Lewis, but I picked this up at the library because it was familiar (and I needed my next audio book for the car.) Written nearly 100 years ago, it's better and more realistic(so far) that most of the comtemporary books written about urban/suburban life and "the climb."
Midlife crisis, "stand up" or "go with the flow"...Lewis's writing could easily be 2010 as opposed to 1922...lots of opportunities to chuckle...however, veeeeeeeerrrry long!
Midlife crisis, "stand up" or "go with the flow"...Lewis's writing could easily be 2010 as opposed to 1922...lots of opportunities to chuckle...however, veeeeeeeerrrry long!
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5/5*
Read this for my American Writers class. I think this is one that I liked a little more than the others we read for this class. It's definitely one I wouldn't have picked out for myself and I don't see myself rereading it any time soon. But maybe one day in the future.
Read this for my American Writers class. I think this is one that I liked a little more than the others we read for this class. It's definitely one I wouldn't have picked out for myself and I don't see myself rereading it any time soon. But maybe one day in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it got a little long and tedious for me. The commentary on the middle class was consistent, but reiterated to really get the point across. I loved the subtle humor and dry sarcasm. Ultimately, the ending definitely made it worth the read!
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am the slowest reader in the world, so the fact that the plot didn’t start till after 200 pages really was not helpful in actually finishing the book - but it was beautifully written, and so despite Babbitt being more or less an absolutely terrible person, he was so incredibly human that (against almost every standard I have for myself) I was rooting for him the whole time. The friendship between him and Paul was so delicate and soft, I did in fact cry when Paul went to prison and Babbitt realised without him, life was “meaningless” . I would read it again just to feel the tenderness of their interactions once more.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Antisemitism
totally boring and pointless. only finished because it was required for school
A brutally honest look at the life of a middle class, middle-aged, middle-American businessman in the 1920s, fighting briefly to escape his mundane existence but ultimately succumbing. George Babbitt is an everyman of his time and place - and a warning to everyone who ultimately chooses the peaceful complacency of the known world over the struggle to find true happiness.