Babbit

Apr 30, 2013 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Circle Reads 55

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Prosperous and socially prominent, George Babbitt appears to have everything. But when a personal crisis forces the middle-aged real estate agent to reexamine his life, Babbitt mounts a rebellion that jeopardizes everything he values. Widely considered Sinclair Lewis' greatest novel, this satire remains an ever-relevant tale of an individual caught in the machinery of modern life.

An even better sales copy is on the Buns and Nubile edition...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2011, longish-reviews

This book is conflicting me. What is this a satire of? Your average, shallow, 1920's business-man? Or is George F. Babbitt merely a straw man for every Republican and Christian that dare disagree with or do wrong to ol' Sinclair?

I wouldn't say Babbitt is merely a straw man; he is a very well-rounded character, very realistic and relatable at times, and occasionally put in a sympathetic light. But I was reminded too often that he is just a character, as he suddenly pulls a "DIE SOCIALIST DIE"/"Th...more This book is conflicting me. What is this a satire of? Your average, shallow, 1920's business-man? Or is George F. Babbitt merely a straw man for every Republican and Christian that dare disagree with or do wrong to ol' Sinclair?

I wouldn't say Babbitt is merely a straw man; he is a very well-rounded character, very realistic and relatable at times, and occasionally put in a sympathetic light. But I was reminded too often that he is just a character, as he suddenly pulls a "DIE SOCIALIST DIE"/"Those plantation darkies need to be put in their place!"/"Those darn neighbors laugh too much I HATE LAUGHTER" out of nowhere and breaks all legitimacy of being a real human being. It's almost as if Sinclair Lewis took a real human being, and tried shoving him into a straw-man-shaped hole, but he didn't quite make it in, and it shows as he flutters between both over the course of the novel. I almost wonder if Lewis did this intentionally to mess with the reader, but I doubt that as I see the majority of the responses to this book are "I know sooo many Babbitts in real life."/"Oh, republicans R so silly."

I personally enjoyed the plotting of the book. Not everyone will love the whole "Slice of Life" setup, which includes lengthy descriptions of mundane dialogue and day-to-day business, but I was amused. Maybe not amused enough to justify the 400-pages, but there was a good 300 pages or so that this book could've been cropped down to. There are a lot of characters, and I wish I paid more attention to them as they were introduced. I only had faint ideas of all of Babbitt's business friends, and they blurred together in my mind after the 200-page mark. The only problem I had with the writing of the book itself was Lewis' fear of the word "said." Whenever two characters would talk for over a page, I would lose track of who was saying what, and need to rely on context clues to find out who the speaker is, or worse, have to track back to the beginning of the conversation. There are very few authors out there can make distinct enough voices for their characters to be able to carry on long conversations with uncredited speakers– and Lewis is not one of them.

Overall, I definitely do not regret reading Babbitt, I just would've done a few things differently. I bought Main Street along with Babbitt, and look forward to reading it. I've heard it focuses more on the side-characters and drama, more so than politics and satire, which is exactly what I felt Babbitt needed, so I've got my hopes up.(less)

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Jul 23, 2007 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: readownedloved

I think I may have read a short story or two by Sinclair Lewis during high school or early college, but if I did I don't remember it. Lewis was never one of the early modern American writers that I was very curious about, and so when Anna gave me a copy of Babbitt that she bought at some discount book sale, along with several other books, for my birthday I was maybe least excited about Babbitt (among that group of books)--knew nothing about it, really, aside from having heard of it before. Maybe...more I think I may have read a short story or two by Sinclair Lewis during high school or early college, but if I did I don't remember it. Lewis was never one of the early modern American writers that I was very curious about, and so when Anna gave me a copy of Babbitt that she bought at some discount book sale, along with several other books, for my birthday I was maybe least excited about Babbitt (among that group of books)--knew nothing about it, really, aside from having heard of it before. Maybe I'd heard of the movie? I think it was translated to film, decades ago.

One of the more fascinating things about this book, to me, is that it was written and published during the time frame (mid 1920's) in which the story was set. Prohibition, pre-Depression, the rise of the middle class with their faith and optimism in business (such as Babbitt's refrain early in the book when he speaks of politics, "What we need is a sound business Administration!"), fear and hatred of socialism and communism (and unions) among the middle and upper class, leaps and bounds in generational mores and folkways between reserved parents, and the wilder lifestyles of young people with speakeasies, jazz, flappers, and more open and comfortable mindset toward sex. Anyways, I digress--the fact that it's written and published when it's set is fascinating because the novel is such a clear and perceptive satire, with such a great deal of pointed commentary (both directly said, and subtly implied) that it would have been, in my opinion, a very daring literary feat at the time. I read that Lewis traveled extensively while researching this book, visiting small American mid-western cities, studying their dialect, their politics, their children, their lives, their jobs, in order to craft this novel which in some ways is very reflective of the great satirists of Restoration England like Jonathan Swift, but at the same time incredibly Modernist.

