Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

read book* *Different edition

The Magnificent Ambersons (The Growth Trilogy #2)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 3,404 ratings · 350 reviews

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1918, The Magnificent Ambersons chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty. The protagonist of Booth Tarkington's great historical drama is George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the family's magnificence. Eclipsed by a new breed of developers...more

Paperback, Modern Library Classics Edition, 288 pages

Published October 1st 2000 by Modern Library (first published 1918)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe

Decadence & the Fin-de-Siècle

47th out of 157 books — 35 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 23, 2010 Evan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzer-prize, modern-library-top-100-list

First and last 100 pages are exquisite - as good as anything I've ever read. Middle section bogs down in some repetition and tedious dialogue as the world passes the Ambersons by and they fritter away their lives in clueless trivialities. Many readers will not be able to stand the uncompromising stubbornness of the spoiled Georgie Amberson Minafer. All in all, what a talent for description and grasp of the novel's time Tarkington has. The style pulls you right along, simple yet not simplistic. T...more First and last 100 pages are exquisite - as good as anything I've ever read. Middle section bogs down in some repetition and tedious dialogue as the world passes the Ambersons by and they fritter away their lives in clueless trivialities. Many readers will not be able to stand the uncompromising stubbornness of the spoiled Georgie Amberson Minafer. All in all, what a talent for description and grasp of the novel's time Tarkington has. The style pulls you right along, simple yet not simplistic. The subtitle of the book, written in 1918, might have been "How the Automobile Effed up America" (both the environment and the communal way of life). Lots of prophecy in that.

