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Main Street / Babbitt
In Main Street and Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis drew on his boyhood memories of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, to reveal as no writer had done before the complacency and conformity of middle-class life in America. The remarkable novels presented here in this Library of America volume combine brilliant satire with a lingering affection for the men and women, who, as Lewis wrote of Babbitt, "want "to seize something more than motor cars and a house before it's too late.""
Main Street (1920), Lewis's first triumph, was a phenomenal event in American publishing and cultural history. Lewis's idealistic, imaginative heroine, Carol Kennicott, longs "to get [her] hands on one of those prairie towns and make it beautiful," but when her doctor husband brings her to Gopher Prairie, she finds that the romance of the American frontier has dwindled to the drab reality of the American Middle West. Carol first struggles against and then flees the social tyrannies and cultural emptiness of Gopher Prairie, only to submit at last to the conventions of village life. The great romantic satire of its decade, Main Street is a wry, sad, funny account of a woman who attempts to challenge the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of her community.
"I know of no American novel that more accurately presents the real America," wrote H.L. Mencken when Babbitt appeared in 1922. "As an old professor of Babbittry I welcome him as an almost perfect specimen. Every American city swarms with his brothers. He is America incarnate, exuberant and exquisite."
In the character of George F. Babbitt, the boisterous, vulgar, worried, gadget-loving real estate man from Zenith, Lewis fashioned a new and enduring figure in American literature—the total conformist. Babbitt is a "joiner," who thinks and feels with the crowd. Lewis surrounds him with a gallery of familiar American types—small businessman, Rotarians, Elks, boosters, supporters of evangelical Christianity. In biting satirical scenes of club lunches, after-dinner speeches, trade association conventions, fishing trips and Sunday School committees, Lewis reproduces the noisy restlessness of American commercial culture.
In 1930 Sinclair Lewis was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, largely for his achievement in Babbitt. These early novels not only define a crucial period in American history—from America's "coming of age" just before World War I to the dizzying boom of the twenties—they also continue to astonish us with essential truths about the country we live in today.
Main Street (1920), Lewis's first triumph, was a phenomenal event in American publishing and cultural history. Lewis's idealistic, imaginative heroine, Carol Kennicott, longs "to get [her] hands on one of those prairie towns and make it beautiful," but when her doctor husband brings her to Gopher Prairie, she finds that the romance of the American frontier has dwindled to the drab reality of the American Middle West. Carol first struggles against and then flees the social tyrannies and cultural emptiness of Gopher Prairie, only to submit at last to the conventions of village life. The great romantic satire of its decade, Main Street is a wry, sad, funny account of a woman who attempts to challenge the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness of her community.
"I know of no American novel that more accurately presents the real America," wrote H.L. Mencken when Babbitt appeared in 1922. "As an old professor of Babbittry I welcome him as an almost perfect specimen. Every American city swarms with his brothers. He is America incarnate, exuberant and exquisite."
In the character of George F. Babbitt, the boisterous, vulgar, worried, gadget-loving real estate man from Zenith, Lewis fashioned a new and enduring figure in American literature—the total conformist. Babbitt is a "joiner," who thinks and feels with the crowd. Lewis surrounds him with a gallery of familiar American types—small businessman, Rotarians, Elks, boosters, supporters of evangelical Christianity. In biting satirical scenes of club lunches, after-dinner speeches, trade association conventions, fishing trips and Sunday School committees, Lewis reproduces the noisy restlessness of American commercial culture.
In 1930 Sinclair Lewis was the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, largely for his achievement in Babbitt. These early novels not only define a crucial period in American history—from America's "coming of age" just before World War I to the dizzying boom of the twenties—they also continue to astonish us with essential truths about the country we live in today.
898 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
84 people are currently reading
578 people want to read
About the author
Sinclair Lewis
500 books1,112 followersNovelist Harry Sinclair Lewis satirized middle-class America in his 22 works, including
Babbitt
(1922) and
Elmer Gantry
(1927) and first received a Nobel Prize for literature in 1930.
Middle-class values and materialism attach unthinking George F. Babbitt, the narrow-minded, self-satisfied main character person in the novel of Sinclair Lewis.
People awarded "his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters."
He knowingly, insightfully, and critically viewed capitalism and materialism between the wars. People respect his strong characterizations of modern women.
Henry Louis Mencken wrote, "[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade...it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclai...
Middle-class values and materialism attach unthinking George F. Babbitt, the narrow-minded, self-satisfied main character person in the novel of Sinclair Lewis.
People awarded "his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of characters."
He knowingly, insightfully, and critically viewed capitalism and materialism between the wars. People respect his strong characterizations of modern women.