The only reason someone now might have for not reading Babbitt is in thinking that perhaps the setting, and thus satire, is a little dated. Certainly, the slang and dialect is unfamiliar and seems rather silly, and is meant to (I think) by the author. But Lewis address ideas and tendencies of American middle class people that are still relevant, and I felt I recognized many tendencies of the America that Lewis knew that are still present, still at issue. Also, for a satire, sometimes as a point of the allegorical nature of satire the characters are archetypes and stereotypes that remain static throughout the length of the work. In Babbitt, it's fascinating to see how (this is what I imagine, now, only what I imagine) Lewis seems to be so hard on Babbitt, on his way of life, his thoughts, tendencies, through his satire. Babbitt is naive and bumbling, not at all very heroic, and often not very likeable (to me). But over the course of the novel Lewis I think grows more fond of Babbitt, as Babbitt (in his naive and bumbling way) struggles to understand why he is so unhappy. Instead of being a whipping boy and poster boy for the satirical nature of the novel, which he seems to be at first, he is more easily recognizable as a very important, and special, human being who is heroic in his on way...as cheezey as that sounds. I think of Babbitt (the novel) as an epic of middle-class proportions.(less)

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Mar 20, 2009 Logan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-list, fiction, families_suck, white_whine

Oh the pain of suburban ennui! It really and truly sucks when you do everything everyone always tells you will make you happy and then you realize that you're dissatisfied with the world. Poor Georgie Babbitt... or not.

This is an early entry in the genre that has been driven into the ground by things like American Beauty, Norman Mailer's An American Dream and Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. Middle-aged realtor and pillar of the community, George Babbitt, is an up-and-comer. He says all the r...more

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Mar 29, 2008 Kirk rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sentimental-faves

Contemporary satirists would do well to reread Sinclair Lewis and learn something that doesn't always come through in, say, Little Children or The Emperor's Children: Lewis has a way of making you feel for his characters. I suppose it's a fine distinction between ridiculing social mores and ridiculing the folks who practice them (knowingly or not), but it strikes me as an important one. I guess I'm a sap and I want to like my main characters---or, rather, I want to like them for their susceptibi...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-fiction

Actually, I read this as part of a self-oriented challenge to read a few of the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" list; like the ones I've chosen so far it turned out to be a fine novel, one with more than a lot of relevance to our modern world considering it was written in the 1920s.

George F. Babbitt is a real estate agent in Zenith, a Midwestern city of of "towers of steel and cement and limestone" where the population has grown to "practically 362,000." While anyone visiting its busi...more Actually, I read this as part of a self-oriented challenge to read a few of the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" list; like the ones I've chosen so far it turned out to be a fine novel, one with more than a lot of relevance to our modern world considering it was written in the 1920s.

George F. Babbitt is a real estate agent in Zenith, a Midwestern city of of "towers of steel and cement and limestone" where the population has grown to "practically 362,000." While anyone visiting its business center would be hard pressed to distinguish it from other major cities, George finds every inch of it "individual and stirring." He is married, has two children, and is above all wrapped up in his community standing. He belongs to a number of civic organizations, most prominently, the Zenith Boosters’ Club, where his like-minded, middle-class associates bow to the gods of business, money and progress and work to keep out any elements that they believe might possibly upset their collective and lucrative apple carts.

George lives in a modern house with the latest technologies, belongs to a church, plays golf, and his opinions are shaped by the institutions and people with whom he associates and his political party. Underneath his public persona, however, he's starting to think that perhaps there's something missing, that he's not "entirely satisfied." George has an ongoing and secret dream fantasy of a "fairy child" who will help him to escape to places “more romantic than scarlet pagodas by a silver sea,” but the dreams are short lived; when daybreak comes it's back to more practical things. One of his old college buds and best friend, Paul Riesling, dreamed of becoming a concert violinist, but he too has jettisoned his dreams and has become a member of Zenith's middle-class business community. Unlike Babbitt, however, he is not afraid to confide his personal dissatisfaction: he's bored, his wife Zilla is a constant nag who makes him unhappy enough to have affairs, and he has come to the realization that in the business world, "all we do is cut each other's throats and make the public pay for it." Paul is the only one of Babbitt's associates that recognizes the need for responsibility -- something that Babbitt and his other cronies don't get. When Paul's problems with Zilla come to a head and he literally can no longer take it, he snaps -- and his actions and their consequences send Babbitt into introspective mode where he comes to realize that his way of life has been "incredibly mechanical:"

"Mechanical business -- a brisk selling of badly built houses. Mechanical religion -- a dry, hard church, shut off from the real life of the streets, inhumanly respectable as a top-hat. Mechanical golf and dinner-parties and bridge and conversation. Save with Paul Riesling, mechanical friendships -- back-slapping and jocular, never daring to essay the test of quietness."

prodding George into full-on rebellion.