[After reading the book, I thought a fresh revisit of the famous Orson Welles 1942 film version would be illuminating, and I have to say that seeing the film on the heels of this reading changed my perception of the film, for the better. I'd always admired the film, but assumed due to RKO's infamous interference and cutting that the last part of the movie did not jibe with the book and was weak, but this turns out not to be true. After watching the movie I was astonished at the skill of Robert Wise and the RKO editors for managing to keep virtually the entire plot, key scenes and major dialogue exchanges from the book in the film. Where the film is weak in comparison to the book is in conveying how Tarkington expresses the gradual financial, social, and personal downfall of the Ambersons, including their environs and their place as well-known pillars of the community. This takes place incrementally in the book, so that the reader is aware of the acidic decay taking place while the Ambersons seem clueless to it, but it is virtually unremarked in the film until the final minutes, where it is very abrupt and not fully explored in all its implications. Welles gets the mood and plot right, but skimps somewhat on the thematic elements.
Also, Tarkington's book makes you feel sorry for George Amberson Minafer when he does get his comeuppance, even though you've hated him throughout the book. I don't get that same sense in the film version. I also believe the "true to my own true love" quote at the end of the film (which is the same as in the book) is open to a different, and wrong, interpretation in the film. I always thought that the film was implying that Eugene Morgan and Aunt Fanny---looking dewey eyed at one another---were somehow going to thus hook up, which seems all wrong. In the book, it is clear that his "true love" remains the dead Isabelle Amberson Minafer. By making peace with her son (and Eugene's enemy) George Amberson Minafer, he is thus remaining true to his own true love. The movie seems to twist this for the sake of a happy ending, though perhaps I misread that. Anyway, the film is no substitute for the book, but it is perfectly realized and cast, and both book and film amplify and enlighten aspects of each.:] -EG
---------
FYI: A few of my favorite, thoughtful passages from the book:
---------
"I'm not sure he's wrong about automobiles," he said. "With all their speed forward they may be a step backward in civilization--that is, in spiritual civilization. It may be that they will not add to the beauty of the world, nor to the life of men's souls. I am not sure.
But automobiles have come, and they bring a greater change in our life than most of us suspect. They are here, and almost all outward things are going to be different because of what they bring. They are going to alter war, and they are going to alter peace. I think men's minds are going to be changed in subtle ways because of automobiles; just how, though, I could hardly guess. But you can't have the immense outward changes that they will cause without some inward ones, and it may be that George is right, and that the spiritual alteration will be bad for us.
----
There were the little bunty street-cars on the long, single track that went its troubled way among the cobblestones. At the rear door of the car there was no platform, but a step where passengers clung in wet clumps when the weather was bad and the car crowded. The patrons--if not too absent-minded--put their fares into a slot; and no conductor paced the heaving floor, but the driver would rap remindingly with his elbow upon the glass of the door to his little open platform if the nickels and the passengers did not appear to coincide in number. A lone mule drew the car, and sometimes
drew it off the track, when the passengers would get out and push it on again. They really owed it courtesies like this, for the car was genially accommodating: a lady could whistle to it from an upstairs window, and the car would halt at once and wait for her while she shut the window, put on her hat and cloak, went downstairs, found an umbrella, told the "girl" what to have for dinner, and came forth from the house.
The previous passengers made little objection to such gallantry on the part of the car: they were wont to expect as much for themselves on like occasion. In good weather the mule pulled the car a mile in a little less than twenty minutes, unless the stops were too long; but when the trolley-car came, doing its mile in five minutes and better, it would wait for nobody. Nor could its passengers have endured such a thing, because the faster they were carried the less time they had to spare!
----------
"He can try," said Amberson. "He is trying, in fact. I've sat in the shop watching him try for several beautiful afternoons, while outside the windows all Nature was fragrant with spring and smoke. He hums ragtime to himself as he tries, and I think his mind is wandering to something else less tedious--to some new invention in which he'd take more interest."
------
The Major was engaged in the profoundest thinking of his life. No business plans which had ever absorbed him could compare in momentousness with the plans that absorbed him now, for he had to plan how to enter the unknown country where he was not even sure of being recognized as an Amberson—not sure of anything, except that Isabel would help him if she could. His absorption produced the outward effect of reverie, but of course it was not. The Major was occupied with the first really important matter that had taken his attention since he came home invalided, after the Gettysburg campaign, and went into business; and he realized
that everything which had worried him or delighted him during this lifetime between then and to-day--all his buying and building and trading and banking--that it all was trifling and waste beside what concerned him now.
--------
The elevator boy noticed nothing unusual about him and neither did Fanny, when she came in from church with her hat ruined, an hour later. And yet something had happened--a thing which, years ago, had been the eagerest hope of many, many good citizens of the town. They had thought of it, longed for it, hoping acutely that they might live to see the day when it would come to pass. And now it had happened at last: Georgie Minafer had got his come-upance.
He had got it three times filled and running over. The city had rolled over his heart, burying it under, as it rolled over the Major's and buried it under. The city had rolled over the Ambersons and buried them under to the last vestige; and it mattered little that George guessed easily enough that most of the five hundred Most Prominent had paid something substantial "to defray the cost of steel engraving, etc."--the Five Hundred had heaved the final shovelful of soot upon that heap of obscurity wherein the Ambersons were lost forever from sight and history."Quicksilver in a nest of cracks!"
Georgie Minafer had got his come-upance, but the people who had so longed for it were not there to see it, and they never knew it. Those who were still living had forgotten all about it and all about him.
(less)

like 13 likes · see review

Feb 03, 2008 William Durden added it · review of another edition

It always cracks me up that this is the #100th book on the Modern Library top 100 list. I haven't actually read very many books on that list, but I'm always proud of the fact that I've read the one that just barely made it.

like 8 likes · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Misfit rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 2012-mt-tbr-challenge

Wow, just wow. This is what writing is supposed to be, although I'm having a terrible time putting my feelings into words. I loved the way the author used spoiled, self-centered George to show the reader the changes brought about by modern inventions and industrial growth, instead of telling us about these changes. How refreshing. I did like George a lot, but there were things he did to try to stop those changes in his life, to the point of alienating those he loved most, things that just make y...more

like 15 likes · see review

May 04, 2007 Tami rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just finished this book and I have to say that I actually choked down some emotion at the end of it, which surprised me. I think what got me the most is the regret felt by some characters and also the humanity shown by others. It is set in an important time in American history. A time of change and growth and development. We see a small "pretty" little midland town around the turn of the last century and the known family that pretty much rules everything. During the course of the book we see h...more

like 6 likes · see review

Dec 01, 2008 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes Trollope, anyone being rocked by the changes in the world today

Recommended to Tim by: Orson Welles (though I never saw the movie.)