Henry Louis Mencken wrote, "[If] there was ever a novelist among us with an authentic call to the trade...it is this red-haired tornado from the Minnesota wilds."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclai...
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 13, 2023
In Main Street and Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis, with elegancy and lack of vulgarity, dissects the influence of provincialism on fragile minds.
Main Street is a collective image of Midwestern cities at the beginning of the 20th century. Inspired by the writer's hometown, the story follows a young, naive Carol Kennicott from St.Paul, Minnesota, who moves into small Gopher Prairie with her husband. While for Will Kennicott, Gopher Prairie, with its beautiful buildings and sincere people, symbolizes future glory, Carol feels suffocated in the atmosphere of gossip and stagnation. Carol's revolutionism, devoid of any vector and concrete goal, is slowly disintegrating under the watchful eye of the city's high circles. To bridge the gap between Carol and her surroundings, the author inserts a middle figure, an old maid named Wajda, as an example of how cities grow in reality: tardily, one step at a time, visible changes taking decades. In the end, provincialism dims Carol's radicalism; in this sense, Carol loses the game against the city.
Main Street became a denomination of narrow-mindedness, materialism, and mediocrity. Convinced that their way of thinking is the only one possible, Gopher Prairie's citizens consider outsiders as Carol or her lover Eric, an eccentric farmer-turned-fashion designer, too idealistic. Provincialism devours its victims, leaving them with enough consciousness to understand their downfall. Moreover, as Lewis reflects, it poses a grave danger because it doesn't want to stay inside America amidst endless prairies but wants to take hold of the world. The novel Babbitt demonstrates how Main Street's mentality operates in the cities with 300,000 citizens, a step higher than little Gopher Prairie.
While Carol Kennicott rebels against mediocrity, George F. Babbit is a typical carrier of a provincial gene. Zenith is bigger than Gopher Prairie yet mimics it in every detail: lip service to religion, elite circles of businessmen (and within these circles, there are sub-groups in accordance to the accommodated wealth), shallow jokes, and a pretense of loyalty to wives. Broker George F. Babbitt does everything right, but at some point, what we would now call a midlife crisis, he feels the lack of meaning in work and private life. His friend Paul's the only anchor that connects Babbitt with his idealistic youth when both wanted to pursue their dreams of becoming a violinist and a rightful lawyer, respectively. Babbitt's always protected and guided Paul into a comfortable existence as an older brother would. Paul's attempt to kill his wife, whom he stopped loving and couldn't pretend to love anymore, unlocked the doubts Babbitt has been suppressing for a long time.
Stereotypical as they are, both novels exhibit the same patterns of story-building, and putting them under one cover (my 1989 edition is in Russian) was a wise move on behalf of the publishers. Both main characters, Carol and Babbitt, rebel against the system with vague, therefore, unachievable goals of the world's betterment. Carol's attempts to rebuild Gopher Prairie's society look more grandiose on paper than Babbitt's doubts about the justice of the social system. Generally, both heroes follow the events rather than actively promote their agenda. Both don't have supporters or sympathizers and fail to change themselves or a city.
The socialist theme is present in both novels. Socialism is closely linked to workers' rights, trade unions, and class struggle. Any small concession to workers is too big; any thought that workers (or immigrants in Main Street) may be right in their demands for better pay is unacceptable.
Though I can't say any of Lewis's work sounds like a must-read classic, there is, deep down in me, a reason that brings me back to his writing. Perhaps, it's the timelessness of his themes: a populist dictator usurping power (and now, with current events in America, somebody may write the same story with a devout Christian as an American president); a young man searching for his life calling; a woman, unsatisfied with her marriage or a man's midlife crisis. His way of presenting his ideas would be difficult to copy: cliches should be stretched to their extremes to become the exact opposite of what they initially meant. As my edition says, Lewis deeply loved America and hated her at the same time, choosing bitter satire to highlight all its faults.
My review of It Can't Happen Here
My review of Arrowsmith
Main Street is a collective image of Midwestern cities at the beginning of the 20th century. Inspired by the writer's hometown, the story follows a young, naive Carol Kennicott from St.Paul, Minnesota, who moves into small Gopher Prairie with her husband. While for Will Kennicott, Gopher Prairie, with its beautiful buildings and sincere people, symbolizes future glory, Carol feels suffocated in the atmosphere of gossip and stagnation. Carol's revolutionism, devoid of any vector and concrete goal, is slowly disintegrating under the watchful eye of the city's high circles. To bridge the gap between Carol and her surroundings, the author inserts a middle figure, an old maid named Wajda, as an example of how cities grow in reality: tardily, one step at a time, visible changes taking decades. In the end, provincialism dims Carol's radicalism; in this sense, Carol loses the game against the city.