I won't say any more -- the novel is an excellent piece of satire on conformity and middle-class culture, business or otherwise. It is set in a time when unions, Socialism and any other form of organization among workers constituted a perceived threat to the American way of life; a time when the "American way of settling labor-troubles was for workmen to trust and love their employers." As Lewis remarks on an organization called the Good Citizens' League, the members of this group believed that

"the working-classes must be kept in their place ... that American Democracy did not imply any equality of wealth, but did demand a wholesome sameness of thought, dress, painting, morals and vocabulary."

There is also a very purposeful delineation of class in this novel, and Lewis has a way of juxtaposing one against the other in well-crafted scenes. The above-mentioned tedious minutiae which I wanted to end while my head was pounding with the flu also has a purpose that is not readily apparent, but which gains in importance over the course of the novel. Obviously there's much more to it, and there are some hefty critiques and reviews to be found where perhaps more can be gleaned.

It is rather difficult to read, I suspect, under the best of conditions, so if you are contemplating it as a choice from the 1001 books you must read, my advice is not to give up. The book is constructed as a series of events and vignettes that eventually all come together in an ending which was not so predictable yet powerful, at least for me. Recommended -- but take your time with it. (less)

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Feb 08, 2012 Kerrie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, classics, from-library

George Babbitt is the ultimate conformist - successful businessman and high-ranking member of the little booming town of Zenith which, by golly, produces and contributes more to America than any of those four-flushers in New York or San Francisco! To all onlookers, Babbitt should be 110% satisfied with his place in society and life and a person to be envied.

And yet... he's not. He feels hemmed in, restricted, and unable to be himself. He wants to be... different. It's a niggling feeling, which c...more George Babbitt is the ultimate conformist - successful businessman and high-ranking member of the little booming town of Zenith which, by golly, produces and contributes more to America than any of those four-flushers in New York or San Francisco! To all onlookers, Babbitt should be 110% satisfied with his place in society and life and a person to be envied.

And yet... he's not. He feels hemmed in, restricted, and unable to be himself. He wants to be... different. It's a niggling feeling, which comes out in force when his best friend Paul, finally snaps against his own quiet desperate existence and (view spoiler) Babbitt then evaluates his own marriage and finds it lacking. He looks for a younger woman and the episodes with the manicure girl, a friend's wife, and a member of the local bohemian "Bunch" were quite painful to read.

Babbitt brought out quite the plethora of conflicting emotions in me. I sympathized with his revolt against conformity, and felt a little bad for him when he was ostracized by the Zenith "good folks" due to his extramarital flirtation. I cheered him on when he told the xenophobic, self-righteous members of the Good Citizens League where they could put their bullying insistence that he join in order to "prove himself" one of them and make up for his past defection into the sentiments of liberalism and broad-mindedness. And yet... when Zenith society's sincere invitation to return to their ranks was extended, it was as if he had learned nothing, that conformity was worth the suppressing of any personal goals that didn't have Society's Stamp of Approval. In the final chapter, I was left with the impression that George Babbitt had decided that he had invested too much already in his place in life to try to "start over" and left it to his 20-year-old son to say "Nuts" to convention and conformity and he would live vicariously through him.

This was my first Sinclair Lewis novel, and the biting commentary was entertaining throughout. Religion seemed to attract the most satiric barbs, and I have a feeling it was a warmup to Elmer Gantry. I'll definitely be reading more of his books!

George Guidall's narration was stupendous throughout, and he nailed Babbitt's blustery non-swearing cussing wonderfully. All his women sounded pretty much the same, but each male character had their own voice, and it was a joy to listen to.(less)

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Jul 17, 2008 Kirsti rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Not as appealing as Main Street. I enjoyed all the little details and sarcastic comments about George F. Babbit's life, but it took too long before the plot got into gear.

A few quotations from the book:

It had cost a great deal of money (in itself a virtue).

. . . he was restless again, discontented about nothing and everything, ashamed of his discontentment, and lonely . . .