I seem to be reading novels about the failure of fortune and the passing of eras lately.

Like Silas Marner and The Tides of Mont St. Michel, The Magnificent Ambersons tells the story of a man who can begin to live only after he is broken, his sense of his place in the social order remade.

I love reading old books that are now largely forgotten. They give so much insight into an age. It's as much the aspects of the books that are time-bound as those that are timeless that I find fascinating.

The...more I seem to be reading novels about the failure of fortune and the passing of eras lately.

Like Silas Marner and The Tides of Mont St. Michel, The Magnificent Ambersons tells the story of a man who can begin to live only after he is broken, his sense of his place in the social order remade.

I love reading old books that are now largely forgotten. They give so much insight into an age. It's as much the aspects of the books that are time-bound as those that are timeless that I find fascinating.

The irony in a book such as this, which casts such a keen eye on the passage of time and the obsolescence of our hold on society, even while we are still alive, is that, of course, the things that were new to Tarkington in 1918 when he wrote - the motor car, which was sweeping away the old ways, the old families, and anyone who stood in its way -- are now themselves on the edge of being swept away. He wouldn't be surprised, but it's still a poignant thread when reading this book.

I expected to like the book. I didn't expect to find Tarkington such a fine writer. Particularly in the first chapter, before the story starts, there is some absolutely brilliant prose describing, as if in a film run on fast forward, changing fashions in clothes.

The book is Trollopian in style, with less emphasis on story than on character. You can see from the beginning how it's going to end, but the journey is the point: the character who won't change, and won't notice the changes all around him until it's (almost) too late, and of course, that changing world itself.

A wonderful view of a time long gone, with a perspective that is perhaps uniquely valuable today as we go through our own wrenching changes, with so many of us blind to what's happening.

P.S. I wish it were easier for Goodreads to show a blank book cover as one of the first page choices, and to provide your own metadata, rather than picking from the existing list. I did not read this book in the B&N Classics edition, but in the Pulitzer Prize edition from Grosset & Dunlap, most likely printed in the late 30s.
(less)

like 3 likes · see review

Jun 01, 2008 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Stephanie by: Book club

I did not get the point of this book until the end and then realized it was about how society changed dramatically during the industrial revolution. How the car changed the cities, why all of the beautiful old homes are in the worst parts of town. When I was done I was so glad I read it to better understand how American cities have developed.

like 4 likes · see review

Dec 05, 2009 El rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: modern-library-list-top-100-fiction, early20th-centurylit

Apparently The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) is actually a part of a trilogy. The fact that I was not made aware of this until I had finished reading it makes me angry. (That's one of the problems with reading the Introduction after reading the book.) Additionally it seems silly to me to include the second book in a trilogy on the Modern Library's Top 100 List. The other two must really suck.

This is the story of the Amberson family and their fortune. We watch young George Amberson grow from a spo...more