Main Street became a denomination of narrow-mindedness, materialism, and mediocrity. Convinced that their way of thinking is the only one possible, Gopher Prairie's citizens consider outsiders as Carol or her lover Eric, an eccentric farmer-turned-fashion designer, too idealistic. Provincialism devours its victims, leaving them with enough consciousness to understand their downfall. Moreover, as Lewis reflects, it poses a grave danger because it doesn't want to stay inside America amidst endless prairies but wants to take hold of the world. The novel Babbitt demonstrates how Main Street's mentality operates in the cities with 300,000 citizens, a step higher than little Gopher Prairie.
While Carol Kennicott rebels against mediocrity, George F. Babbit is a typical carrier of a provincial gene. Zenith is bigger than Gopher Prairie yet mimics it in every detail: lip service to religion, elite circles of businessmen (and within these circles, there are sub-groups in accordance to the accommodated wealth), shallow jokes, and a pretense of loyalty to wives. Broker George F. Babbitt does everything right, but at some point, what we would now call a midlife crisis, he feels the lack of meaning in work and private life. His friend Paul's the only anchor that connects Babbitt with his idealistic youth when both wanted to pursue their dreams of becoming a violinist and a rightful lawyer, respectively. Babbitt's always protected and guided Paul into a comfortable existence as an older brother would. Paul's attempt to kill his wife, whom he stopped loving and couldn't pretend to love anymore, unlocked the doubts Babbitt has been suppressing for a long time.
Stereotypical as they are, both novels exhibit the same patterns of story-building, and putting them under one cover (my 1989 edition is in Russian) was a wise move on behalf of the publishers. Both main characters, Carol and Babbitt, rebel against the system with vague, therefore, unachievable goals of the world's betterment. Carol's attempts to rebuild Gopher Prairie's society look more grandiose on paper than Babbitt's doubts about the justice of the social system. Generally, both heroes follow the events rather than actively promote their agenda. Both don't have supporters or sympathizers and fail to change themselves or a city.
The socialist theme is present in both novels. Socialism is closely linked to workers' rights, trade unions, and class struggle. Any small concession to workers is too big; any thought that workers (or immigrants in Main Street) may be right in their demands for better pay is unacceptable.
Though I can't say any of Lewis's work sounds like a must-read classic, there is, deep down in me, a reason that brings me back to his writing. Perhaps, it's the timelessness of his themes: a populist dictator usurping power (and now, with current events in America, somebody may write the same story with a devout Christian as an American president); a young man searching for his life calling; a woman, unsatisfied with her marriage or a man's midlife crisis. His way of presenting his ideas would be difficult to copy: cliches should be stretched to their extremes to become the exact opposite of what they initially meant. As my edition says, Lewis deeply loved America and hated her at the same time, choosing bitter satire to highlight all its faults.
My review of It Can't Happen Here
My review of Arrowsmith
March 18, 2024
The setting of Main Streetthis novel took place almost a hundred years ago. It is "Gopher Prairie,” a small town with all of the expected characteristics of such a place. Carol, an attractive, intelligent and well educated young woman, who works in a St. Paul library, falls in love and marries Dr. Will Kennicott, and follows him to his desolate, depressing and stagnant home town.
Carol's goal when she settles in this town is to enhance the atmosphere with improvements in architecture, educating the residents and stimulating public interests in achieving these ends and informing all of political knowledge. As she becomes better acquainted with the town's denizens, she ends up feeling trapped among people for whom she has no respect or common interests. Attempts to change the town and herself fails.
Lewis portrays these Midwesterners as narrow-minded, spiteful, judgemental and suspicious. They are people who fear anything new, whether it's a triviality like a novel thought, stylish clothes or "communism", actually a workers' union. The writing is clear and frequently thought provoking. It often seems possible to view each character as a personality who is revealed by actions or statements . The scenery and the environment vividly appear to the imagination.
Main Street's themes are ever-abiding. It presents an historical perspective of America, with concerns which still resonate today. Carol's attempts to educate the public, instill new interests and provide a broader lifestyle for women are clearly addressed throughout. Although we have made great strides for women, we still seek items like equal pay and equal roles in the marketplace. Religious differences were not accepted in this small town, but although this may not be true in many larger cities today, we still view suspicions and shunning of those who do not adhere to the general consensus.
Despite the fact that I enjoyed this lengthy work of Sinclair Lewis, I felt that it was overly long and would find my interest waning. Much could have been pared down in his writing. Although this book, written in 1920, exhibited many vivid historical pictures, the language was often “dated” and tended to be repetitious at times. For these reasons, I am having difficulty in rating it and will probably revisit my assessment.
