Fils d'évangélistes itinérants, Clyde veut à tout prix s'affranchir d'un milieu qu'il méprise. Il est embauché dans un hôtel de luxe mais, impliqué dans une sinistre affaire, il fuit et se réfugie chez son oncle fortuné, propriétaire d'une usine. Faible et vaniteux, Clyde séduit Roberte, une ouvrière qui croit à son amour. Cependant, lors d'une soirée, il attire l'attention de Sondra, une hautaine héritière qui s'éprend de lui. Il rêve de richesse, mais Roberte, enceinte, le menace de scandale. Impulsif et imprudent, le jeune homme va alors faire un choix aussi radical que fatal... Ce roman policier et social, basé sur une affaire criminelle réelle, est considéré comme l'un des 100 plus grands romans aux États-Unis.
Naturalistic novels of American writer and editor Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser portray life as a struggle against ungovernable forces. Value of his portrayed characters lies in their persistence against all obstacles, not their moral code, and literary situations more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency; this American novelist and journalist so pioneered the naturalist school.
Run, do not walk, away from this book. I would rather get a root canal than even think about this book again. In the words of the great Dorothy Parker, this is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.
The story itself was compelling, but the narrative was just so drawn out that a week's time would seem like an eternity. Other than my slight annoyance with that bit of the book, it turned out to be a 'good read.' The last chapter definitely made the book.
This has to be one of the longest books ever. He belabors the points a bit much for me, but it's still not a bad read. I thought Sister Carrie was better.