like 5 likes · see review

Apr 20, 2010 Joyce Lagow rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

Pulizter Prize winner, 1919.[return][return]This is the story of the fall from social prominence of a � Midland� family around the turn of the 20th century. Due to the financial success through land and investments of Major Amberson, the patriarch of the family, the Ambersons achieved social prominence in one generation. The story is primarily concerned with the abrupt decline of that family in the 3rd generation, as experienced by Major Amberson� s only grandchild, George Amberson Minafer. An a...more Pulizter Prize winner, 1919.[return][return]This is the story of the fall from social prominence of a � Midland� family around the turn of the 20th century. Due to the financial success through land and investments of Major Amberson, the patriarch of the family, the Ambersons achieved social prominence in one generation. The story is primarily concerned with the abrupt decline of that family in the 3rd generation, as experienced by Major Amberson� s only grandchild, George Amberson Minafer. An arrogant and self-absorbed child who keeps those less-than-endearing personality traits into adulthood, George is the embodiment of the selfish, narcissistic � dandy� ; his life goal is not � to do� � any sort of work or profession is beneath him and his self-perceived status� but � to be� � a gentleman.[return][return]But coming along to upset almost everyone� s ideas of society and progress is the automobile, its disruptive force personified of one of its (fictional) pioneers, Eugene Morgan. A former resident of the town as well as a former suitor of George� s mother, Isabel, Morgan invokes uneasiness in George, who proceeds to fall in love with Morgan� s daughter, Lucy.. That uneasiness turns to hatred when George� s is unaccustomedly denied something he wants and has his superficial values of life rejected. The result is tragic.[return][return]The automobile, however, is more than just an irritant for George, an unacceptable way for Morgan to make a living. It represents enormous economic and social upheaval, as wealth shifts from the American equivalent of the landed gentry to the new industrialists and speculators. The mobility provided by the automobile drastically alters the landscapes of urban areas; the Midland town� a mall puddle in which the Ambersons are large frogs� becomes a large city, whose growth in unchecked, leaving the Ambersons and their old-fashioned ideas of society behind; the Ambersons literally vanish in the sprawl of a large industrialized city.[return][return]In 1919, when Tarkington wrote the book, there was nothing remotely approaching an � environmental movement� . Yet Tarkington, in vivid prose, describes the price of the automobile and the resulting unrestricted growth, both in cities and in industry: soot-filled air from soft coal-fired furnaces of factories; disappearance of farm land as the city � upheaves� and moves its boundaries further and further out; the disintegration of the old pioneer values that had held sway for nearly 100 years only to be replaced by those of untrammeled greed; the destruction of neighborhoods as families are displaced by apartment dwellers and those living next to one another hardly ever meet. The Magnificent Ambersons is prophetic.[return][return]These forces destroy George� s world, so affectionately described at the opening of the book. But Tarkington doesn� t lay the blame solely on outside forces; instead, he makes very clear the negative impact of a doting mother and grandfather, who give George everything he wants and treat him like a god, an indifferent father who cares only for his business, and a group of fawning companions and similarly afflicted spoiled colleagues at university. George is not a bad person, but his self-absorption, his mania about preserving the � family name� as a reflection off his own self-important social status, is a recipe for disaster for those closest to him. The language may seem stilted, more suited to the post-Victorian era which it portrays (the story ends before the start of World War I), but the story is immortal; it can be seen played out in today� s media by the society celebrities of this age.[return][return]The Magnificent Ambersons is a morality tale with obvious lessons. George, a sinner, is suitably punished but earns redemption. While the language of the Victorian Age may present a bit of a problem and personal behavior may stretch the credulity of an early 21st century reader, the story is told poignantly, with great clarity, and to enormous effect.(less)

like · see review

Jan 23, 2013 Leona Heraty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone! It's a wonderful story! :-)

Recommended to Leona by: Myself!

This wonderful story is set in a fictional Midwestern small town, and spans the years from around 1883 to about 1905. Booth Tarkington, the author, said that the "Midland" town in this story was really Indianapolis. The story focuses on the wealthy Amberson family, leading citizens of the town. They became rich because of their hard-working patriarch, Major Amberson, who started a thriving home building business after the Civil War.

Georgie, Major Amberson's arrogant, self-centered grandson, wan...more

like 1 like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Stuart rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-classics

“The Magnificent Ambersons” is a social commentary that charts the rise and fall of three generations of the successful and socially connected Amberson family in the face of a changing America. Industry and commerce quickly overtake the old world and alter the definition of ambition, success, and loyalty almost overnight, irreversibly changing the “definition” of the Amberson family as well.