Carol's goal when she settles in this town is to enhance the atmosphere with improvements in architecture, educating the residents and stimulating public interests in achieving these ends and informing all of political knowledge. As she becomes better acquainted with the town's denizens, she ends up feeling trapped among people for whom she has no respect or common interests. Attempts to change the town and herself fails.
Lewis portrays these Midwesterners as narrow-minded, spiteful, judgemental and suspicious. They are people who fear anything new, whether it's a triviality like a novel thought, stylish clothes or "communism", actually a workers' union. The writing is clear and frequently thought provoking. It often seems possible to view each character as a personality who is revealed by actions or statements . The scenery and the environment vividly appear to the imagination.
Main Street's themes are ever-abiding. It presents an historical perspective of America, with concerns which still resonate today. Carol's attempts to educate the public, instill new interests and provide a broader lifestyle for women are clearly addressed throughout. Although we have made great strides for women, we still seek items like equal pay and equal roles in the marketplace. Religious differences were not accepted in this small town, but although this may not be true in many larger cities today, we still view suspicions and shunning of those who do not adhere to the general consensus.
Despite the fact that I enjoyed this lengthy work of Sinclair Lewis, I felt that it was overly long and would find my interest waning. Much could have been pared down in his writing. Although this book, written in 1920, exhibited many vivid historical pictures, the language was often “dated” and tended to be repetitious at times. For these reasons, I am having difficulty in rating it and will probably revisit my assessment.
February 4, 2015
Although Sinclair Lewis had at least four published novels before ]Main Street, this and the immediately following Babbit (which I read for a book discussion a decade ago) were his first important works. Both are satirical descriptions of American small town life in the second decade of the twentieth century; but despite the humorous exaggeration they are an accurate depiction -- and not much has changed. While the Gopher Prairies have become medium-sized cities with strip malls and shopping centers, the attitudes are pretty much as Lewis depicted them almost a century ago: the complacency, the militant anti-intellectualism, the mindlessly strident conservatism, religion as a substitute for actual thought; the triviality of conversation, the back-biting gossip, the petty dishonesty, the boredom . . . Gopher Prairie, Minnesota is more or less Lehi, Utah or Skowhegan, Maine or even the white sections of San Antonio, Texas, as I experienced them.
Main Street is shown through the eyes of Carol Kennicott, a somewhat more intelligent, educated and socially conscious Emma Bovary, who like Flaubert's heroine tries to live an aesthetic life in decidedly unaesthetic surroundings -- although her interests are largely cultural and political rather than romantic, and I think she is a more sympathetic character. Her husband, Dr. Kennicott, like M. Bovary, is a small town doctor who loves his wife but has no understanding of her basic desires. The minor characters are mostly well characterized as well; the poor farmers are drawn much more sympathetically than the townspeople. I could relate to Carol's struggles, the excitement at meeting people who initially seemed to be interested in the same things she was, the grasping at straws and ultimate disillusionment when she realizes that they are basically limited and superficial, only willing to go so far within the cultural limits of the town mentality.
Near the end, Lewis introduces the theme of "boosterism" which becomes the main emphasis of Babbit; the latter novel is shown through the eyes of a "booster" rather than a rebel, although even he has his moment of rebellion. Both novels are written well, occasionally funny but ultimately depressing.
Main Street is shown through the eyes of Carol Kennicott, a somewhat more intelligent, educated and socially conscious Emma Bovary, who like Flaubert's heroine tries to live an aesthetic life in decidedly unaesthetic surroundings -- although her interests are largely cultural and political rather than romantic, and I think she is a more sympathetic character. Her husband, Dr. Kennicott, like M. Bovary, is a small town doctor who loves his wife but has no understanding of her basic desires. The minor characters are mostly well characterized as well; the poor farmers are drawn much more sympathetically than the townspeople. I could relate to Carol's struggles, the excitement at meeting people who initially seemed to be interested in the same things she was, the grasping at straws and ultimate disillusionment when she realizes that they are basically limited and superficial, only willing to go so far within the cultural limits of the town mentality.
Near the end, Lewis introduces the theme of "boosterism" which becomes the main emphasis of Babbit; the latter novel is shown through the eyes of a "booster" rather than a rebel, although even he has his moment of rebellion. Both novels are written well, occasionally funny but ultimately depressing.
August 27, 2018
Having Sinclair Lewis's two best-known novels in one volume is handy. For those who like to collect hardbound books, this may be the way to go. Note that the books in the subscription plan are not quite as durable as the more expensive ones from bookstores or online retailers.