"In fact you're so earnest about morality, old Georgie, that I hate to think how essentially immoral you must be underneath...more

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Sep 12, 2008 Lisa Kortebein rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics-american

Smart. Witty. Utterly satirical. If this is the kind of book you like, read this one. Even if you don't, read this one. Often when you read stellar books, the end lets you down. Not this one. From the first page to the last, Lewis succeeds in relaying the story of everyday America. Babbitt is an average upper middle to middle class businessman who suddenly realizes that he wants so much more. He was kind of waylaid into a marriage, away from career ambitions (no, not by pregnacy, but by midweste...more Smart. Witty. Utterly satirical. If this is the kind of book you like, read this one. Even if you don't, read this one. Often when you read stellar books, the end lets you down. Not this one. From the first page to the last, Lewis succeeds in relaying the story of everyday America. Babbitt is an average upper middle to middle class businessman who suddenly realizes that he wants so much more. He was kind of waylaid into a marriage, away from career ambitions (no, not by pregnacy, but by midwestern niceness). In his struggles, whether it's from the nagging of his children or wife, the encounters with employees, his mistress or the other leaders of the busines community, Babbitt's is a struggle to maintain his sense of self against the pull of the populace. He wants to be different, but he's not smart. He doesn't have an opinion of his own. He's only too happy to go with the flow even to the end of making money by scurrious means. He is happy in having his little rebellion with his friend Paul - a would-have-been artist but much to the less accomplishment than Babbitt himself is a roof tar salesperson. He enjoyed having a person lower than himself, as it were. He wasn't what he wanted to be, but he was far better off than Paul. Still he finds real friendship in Paul, speaking like he can't to anyone else. Then, his world is shattered when Paul is arrested and jailed. This sends Babbitt careening down an unlikely path, a path that will lead him to a Bohemian crowd and mistress, losing his place in the business community and a certain stubborness that he will not be bullied. In the end, he comes full circle, returning to that same life and attitude, yet not at all the same. In his message to his son, which ends the book, he gives him the caveat of not following his dream. Yes, this is Babbitt. The man without an opinion of his own, without any real intellect or desire except to have money telling his son to follow his dreams unlike he did. This Babbitt is a hero. Lewis handles him not with kid gloves, but with backhanded compliments, soft rebukes and satire. Babbitt is compelling and real and as relevant to 1918 as he is to 2008. It's a definite must read.(less)

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Jan 06, 2008 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: A person who likes F. Scott Fitzgerald.

This is really two books, both about Babbitt but really differing in plot structure and time period covered. The first book (half) is about the daily life of George Babbitt, who was once the symbol of the superficial and vacuous middle-class man but -- since people don't really read Babbitt anymore -- has lost that iconic status. We follow Babbitt as he wakes up to a pricy alarm clock, goes to work, tries to quit smoking, hangs out with other Babbitt-type chums, and goes back home. It's a good c...more

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Oct 31, 2007 Dianna rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Cynical people.

Shelves: classic-literature

This book is funny. I will write more.

Excerpt from page 72:

(It's the early 1900's and Mr. Babbitt is talking to his son about the merits of correspondence courses...)

There's a whole lot of valuable time lost even at the U., studying poetry and French and subjects that never brought in anybody a cent. I don't know but what maybe these correspondence-courses might prove to be one of the most important American inventions.
Trouble with a lot of folks is: they're so blame material; they don't see t...more

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Mar 11, 2008 Jennie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books, listened-to

I didn't think I would like this book, so I began to listen to it while running one of my mindless reports at work. I was hooked pretty early on. Lewis has such a great voice for description without wordiness that I could picture the scenes in my mind perfectly. More importantly, I found my own inner Babbitt and I welcomed her, with warning. Babbitt's boosters and Elks are my book club and PTA board. My ego has an easy blow up valve on it, and I feel like I have people I need to please, or at le...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Rebecca F. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The most realistic exaggeration of a character I've ever read. George F. Babbit is an icon of 20th Century American people-cliches, a cartoon, a caricature, like Charlie Brown, you know this guy instantly and despite which side of the satire you wind up falling on, you still can't help but relate to him. The satire is always in your face, but the social commentary plays out in an unassuming and unoffensive way. It's almost boring, actually. Still, great portrayal of the quintessential "good ol'...more