The novel is set in a fictional Midwestern town between the end of the Civil War and the early part of the...more

like · see review

Aug 07, 2012 Mel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzers

Upon first glance of the book I thought I would hate it. The cover has a bunch of hoity toity turn of the century folk on it and I thought for sure the book would be a bore. As it turns out...I was right. Except only the first chapter was a bore. The first chapter was so bad I had to force myself to read the second chapter, and then the third. I read one chapter a day for 3 days and then couldn't put it down. I truly despise extremely overly descriptive books (JR Tolkein What???). So it was diff...more

like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Jason Thompson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A portrayal of America from the Gilded Age to the pre-WWI period (1880s-1910s), this book is chiefly amazing for being a novel-length portrayal of a thoroughly unlikable, oblivious character: the 'hero', the snobbish and spoiled George Amberson, who blissfully floats through his youth with his family's money, his mother's love (Tarkington is too proper to go the Freudian route with this, but only just) and his good looks. (He must be SUPER hot -- way hotter than the actors who played him in eith...more

like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

The titular family is the most prosperous and powerful in town at the turn of the century. Young George Amberson Minafer, the patriarch’s grandson, is spoiled terribly by mother Isabel. Growing up arrogant, sure of his own worth and position, and totally oblivious to the lives of others, George falls in love with Lucy Morgan, a young though sensible debutant. But there is a long history between George’s mother and Lucy’s father, of which George is unaware. As the town grows to a city, industry t...more

like · see review

Jun 11, 2012 Maria rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The "Magnificent" Ambersons

Warning: spoilers ahead. (Not that I'm recommending that you should ever waste your time reading this book, but if you somehow really had your heart set on it, skip this review because it will ruin the ending for you. Inasmuch as a crappy book can be ruined, that is.)

Over the course of The Magnificent Ambersons, young George Amberson Minafer, or Georgie, has the following bad things happen to him:

* His father dies.
* Things don't work out with a girl he sort-of loves....more

like · see review

Apr 29, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons, winner of the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is the story of a wealthy American family. Taking place at the start of the 20th century, a time of great technological and social change, the novel focuses on young Georgie Amberson Minafer, the much adored only child of Isabel Amberson, who is the daughter of the Amberson patriarch. With a doting mother, an obliging father and a circle of friends who bend to his will, Georgie seems to have the world at...more Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons, winner of the 1919 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is the story of a wealthy American family. Taking place at the start of the 20th century, a time of great technological and social change, the novel focuses on young Georgie Amberson Minafer, the much adored only child of Isabel Amberson, who is the daughter of the Amberson patriarch. With a doting mother, an obliging father and a circle of friends who bend to his will, Georgie seems to have the world at his feet. With the arrival in town of Lucy Morgan and her father Eugene, a former friend of his mother's, Georgie's life and that of his family slowly begins to change. Georgie, never one to pay much attention to women, becomes smitten with Lucy. While Lucy appears to be quite taken in by Georgie's charms and good looks, she isn't willing to commit to him. Will Georgie be able to win her over? Georgie's mother, on the other hand, finds herself increasingly drawn to the companionship provided by her old friend, who also happens to be a former flame - a development Georgie strongly disapproves of. Meanwhile, the world is rapidly changing, and a new era of prosperity and innovation is being ushered in. Those who aren't willing to embrace change risk being left behind, including the Ambersons.

There are many things that I liked about this novel, including Tarkington's witty and, at times, comedic prose. I also enjoyed each of the novel's characters, whether they be principal or supporting. Georgie Amberson Minafer is depicted as a spoiled, indulged and lazy young man, one who aspires to nothing more than living the good life via his family's fortune and having others cater to his every whim. Yet, despite this I couldn't bring myself to dislike him, instead I was interested in what he would get up to next. Isabel Amberson is the doting mother who sees nothing but good in her son, even when her son's actions threaten her own chance at happiness. While the Ambersons represent the established elite, Eugene Morgan and his daughter Lucy are members of an emerging class of wealthy entrepreneurs. Eugene, an automobile inventor, is a man with a vision. He clearly understands that in order to succeed he must embrace new technologies and ways of doing things. While I enjoyed the story itself, I feel the greatest strength of the novel is in how it illustrates the significant changes occurring within American society at the turn of the 20th century through the eyes of the Ambersons and Morgans. Wealthy families such as the Ambersons, content to live as they always had and in denial of both their decline and the impact of technological and societal changes, were being surpassed in wealth and prestige by those, such as the Morgans, who could accept and adapt to change. In closing, The Magnificent Ambersons presents readers with a compelling and engaging portrayal of American life at the turn of the 20th century as experienced through its well drawn cast of characters.