January 9, 2018
I read only Main Street as one of the Top 100 Novels listed by The Modern Library.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Main Street and found it difficult to set the book down. This surprised me, because this novel (as the jacket summarizes) is primarily about a young housewife experiencing life in a rural town in Minnesota (not fair from Minneapolis / St. Paul) in the early 20th century. What made this book so captivating to me is its description of life on "Main Street, USA" in a small town in the 1920s-1930s. The reader is completely immersed into the setting and characters, to the point that there is a fair amount of outmoded slang that I had to look up on Wikipedia to see what it meant. One of the themes of the novel is a woman's place in American society in the 1920s-1930s. Carol Kennicott, the protagonist in the novel, is an intelligent and capable young woman who marries a country doctor after a VERY brief period of courting at the outset of the novel. The rest of the novel is about Carol striving to find intrinsic satisfaction and purpose in her life in the new setting of Gopher Prairie, MN. Carol challenges societal and cultural norms throughout her struggle to find meaning and purpose in her life.
Sinclair Lewis describes the characters in such a way that I am anxious to see what happens to them next, and they are each quite unique in their descriptions, almost like caricatures. I would liken this book to 'Winesburg, Ohio' or 'The Magnificent Ambersons' in that there are so many different characters interacting with each other in ways essential to the plot, and the culture and society of the town that is already set in motion when our protagonist enters is like a powerful, driving force that cannot be stopped or easily redirected, respectively.
After reading this book, I read the biography and timeline at the end about the author - Sinclair Lewis. I found Sinclair to be a VERY interesting person, and I plan to come back and read Babbitt, which I have since seen referenced as a cultural touchstone to America and the middle class in the start of the 20th century. I especially found it interesting that Sinclair had spoken with Eugene V. Debs on more than one occasion; a Socialist who lived in my hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. Also, a LOT of Lewis' novels and short stories were adapted into plays and movies. I am anxious to see how many of the movies still survive.
'Main Street' increased my interest in American Literature, and I was intrigued by how 'Main Street' seems similar to novels written by other American authors such as Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Sherwood Anderson, etc. The 1920s and 1930s are also FASCINATING times in American history!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Main Street and found it difficult to set the book down. This surprised me, because this novel (as the jacket summarizes) is primarily about a young housewife experiencing life in a rural town in Minnesota (not fair from Minneapolis / St. Paul) in the early 20th century. What made this book so captivating to me is its description of life on "Main Street, USA" in a small town in the 1920s-1930s. The reader is completely immersed into the setting and characters, to the point that there is a fair amount of outmoded slang that I had to look up on Wikipedia to see what it meant. One of the themes of the novel is a woman's place in American society in the 1920s-1930s. Carol Kennicott, the protagonist in the novel, is an intelligent and capable young woman who marries a country doctor after a VERY brief period of courting at the outset of the novel. The rest of the novel is about Carol striving to find intrinsic satisfaction and purpose in her life in the new setting of Gopher Prairie, MN. Carol challenges societal and cultural norms throughout her struggle to find meaning and purpose in her life.
Sinclair Lewis describes the characters in such a way that I am anxious to see what happens to them next, and they are each quite unique in their descriptions, almost like caricatures. I would liken this book to 'Winesburg, Ohio' or 'The Magnificent Ambersons' in that there are so many different characters interacting with each other in ways essential to the plot, and the culture and society of the town that is already set in motion when our protagonist enters is like a powerful, driving force that cannot be stopped or easily redirected, respectively.
After reading this book, I read the biography and timeline at the end about the author - Sinclair Lewis. I found Sinclair to be a VERY interesting person, and I plan to come back and read Babbitt, which I have since seen referenced as a cultural touchstone to America and the middle class in the start of the 20th century. I especially found it interesting that Sinclair had spoken with Eugene V. Debs on more than one occasion; a Socialist who lived in my hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana. Also, a LOT of Lewis' novels and short stories were adapted into plays and movies. I am anxious to see how many of the movies still survive.
'Main Street' increased my interest in American Literature, and I was intrigued by how 'Main Street' seems similar to novels written by other American authors such as Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Sherwood Anderson, etc. The 1920s and 1930s are also FASCINATING times in American history!
January 19, 2022
Oof. Okay, the rating is for the writing, the absolute brilliant writing, the scathing comments here and there, the craft itself. Sinclair Lewis has written an excellent book in Main Street.
All that said, I hated it. I hated it because it reminded me of the hateful gossiping hens I had to put up with in my early 20s, and the horrible church people who were so self-righteous. I hated it because I understood Carol all too well -- her desire for culture and art and beauty and hoping to find an intelligent person or two who understood her, and wanting something more than day after day being stuck in a dull, mundane place surrounded by dull, mundane people who have no real ambition other than to tear people down and meddle in other people's business. I hated it because it reminded me that people will never change. He has beautifully summed it all up and I put the book down night after night, feeling absolutely drained.