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May 17, 2013 Blaze Hietala rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In my most recent days I have heard a lot about conformity and what it has turned society into. In Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis conformity in the in the life of one man alone causes disruption which is what makes this book unique. Conformity causes George Babbitt to become materialistic, unhappy with life, and wanting to escape.
George Babbitt’s world and our society are compared in this novel with wealth of materials signifying success. The beginning of the story describes his materialistic life...more In my most recent days I have heard a lot about conformity and what it has turned society into. In Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis conformity in the in the life of one man alone causes disruption which is what makes this book unique. Conformity causes George Babbitt to become materialistic, unhappy with life, and wanting to escape.
George Babbitt’s world and our society are compared in this novel with wealth of materials signifying success. The beginning of the story describes his materialistic life with him waking up and using all of his little gadgets, which Babbitt says is a mark for status in the world. “He had enormous and poetic admiration, though very little understanding, of all mechanical devices. They were his symbols of truth and beauty”(73). It was getting to a point where Babbitt would get things for his image and not for the actually use for it. The big thing, though, was the symbolism of the car to the Babbitt family. “In the city of Zenith, in the barbarous twentieth century, a family’s motor car indicated its social rank precisely”(79). The family argues over which new car to buy, with the son, Ted, wanting them to buy a car that wealthier people would drive making them, with this car, feel wealthy themselves.
With these material satisfaction, Babbitt seems to be content with his life style. As the book goes deeper, however, Babbitt grows more dissatisfied with his life. He tries to question why he is so sad, even with him living the so called American Dream. He looks at his routine he does every single morning, he looks at his car, he looks at Zenith and realizes he is joining the capitalist ways of materialism and conformity being important in life. He realizes throughout his life that “[he has] never done a single thing [he has] wanted to in [his] whole life! [He] don’t know’s [if he has] accomplished anything except just get along” (379).
With this realization coming about, Babbitt finds a need to escape from his so called normal life now. With Paul’s imprisonment being the spark, he starts to rebel against conformity and go against what people want to become of him. But, he needs other forms of escaping his life style that leaves him sad and lifeless. Babbitt uses nature as an escape and hopes it will relax him and rebirth him into this world with other goals besides conforming. Over time, Babbitt sees that “[running] away was folly, because he could never run away from himself”(246). He then goes on to use politics as a form of escaping. In this process, he finds a woman named Seneca Doane. Babbitt uses her as a guide, someone that gives him meaning in life again.
Overall, This book made me really think about my English 11 class. The lesson of conformity kills all and what not really comes back in this book. This really makes people think how to act in real world society and what has become of this world.
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Mar 23, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-classics

“The Price of Personal Rebellion”

Sinclair Lewis’ 1922 novel/expose features the shallowness and greed middle class American business—to the delight of European audiences already disenchanted with America’s rise to world greatness. The first 75-80 pages make for slow reading, as they chronicle 24 hours in the life of George F. Babbitt of Zenith--a fictitious, Eastern city. A professional realtor and natural born hustler, this budding orator bullies his subordinates, plays the good old boy with...more “The Price of Personal Rebellion”

Sinclair Lewis’ 1922 novel/expose features the shallowness and greed middle class American business—to the delight of European audiences already disenchanted with America’s rise to world greatness. The first 75-80 pages make for slow reading, as they chronicle 24 hours in the life of George F. Babbitt of Zenith--a fictitious, Eastern city. A professional realtor and natural born hustler, this budding orator bullies his subordinates, plays the good old boy with his pals at the Athletic Club, and is kindly tolerated by his wife, but not respected or obeyed by his two older children. The joys of his life are his ten-year-old daughter and his college buddy, Paul. A slave to cigars and alcohol, this would-be tycoon is haunted at night by a secret, recurring dream about a fairy girl/woman who adores him. Although cognizant of the allures of various women in his office and social world, he steers a stolidly moral course throughout his marriage.

Despite his questionable business practices and private lusts this protagonist proves not entirely unsympathetic; his problems, as well as his temptations, are demanding. His failures and moral stumbling do not endear readers to his literary cause, but make him less than despicable. Unsuccessful in his pathetic bids to climb socially, Babbitt (whom the author always refers to by his surname) gradually begins to break free of his marital cage—to the shock of his colleagues. He experiments with affairs, espouses radical social and political causes, and argues with the old boys who have long relied on him. He seems to revel in social, political and marital debauchery, which he views with pride as a man struggling to be himself at last. He yearns to make his own decisions and be his own man--instead of living up (or down) to everyone else’s expectations.

He is pressured to join the Good Citizen’s League--an anti labor union organization masquerading as a worthy social cause; various forms of ostracism ensue, with his private torment over the individual’s right to make his own decisions--but at what cost! Will he cave in to threats or cajoling, fall in line to every one’s satisfaction, but at the price of his self respect? Or will he hold out to the end, a lonely man on his forlorn, self-appointed quest for independence--out of step with what had been his comfortable, predictable world? Despite the slow literary start the novel ultimately captures one’s interest. A brilliant portrait
of the evils grasping businessmen and the rising middle class, BABBITT proves a muckraking novel which promotes Good Faith as a human virtue, while presenting serious themes.

(July 30, 2011. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

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Feb 05, 2013 Thom Swennes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone for a laugh and a few for the truth.

George F. Babbitt knew himself. He prided himself on his determination, resolve and steadiness. Always a conservative republican, he never doubted his right and proper place in his community, business, society or home. As a successful real estate tycoon, member of the local Chamber of Commerce, a prideful pillar of the community of Zenith and provides his wife and children with everything and wanting for nothing. While, apparently set in his ways, he makes a bold rebellious move threatening his...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Corking!!

Actually, I really enjoyed this. I was perplexed about a plot for most of it, considering it didn't exist until 2/3 of the way through the book. Interesting insights into duplicity of thought, following the crowd, etc. What I found most interesting is that the patterns and ideas from 1920 still persist today. The way the politicians today follow directly along the party line mimics Babbitt's tailoring his thoughts to the Republican and Presbyterian leaders who tell him what to think. Th...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

George Babbitt is a middle-aged real-estate broker living in the fictional Midwestern town of Zenith in the 1920s. He has done everything “right” in life and lives with his kids and wife in a nice little town. He’s well respected in the community and is successful in business. He loves to think about his superiority over others and “subtly” brag about his material possessions.