Note: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Legacy Romance, in exchange for an honest review.(less)

like · see review

Mar 01, 2012 Jason Pettus rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 #65: The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), by Booth Tarkington

The story in a nutshell:
Originally published in 1918, Booth Tarkington's The Magnificent Ambersons tel...more

like 4 likes · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction

It was odd to read this novel of late 19th Century America so soon after finishing the dystopian, futuristic Hunger Games Trilogy. In many ways, this novel was more tragic.

"The Magnificent Ambersons" follows the Amberson family, who were rich, elegant, and admired. Their patriarch was Major Amberson, a Civil War veteran who returned to his small, midwestern town, and made a fortune.

When we join the story, The Major is a widower, whose two remaining children (George and Isabel) are adults. George...more

like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-library-100

This book was the first I read for my Modern Library reading challenge (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/no... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_L...). I thought the book's plot moved slowly, but I liked the dry wit and subtle humor in the voice of the narrator. I'm not sure what moved Modern Library to rank this books within the best 100 of the 20th century, however.

This book follows the Amberson family, a prominent Midwest family at the the turn of the century. The family has a single...more

like · see review

Jan 21, 2011 Derek Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There's an odd undertone to this novel. The writing is generally superb, the characters beautifully realized, but...

Why is the main character, young George Amberson, so consistently repugnant (a dickhead would be an apt term) yet so well respected as he ruins the lives of those around him? Because he looks good? Because he has endless money? Because he has no ambition in life except to uphold the family name?

How is it that Tarkington's writing sparkles with wit and skewering social commentary,...more

like 2 likes · see review

Sep 20, 2010 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

he Magnificent Ambersons, written by Booth Tarkington (awesome name), is a story about a rich and powerful family living in Indiana (in a town that is supposed to be Indianapolis) at the turn of the 20th century. This one was chosen by my book group. It took me a little while to get into it, but when it took hold, I couldn't put it down.

The story is about the effect of industrialization on Small Town, America. It shows how the age of the automobile ushered out the good ole days of tight knit com...more

like · see review

Feb 28, 2010 Alli Rense rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What struck me most about the book was the role of the automobile in the story. I’ve always considered the automobile to be one of the most world-changing inventions of all time. The book really explored the impact it made on the lives of those who lived during the time of its invention. It’s fascinating to read how they start out as novelty items where passersby shout “GIT A HOSS!” at them to something commonplace and expected in such a short time.

Look at computers now and you’ll see a similar...more What struck me most about the book was the role of the automobile in the story. I’ve always considered the automobile to be one of the most world-changing inventions of all time. The book really explored the impact it made on the lives of those who lived during the time of its invention. It’s fascinating to read how they start out as novelty items where passersby shout “GIT A HOSS!” at them to something commonplace and expected in such a short time.

Look at computers now and you’ll see a similar trend. Back when I was in middle school in the mid 1990s I had a “friend” who came over to the house primarily to use our computer. In fifth grade our science teacher showed us something a classmate printed from a computer because things printed from computers were still a novelty in rural Michigan in 1995. Now computers are essential to my everyday life, even if you forget that my job is completely wrapped up in computers. Most of the people I know I wouldn’t know without computers particularly if you consider that I found my job online.

How many people that you know would you not know without automobiles?

I think most people would have to put many of their best friends and significant others on that list. The Magnificent Ambersons explores how automobiles make the world seem smaller, similar to how computers do today. In the book, George Minafer (the main character) deals with the increasing size of his city and suburban sprawl. Everyone wants to live where the air is cleaner, so they keep pushing further and further out, which without automobiles would not be possible.