Not since Anna Karenina have I been so glad to be done reading a book. Again, don't get me wrong, it's beautifully written -- as was Anna Karenina, of course. I just realize about myself I can only take so much reality in my fiction and I've had such a dose now that I'm ready to go find a nice fluffy cozy mystery or something to wash it down.
All that said, I hated it. I hated it because it reminded me of the hateful gossiping hens I had to put up with in my early 20s, and the horrible church people who were so self-righteous. I hated it because I understood Carol all too well -- her desire for culture and art and beauty and hoping to find an intelligent person or two who understood her, and wanting something more than day after day being stuck in a dull, mundane place surrounded by dull, mundane people who have no real ambition other than to tear people down and meddle in other people's business. I hated it because it reminded me that people will never change. He has beautifully summed it all up and I put the book down night after night, feeling absolutely drained.
Not since Anna Karenina have I been so glad to be done reading a book. Again, don't get me wrong, it's beautifully written -- as was Anna Karenina, of course. I just realize about myself I can only take so much reality in my fiction and I've had such a dose now that I'm ready to go find a nice fluffy cozy mystery or something to wash it down.
November 16, 2017
I read this because it was mentioned in another book in relation to Edith Wharton's work. So having never read anything by him, I decided to try it. Published almost 100 years ago, it feels weirdly modern at times. Some of the slang and references are dated, of course, but the issues Lewis writes about are still with us today - the prejudices of small-minded people, the restrictions that are placed upon us by the society we live in, the effects of ignorance, the frustrations of people not allowed to do meaningful work.
April 13, 2019
This story was such a reminder of having grown up in the Midwest. I grew up in Illinois , it was not difficult to see all the gossipy, nosy, organized group speak & rejection of anything new. What a way to travel back in time. I felt as if I’d moved back to the Midwest reading this. The writing is sharp, poignant, & piercing. I loved the nostalgia of it, but think I’ll be remaining in Los Angeles.
December 24, 2020
Main Street
Outstanding satire of small town life in America. Carol Milford marries country doctor Will Kennicott and moves to his home town of Gopher Prairie Minnesota, which she intends to rebuild and revitalize into an idealized intellectual and aesthetic utopian hamlet, little realizing the formidable roadblocks of anti intellectualism, provincial politics and local gossip rooted deeply in the fabric of Main Street.
Outstanding satire of small town life in America. Carol Milford marries country doctor Will Kennicott and moves to his home town of Gopher Prairie Minnesota, which she intends to rebuild and revitalize into an idealized intellectual and aesthetic utopian hamlet, little realizing the formidable roadblocks of anti intellectualism, provincial politics and local gossip rooted deeply in the fabric of Main Street.
December 12, 2017
I only read Main Street so far; I will get back to reading Babbitt sometime in the future.
Sinclair Lewis is very expressive and descriptive in his narrative, so this was a very enjoyable read.
Main Street can be a every man, every day novel. The ideas, problems, and solutions apply throughout history.
Sinclair Lewis is very expressive and descriptive in his narrative, so this was a very enjoyable read.
Main Street can be a every man, every day novel. The ideas, problems, and solutions apply throughout history.
September 28, 2020
My second favorite Lewis novel (Babbitt is the best!). This story is a little slower and has more dry spots, but the main character is still relatable.
September 13, 2021
Funny, extremely relatable even for the modern woman. Lewis has a wonderful way of writing the complexities of people's inner worlds. I will definitely check out more of his work
February 12, 2022
Mr Sinclair has no respect for his characters or their place, and contempt drips from his pen.
April 24, 2022
Life
I didn’t appreciate the style of writing ( the constant long listening of names). I did enjoy the story line. A story line that could be set during any period in time.
I didn’t appreciate the style of writing ( the constant long listening of names). I did enjoy the story line. A story line that could be set during any period in time.
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September 5, 2017Carol was discovering that the one thing that can be more disconcerting than intelligent hatred is demanding love.
She supposed that she was being gracefully dull and standardized in the Smails' presence, but they scented the heretic, and with forward-stooping delight they sat and tried to drag out her ludicrous concepts for their amusement. They were like the Sunday-afternoon mob staring at monkeys in the Zoo, poking fingers and making faces and giggling at the resentment of the more dignified race.
With a loose-lipped, superior, village smile Uncle Whittier hinted, "What's this I hear about your thinking Gopher Prairie ought to be all tore down and rebuilt, Carrie? I don't know where folks get these new-fangled ideas. Lots of farmers in Dakota getting 'em these days. About co-operation. Think they can run stores better 'n storekeepers! Huh!"