When a crisis with his best friend sends him spiraling into a midlife crisis we learn just how unhappy Babbitt truly is....more

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Jun 22, 2012 Ryan Holiday rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't think there was anyone in the 1920s who would have believed that this book would be completely forgotten. By all accounts, it was destined to be a classic critical novel of the American experience. You can't read anything about the '20s and '30s that doesn't comment on Babbitt (sold 130,000 copies its first year, HL Mecken loved it, it won Lewis a Nobel Prize). Calling someone a "Babbitt" was considered an insult and the phrase became a constant topic of conversation in the media and lit...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Trevor Kidd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt is American Satire at its best. No part of 1920s American is safe from his witty criticism. Babbitt is a middle-aged businessman, living in a small Midwestern city where the chief value is conformity. Lewis satirizes the business of conformity as Babbitt unsuccessfully pursues a climb up the social ladder.

Babbitt grows discontented as his climb and pursuit of material goods doesn't seem to bring him happiness. He experiments with nonconformity, but finds that his forays...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it 1 of 5 stars

For the most part, this is a book about an 48 year old grump's midlife crisis. I hated every single minute of this story. George F. Babbitt struck me as wholly offensive and obnoxious from the very first and he only got worse. While I know, on one level, that this is probably to make a point, I cannot accept that he never gets a comeuppance for being an idiotic jerk. He constantly espouses viewpoints as his own, even though he's simply repeating what he has heard or read in the newspaper.

Once ag...more For the most part, this is a book about an 48 year old grump's midlife crisis. I hated every single minute of this story. George F. Babbitt struck me as wholly offensive and obnoxious from the very first and he only got worse. While I know, on one level, that this is probably to make a point, I cannot accept that he never gets a comeuppance for being an idiotic jerk. He constantly espouses viewpoints as his own, even though he's simply repeating what he has heard or read in the newspaper.

Once again, I listened to an audiobook. It's hard for me to say whether it was a good performance of the novel or not, since I so hated the novel itself. From the first, I really wanted to punch Colacci in the face to make him stop talking. His voice is grating and annoying. This inclines me to say that thus this is not a great audiobook, but, still, such a voice does fit perfectly with the truly awful people in the story. I do imagine that Babbitt sounds exactly like that.

A more fair criticism of the performance than my personally not liking the sound of Colacci's voice is that it was often difficult to tell the characters apart. During conversations, I really could not follow who was speaking, unless there was some sort of note as to who said what. One conversation between Paul Riesling and Babbitt, for example, left me unsure as to whose wife was being annoying and who was praising whom. Surprisingly, though, this gruff-voiced man did a really good job with the female voices, although, again, they all sounded pretty similar. Of course, the women never really have a conversation, so that didn't matter much.

Pretty much the only interesting thing in this novel is the setting (1920s), but I would recommend getting that from An American Tragedy instead, which has some really strange parallels. Babbitt is repetitive (he constantly mentions his desire to quit smoking and then forgets and then announces he'll do it this time and then...) and obnoxious (Babbitt spends the first half of the novel being sanctimonious about things and behavior, then goes and does all those things and is sanctimonious about those that judge him for it). If that's your thing, then go for it.
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Sep 05, 2011 Christian Clarke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century-novels, american-lit, personal-favorites, representational-works, anthropology

What pants should I wear to the US Open, I ask myself, anxiously, at seven in the morning, while guests of mine slept on our threadbare black futon in our hot, cramped living room. Should I wear the chinos? I didn't even know they were called "chinos" until my girlfriend, sleeping in the bed I am pacing next to, told me they were called chinos. The chinos are off-white. Are all chinos off-white? Are there green chinos? White pants are risky. Is wearing white classy or fruity? Both? Isn't there a...more What pants should I wear to the US Open, I ask myself, anxiously, at seven in the morning, while guests of mine slept on our threadbare black futon in our hot, cramped living room. Should I wear the chinos? I didn't even know they were called "chinos" until my girlfriend, sleeping in the bed I am pacing next to, told me they were called chinos. The chinos are off-white. Are all chinos off-white? Are there green chinos? White pants are risky. Is wearing white classy or fruity? Both? Isn't there a "rule" about wearing white? Something about Labor Day. Never wear white before Labor Day, or after Labor Day or on Labor Day. What day is today? Sunday. And it's the day before Labor Day.