The mark of a good classic novel is how well it can relate to readers many years later. The similarities between the way automobiles and computers change the way we live is one way The Magnificent Ambersons transcends time. Another is the age old question, why do nice girls like jerks?

The novel is framed around a love story between the main character, George Minafer, quite possible the biggest spoiled brat in literature, and Lucy Morgan, a sweet and independent young woman. The novel attempts to explain her attraction here:

"But though she was the mistress of her own ways and no slave to any lamp save that of her own conscience, she had a weekness: she had fallen in love with George Amberson Minafer at first sight, and no matter how she disciplined herself, she had never been able to climb out. The thing had happened to her; that was all. George had looked the way she had always wanted someone to look–the riskiest of all the moonshine ambushes wherein tricky romance snares credulous young love."

You might read that and think “because he’s hot.” George is described as being attractive throughout the story. But there’s something more to it I think. I consider myself a “nice girl” and I don’t tend to think I “go for jerks” but my roommate and I have been watching Alias reruns and there’s something about the complete badness of the character Sark that gets to both of us. My roommate and I both turn into giggling schoolgirls when he appears and we know it’s more than just his pretty face and British accent. It’s because he’s bad, and we’re not sure why that’s so appealing.

--via my blog, The Displaced English Major (less)

like · see review

Apr 14, 2013 Devon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I feel like I would have some satisfaction if I could take Madame Bovary from her novel and have her marry George Amberson Minafer. I've never loathed another character as much as I loathed the both of them.

This book was very gripping, however; I found I did not want to put it down. Immediately I felt a sort of sympathy for George (well, his family, rather, as I couldn't stand him) whenever I saw the rush of Progress and the Industrialisation Era seizing them firmly in their grasps. Old money wi...more

like · see review

Aug 19, 2012 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction

In 1919, this book was the second novel to win the Pulitzer Prize. Compared to other Pulitzer winners I've read, it was only okay. It's set in a growing midwestern city at the turning of the 20th century. Tarkington uses the story of the decline of the once wealthy and prominent Amberson family as a lens through which to view the changes brought by increasing industrialization and modernization. The novel primarily focuses on George Minafer, the only grandson of the last Amberson patriarch. This...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 27, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fiction, classics

Way back in 1918, this book won a Pulitzer prize. It's also very often placed on lists of classics to read. After reading this book, I can see why! The Magnificent Ambersons is one of those books that can definitely be enjoyed no matter when you're reading it. Although it's apparent that George's world is a lot different than our world today, there are several universal themes in the books that transfer through time rather well.

At some point in your life, you've probably come across someone like...more Way back in 1918, this book won a Pulitzer prize. It's also very often placed on lists of classics to read. After reading this book, I can see why! The Magnificent Ambersons is one of those books that can definitely be enjoyed no matter when you're reading it. Although it's apparent that George's world is a lot different than our world today, there are several universal themes in the books that transfer through time rather well.

At some point in your life, you've probably come across someone like George Amberson Minafer. They are spoiled to the core. They get everything they want. Their family adores them and gives them all that they have even though their behavior is absolutely ridiculous. They take everything for granted. They just make you absolutely infuriated and have you wondering if there is any justice, any justice at all in the world. You wait in anticipation for the day when something happens to turn it all around. All you want to do is see them get what they deserve. Maybe you don't necessarily want them harmed but you want something to happen to get them to take it down a notch (or two or six). There are unfortunately people like that out in the world and so I think that we can identify with those feelings at some point in our lifetimes. I hated George throughout the entire book almost (and sometimes you just need a character to hate!).

All this being said, even though George is a completely terrible individual who lacks any inkling of manners, kindness, or niceness, Tarkington is able to turn it all around at the end (but you'll have to just read to see how he does it). Which brings us to another universal theme, we all are just humans. Nothing more, nothing less.

And then there's Lucy. Lucy is a really fantastic character. She is the total antithesis of horrible George. I loved having that comparison between the two characters. Even though Lucy is very nice and George is so horrible, Lucy can still be very nice to George.