"Whit and I didn't need no co-operation as long as we was farming!" triumphed Aunt Bessie. "Carrie, tell your old auntie now: don't you ever go to church on Sunday? You do go sometimes? But you ought to go every Sunday! When you're as old as I am, you'll learn that no matter how smart folks think they are, God knows a whole lot more than they do, and then you'll realize and be glad to go and listen to your pastor!"
In the manner of one who has just beheld a two-headed calf they repeated that they had "never heard such funny ideas!" They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that divorce may not always be immoral; that illegitimate children do not bear any special and guaranteed form of curse; that there are ethical authorities outside of the Hebrew Bible; that men have drunk wine yet not died in the gutter; that the capitalistic system of distribution and the Baptist wedding-ceremony were not known in the Garden of Eden; that mushrooms are as edible as corn-beef hash; that the word "dude" is no longer frequently used; that there are Ministers of the Gospel who accept evolution; that some persons of apparent intelligence and business ability do not always vote the Republican ticket straight; that it is not a universal custom to wear scratchy flannels next the skin in winter; that a violin is not inherently more immoral than a chapel organ; that some poets do not have long hair; and that Jews are not always pedlers or pantsmakers.
She supposed that she was being gracefully dull and standardized in the Smails' presence, but they scented the heretic, and with forward-stooping delight they sat and tried to drag out her ludicrous concepts for their amusement. They were like the Sunday-afternoon mob staring at monkeys in the Zoo, poking fingers and making faces and giggling at the resentment of the more dignified race.
With a loose-lipped, superior, village smile Uncle Whittier hinted, "What's this I hear about your thinking Gopher Prairie ought to be all tore down and rebuilt, Carrie? I don't know where folks get these new-fangled ideas. Lots of farmers in Dakota getting 'em these days. About co-operation. Think they can run stores better 'n storekeepers! Huh!"
"Whit and I didn't need no co-operation as long as we was farming!" triumphed Aunt Bessie. "Carrie, tell your old auntie now: don't you ever go to church on Sunday? You do go sometimes? But you ought to go every Sunday! When you're as old as I am, you'll learn that no matter how smart folks think they are, God knows a whole lot more than they do, and then you'll realize and be glad to go and listen to your pastor!"
In the manner of one who has just beheld a two-headed calf they repeated that they had "never heard such funny ideas!" They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that divorce may not always be immoral; that illegitimate children do not bear any special and guaranteed form of curse; that there are ethical authorities outside of the Hebrew Bible; that men have drunk wine yet not died in the gutter; that the capitalistic system of distribution and the Baptist wedding-ceremony were not known in the Garden of Eden; that mushrooms are as edible as corn-beef hash; that the word "dude" is no longer frequently used; that there are Ministers of the Gospel who accept evolution; that some persons of apparent intelligence and business ability do not always vote the Republican ticket straight; that it is not a universal custom to wear scratchy flannels next the skin in winter; that a violin is not inherently more immoral than a chapel organ; that some poets do not have long hair; and that Jews are not always pedlers or pantsmakers.
February 26, 2015
Sinclair Lewis is developing into one of my favorite authors. His descriptions of people, places and events are wonderful, original, concise - each word packs a punch. So far, through several chapters, George Babbitt has awakened, dressed, eaten breakfast with his family, driven to his office, and closed a deal. And we haven't yet gotten to lunch! One might say that nothing has really 'happened' but it is hard to put the book down and I'm eagerly anticipating our next reading session.
Finished "Babbitt" with regret. George is growing up and it would be interesting to see how he goes on. (Toward the end of the book, in one of his liberal moods, George even said that it was possible that his ancestors had once been immigrants.) As much as anything else, this is a book about mid-life crisis, a period as gut-wrenching as adolescence. I'm glad I did not read this in high school. As a teenager I could not have related to George Babbitt as I can now in very late middle age. Adolescence to adulthood, midlife crisis to full middle-age, is there a term for the passage from middle age to being truly old?
Scott Walker would be almost everyone's favorite son in Winnemac. One cannot help but see that the prejudices, yes and the strengths too, of the heartland have not changed in the last 90 years. When and how did the shift from Republican as liberal and progressive to Republican as capitalist and fundamentalist take place? I'm thinking WWI must have had a great impact because the shift had definitely taken place by the time of Arrowsmith and Babbitt. Also urbanization and the European immigrations of the late 1800s/early 1900s would have fed into the middle class xenophobia and horror of socialism.
Wonderful book.
Finished "Babbitt" with regret. George is growing up and it would be interesting to see how he goes on. (Toward the end of the book, in one of his liberal moods, George even said that it was possible that his ancestors had once been immigrants.) As much as anything else, this is a book about mid-life crisis, a period as gut-wrenching as adolescence. I'm glad I did not read this in high school. As a teenager I could not have related to George Babbitt as I can now in very late middle age. Adolescence to adulthood, midlife crisis to full middle-age, is there a term for the passage from middle age to being truly old?