Why not wear my baggy shorts and sneakers and golf shirt? I could do that. But it's the US Open. That's not a normal sporting event. It's tennis. It's like golf. Wealthy people play tennis. Not on hot, cramped, city tennis courts, but at country clubs, and therefore wealthy people will be attending the US Open. Let me think. What would they wear? Expensive shirts with the collars intentionally left up (I heard someone describe them as "popped") and expensive sunglasses with white sweaters draped around their shoulders with the sleeves tied in a loose knot in front of their chests and the women will have pearl earrings. I have no sunglasses or white sweaters and my girlfriend has no pearl earrings and I have never left my collar up on purpose. I'll bring the matter to our guests. They are in the other room, on the couch. Guests in our apartment. My college friend and his girlfriend who works on Capitol Hill in DC. I cannot afford a house. I live in a poor neighborhood but I am not the same kind of poor as them. They are immigrants coming to America poor. I am middle class living beyond my means in an expensive city poor. What if the guests want breakfast? Am I supposed to make breakfast? We don't have time for cooking. We're late. Do wealthy people worry about being on time? Do poor people? Or just middle class people? Should I buy breakfast? I don't have enough money for that. Our guests have our tickets. I owe them money for the tickets. They are expensive. I have to pay for my ticket and my girlfriend's ticket. She is more poor than me. She was one of the immigrants like people in the neighborhood. I need to check my bank account. What if I don't have enough. I checked. I don't have enough. What will the others in our party wear? I'll ask them. Should I wear a hat? I'm balding, badly. Just a few wisps of hair-like material on top of my head. I need a hat. Nobody wants to look a balding man.

I think about George Babbitt almost every day. (less)

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May 16, 2011 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lewis' portrait of the striving middle class is just as appropriate for today's society as it was when he wrote it. His critique of the ideal citizen rings just as true now as then. The hypocracy is just as obvious, and the reward for 'virtue' just as strong. When one of the good fellows starts to think through his position and criticize it, he is ostracized for his unorthodox thoughts, for becoming a red, even though he's nothing close to it. The worst of the red-baiting was yet to come when Le...more Lewis' portrait of the striving middle class is just as appropriate for today's society as it was when he wrote it. His critique of the ideal citizen rings just as true now as then. The hypocracy is just as obvious, and the reward for 'virtue' just as strong. When one of the good fellows starts to think through his position and criticize it, he is ostracized for his unorthodox thoughts, for becoming a red, even though he's nothing close to it. The worst of the red-baiting was yet to come when Lewis wrote Babbitt, but he captures the idea of it pretty well, and the modern parallel seems to be anti-muslim sentiment.

One of the more interesting recurring themes in the book is discussing the benefit of Prohibition while flouting. In good society, one must always discuss the virutes of Prohibition, especially for the lower classes who need it, so as not to exceed in their imbibing. "Congress didn't understand the right system. Now, if I'd been running the thing, I'd have arranged it so that the drinker himself was licensed, and then we could have taken care of the shiftless workman - kept him from drinking - and yet not 've interfered with the rights - with the personal liberty - of fellows like ourselves." The sentiment of this statement seems to be expressed constantly by various groups still today. Let's take away the rights that these people certainly cannot be trusted with, but make sure we still get to exercise them. It seems preposterous to say who can and cannot have a drink, based on another man's opinion of him, but yet we seem to think it's alright for a number of other activities...

In Babbitt's world, the Good Citizen is the ideal citizen, the man who knows what's best for society and does it, without complaining. He enjoys what he is supposed to enjoy (the modest benefits of a modern, consumerist society), and loathes what he's supposed to loathe (anyone that business leaders tell you is threatening the current situation). They all strive to have the same marks of good taste and mild affluence - "These standard advertised wares - toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water heaters - were his symbols and proofs of excellence." But most importantly, it's important to remember that that which is an ideal in the Good Citizen is a fault when it is in someone else, especially if it is a vice and they are poorer than you or the good thing is too exclusive for you to take part in it and they are of a higher class.

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Jan 28, 2011 Jason Pettus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-modernism, character-heavy, classic

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label

Essay #55: Babbitt (1922), by Sinclair Lewis

The story in a nutshell:
The follow-up to his surprise smash bestseller Main Street, Sinclair Lewis' 1922 Babbitt is basica...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Caren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

I had never read anything by Sinclair Lewis, but he was put on my radar when it was mentioned in a library school class that the heroine of his book "Main Street" began her 'career' as a librarian. When I saw the audio version of "Babbitt" at the library, I decided to give it a listen. I was drawn in immediately by the detailed description of daily life in the USA in 1920. George F. Babbitt is a middle-aged realtor living in Zenith, a medium-sized town in middle America. Lewis' portrait of Babbi...more

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Aug 16, 2010 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading Sinclair Lewis and to renew my acquaintance was "Babbit" was purely luck on my part. But lucky I was and the result was a fantastic read and a reminder that author's don't a lot of tricks if they are really good at weiting.