For those of you who, like me, are looking to get more 'classics' in their literary diet, this is a great book to try. I think its always easier to read the classics when they have universal themes that aren't subject to change with time. We can always find a little bit of ourselves in these sorts of books, which makes the reading of them all the more pleasurable!

Bottom line: This is a great book of character study!
(less)

like · see review

Aug 31, 2011 Hesper rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, fiction, america

For something that won the Pulizer, this was a surprisingly simple read. It might have been more compelling as a short story or novella, where the length would heighten the dramatic impact of the story rather than lessen it. Reading the other two novels that complete the trilogy might justify the bare-bones approach here.

Perhaps the best thing about this length is the portrait of an America transitioning from the 19th century into the 20th. It's rendered as bewildering, rapid, and not a little s...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2008 Teresa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really liked the beginning of this book -- a great character study that stands for something more than just the individual. Tarkington can also be very funny in a sarcastic kind of vein, which I like. But shortly after the downfall of this family, the story slows down way too much, too much is explained to the reader that it isn't necessary to explain, and the style isn't as sharp. Instead of the story meaning 'more,' as it did in the beginning and middle, it now means less.

like · see review

Mar 10, 2013 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am dumbfounded as to why THIS novel is not held in as high regard as the vastly overrated Great Gatsby is in terms of being the quintessential American Novel. This was one of the finest written pieces of literature I have yet to encounter. The story opens in an unnamed midwestern town at the fin de siecle. Young and despicable, the protagonist George Amberson Minafer prefers "doing things" rather than "being things" and fails to see the end of his world as his family fortune is slowly overtake...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 02, 2012 Alison rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulitzer, audio

I was going to read all the Pulitzer prize-winning novels out there, but after reading this one I'm not sure it's such a good idea. Tarkington writes beautiful prose, but this book pretty much defines the phrase, "a product of its time." OMG THE MOTORCAR IS REPLACING THE HORSE. OMG PEOPLE GET ELECTRICITY. OMG FACTORIES MAKE SMOG. I know it was written in 1918, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to read almost 100 years later.

The dated theme of the book might have been easier to take if t...more

like 1 like · see review

Nov 18, 2011 Erin Mayfield rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did enjoy the book. I think the themes that are dealt with are unchanging, which make it a classic. Of course the main theme in the book is change represented by the industrial revolution and namely, portrayed throughout the book as coupled with the rise of the automobile. There is also a more period dilemma of the neveux riche coming into the territory of old money. Of course, I think that it is also significant that there is no permanence to what is deemed new or old money, because with each...more

like · see review

Feb 01, 2012 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the story of the fall of a great family in a Midland town at the time when automobiles and industry are creating new wealth for the "riffraff". It is most particularly the story of George Amberson Minifer, the young son/grandson who grows to manhood as spoiled, inconsiderate and uncaring of anyone but himself. It is the story of parents, especially his mother, who indulge him and worship him, to his detriment. Isabel Amberson Minifer is a likable character. As a person and a friend she i...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (72)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

116 users

Literature

20 users

Novels

15 users

Historical Fiction

15 users

Literature > American

13 users

Book Club

10 users

Literary Fiction

7 users

Literature > 20th Century

7 users

Classics > Classic Literature

5 users

American > American Classics

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Booth Tarkington

Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams.

More about Booth Tarkington...

Books by Booth Tarkington

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Magnificent A...

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Magnificent Ambersons

“Whatever does not pretend at all has style enough.” — 40 people liked it

“Gossip is never fatal until it is denied. Gossip goes on about every human being alive and about all the dead that are alive enough to be remembered, and yet almost never does any harm until some defender makes a controversy. Gossip's a nasty thing, but it's sickly, and if people of good intentions will let it entirely alone, it will die, ninety-nine times out of a hundred.” — 36 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Magnificent Ambersons
avg rating	preview: The Magnificent Ambersons Goodreads rating: 3.72 (3404 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525819.The_Magnificent_Ambersons?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335018624l/525819.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/525819.The_Magnificent_Ambersons?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington[/url]

The Magnificent Ambersons (The Growth Trilogy #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website