Scott Walker would be almost everyone's favorite son in Winnemac. One cannot help but see that the prejudices, yes and the strengths too, of the heartland have not changed in the last 90 years. When and how did the shift from Republican as liberal and progressive to Republican as capitalist and fundamentalist take place? I'm thinking WWI must have had a great impact because the shift had definitely taken place by the time of Arrowsmith and Babbitt. Also urbanization and the European immigrations of the late 1800s/early 1900s would have fed into the middle class xenophobia and horror of socialism.
Wonderful book.
February 20, 2011
Although this volume includes both Main Street and Babbitt, I've only read Main Street so far. Main Street is a classic account of a high-spirited young woman (Carol) from the Twin Cities who winds up marrying a rural physician and moving back to his hometown of Gopher Prairie with him. The book is a little uneven and could have been tightened up here and there, but at its heart it is about Carol's struggle to overcome, and ultimately to come to terms with, what she views as the small-mindedness and mediocrity of her fellow citizens (including her husband). What for me elevates this book to its status as a classic is its ambiguity: despite the obvious flaws and shortcomings of her fellow citizens, you're never really sure that Carol is right to condemn them--and in the end, neither is she.
August 25, 2025
Sinclair Lewis may have been the first Nobel laureate in literature from the United States (1930), but he has, for the most part, been historically unappreciated, I think, in large part because he made it look so easy. These two novels define what it meant to be American in the 20th century. And a lot of people didn't like what they saw. They didn't like an independent woman like Carol then and, it seems unavoidable to notice at this point, they still don't.
Both novels are about individual yearning and striving in a changing world, sometimes the change is positive, often it is not. How we deal with them says a lot about us. And they are about individual expectations in a world of preconceived notions. Carol keeps striving, Babbitt wonders if he can. Love both of these novels, a fitting introduction to an undervalued writer.
Both novels are about individual yearning and striving in a changing world, sometimes the change is positive, often it is not. How we deal with them says a lot about us. And they are about individual expectations in a world of preconceived notions. Carol keeps striving, Babbitt wonders if he can. Love both of these novels, a fitting introduction to an undervalued writer.
June 8, 2016
I've finally gotten around to reading Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt. It's an interesting read. Unlike the scathing Elmer Gantry and terrifying It Can't Happen Here, Babbitt shows Lewis's humorous--as opposed to sarcastic--side. We can laugh with Geo. F. Babbitt, and empathize with his plight, rather than constantly laughing at him and his foibles. He is the ultimate middle-class conformist, but when his closest friend undergoes a crisis, the middle-aged Babbitt acts out and has a taste of rebellion. While he eventually comes back to the fold, he holds out some hope that his son Ted will be able to live his life as he wishes. Highly recommended.
January 24, 2015
Throughout "Main Street" I kept remarking that it is so much better than Dreiser's "Sister Carrie", which I loathed, only to find out, having finished the novel, that Sinclair Lewis praised Dreiser's work as having "c[o]me to housebound and airless America like a great free Western wind, and to our stuffy domesticity gave us the first fresh air since Mark Twain and Whitman." I still disagree vehemently.
July 1, 2014
Both novels contained in this book are terrific. Midwest America in the early 20th Century. Its prejudices, desires, aspirations are chronicled in each work. We tend to be nostalgic for these times, but when you read Lewis, you realize that we're still pretty much the same. Great works by one of my favorite authors.
February 4, 2014
Started out great, but became bogged down with too many details (this is regarding Main Street only). For a story set in a small town, there are too many prominent characters. Some serious editing would have saved this. I didn't bother to read Babbitt. I'm not going to waste time finishing a book that no longer captures my attention.
September 12, 2008
Lyrical prose: the life it saves could be your own.
This particular bound version (I was reading Babbitt on my iPhone, via Stanza-when-it-didn't-crash-which-it-pretty-much-always-did) has the most perfect font and crispiest most rugged-translucent paper of the three I tried out, today.
This particular bound version (I was reading Babbitt on my iPhone, via Stanza-when-it-didn't-crash-which-it-pretty-much-always-did) has the most perfect font and crispiest most rugged-translucent paper of the three I tried out, today.
March 8, 2008
Witty, astute, and honest criticism of the very birth of the American Mid-Western cultural values found today.
July 6, 2009
LOVED Main Street. One of the few books to get me excited in a while. Babbitt also great, but not so devastating.
Want to read
April 15, 2013to_read_nation
April 24, 2014
Certainly among the best writing, and quite possibly the best book I have ever read.
September 12, 2016
Forget Huckleberry Finn--Main Street is the great American novel.
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