For those of you who might not know "Babbit" it will not be a spoiler if I tell you this is a story about an up and coming real estate guy in a medium sized Midwestern town during the first part of the 20th century. But really, "Babbi...more

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May 08, 2010 Theophilus (Theo) rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story of "boosterisms" biggest booster, George Babbitt. Babbitt is fast approaching middle-age and dreams of romance with a young maiden. He is successful in the real estate business, married, with children, but deep inside him he is missing something. He firmly believes the nation should be run as a business and all will be well; the citizens are nothing more than customers to be unburdened from their earnings for the betterment of the nation as businesses cut each others' throats at the ex...more

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Dec 27, 2009 Bill added it

Babbitt has been on my list of to reads for more than 20 years, and I finally picked it up for last week's trip to Florida. I haven't finished it, but here is the bottom line -- it is a totally prophetic, almost spooky vision of the 20's that entirely foreshadows what's going on now with the American economy, from real estate speculation/price run ups to a blind belief -- and a Republican belief at that -- in the power of the markets to cure all. It's got WASPism, mild anti-semitism, and enough...more

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Apr 26, 2009 Swankivy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 03, 2013 Edward rated it 4 of 5 stars

I got interested in rereading BABBITT after finishing Fitzgerald’s TENDER IS THE NIGHT. I began thinking about another well-known depiction of American life in the l920’s, although one much different from Fitzgerald’s group of indulgently self-destructive Americans in Europe. Babbitt could be considered self-destructive as well, but it’s more of a psychological meltdown communicated by Lewis in a scathing satire of the self-satisfied American.

“The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist...more
I got interested in rereading BABBITT after finishing Fitzgerald’s TENDER IS THE NIGHT. I began thinking about another well-known depiction of American life in the l920’s, although one much different from Fitzgerald’s group of indulgently self-destructive Americans in Europe. Babbitt could be considered self-destructive as well, but it’s more of a psychological meltdown communicated by Lewis in a scathing satire of the self-satisfied American.

“The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist,” are the opening words of this novel, a morning on which George F. Babbitt awakens from a recurrent dream of a radiant fairy child who calls to him to escape with her. Escape from what?? Most of the book describes the world in which fortyish Babbitt exists. He is married, living in a comfortable home in a midwest city (Zenith) with his wife and two children, and is a successful real estate salesman. Babbitt has convinced himself that he is an admirable figure. He earns a comfortable living,, belongs to local civic organizations, goes to church regularly, supports all the right causes (among the “wrong” ones are labor unions – he considers them un-American “agitators”), and is enthusiastic about all the latest inventions, especially his car which fills him with “poetic” thoughts.

Babbitt has a creed which in his words goes like this: “Trouble with a lot of folks is: they’re so blame material; they don’t see the spiritual and mental side of American supremacy; they think that inventions like the telephone and the areoplane and wireless – no that was a Wop invention, but anyway; they think these mechanical improvements are all that we stand for; whereas to a real thinker, he sees that spiritual and, uh, dominating movements like Efficiency and Rotarianism and Prohibition, and Democracy are what compose our deepest and truest wealth.” The context of this speech is that of giving advice to his son. Nice-sounding and vacuous words (the racist – to our 21st century ears – “wops” is specific, though) but like Polonius’s advice to his son in HAMLET, they’re hypocritical bombast.

For instance, Babbitt may pay lip service to Prohibition, but he does more than his share of drinking. He considers himself a family man, but takes plenty of “looks” at other women. Zenith is full of violence and despair which Lewis underlines at one point, of which Babbitt is in denial. To him, Zenith is the best of all possible cities, and only getting better.

But about two thirds of the way through the book, Babbitt rebels, if that’s the word, as he grows tired of his aging wife. He finds a better-looking woman and takes up with her and a fast crowd. But he doesn’t get rid of his ingrained hypocrisy and carries on his affair on the sly. It comes to an rather sudden ending and Babbitt is back where he started, relieved that his fling hasn’t really cost him anything except a lot of suspicion which he thinks he can live down.

Apparently some readers find this ending unconvincing, but it made sense to me. Babbitt is getting older, and calculatingly decides to stop his fooling around. And he plays the “sinner” card well, and now is conveniently repentant At the end of the book, he vicariously, but not too publicly, encourages his son to act as a rebel, allowing himself a little moral and harmless wiggle-room. This is his only "escape". Whether he kept dreaming of the "radiant fairy child", Lewis doesn't say. Presumably she gave up on old George. His lightweight and shifting morals don’t make him a admirable figure, but he’s certainly a recognizable one, even 100 years later.
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topics	posts	views	last activity
Marathon County P...: Babbitt Chap. I-XIII: A man of contradictions	1	5	May 08, 2013 12:26pm
Marathon County P...: "Babbitt" by Sinclair Lewis	6	14	May 03, 2013 11:43am

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