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Dec 17, 2009

Andy rated it:

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. May More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2009

Logan rated it:

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. H More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2008

Kirk rated it:

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...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Kerrie rated it:

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 feel More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2008

Kirsti rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 12, 2008

Lisa rated it:

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...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2008

Adam rated it:

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...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2007

Dianna rated it:

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 More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 11, 2008

Jennie rated it:

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...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 17, 2011

Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it:

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.
More...

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Sep 05, 2011

Christian rated it:

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 More...

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May 16, 2011

Lindsey rated it:

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 whe More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Jason rated it:

(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 S More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 02, 2010

Caren rated it:

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. Lewi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 16, 2010

John rated it:

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 More...

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May 08, 2010

Theophilus rated it:

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 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 enoug More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 26, 2009

Swankivy rated it:

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

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Sep 04, 2009

Chris rated it:

I'm still a bit torn on this book.

The writing was good. The main character, Babbitt, had considerable depth and we really got into his head. The environment/setting/etc was well presented and really gave me a good feel for 1920s middle America. The ending wrapped up the various elements into a nice little package while still giving you something to think about.

And yet, I left this novel feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

There are a few ways to take this More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Shayla rated it:

Well this was a great recommendation from Maya. I enjoyed reading this book and about Babbitt's ups and downs. And while the language will remind you that you're in the 20s, as expressions like "He's a corker" and "Go to the devil!" are not used anymore, his sentiment and the whole middle class/suburban angst, aspirations and need to fit in proper groups appears to have not changed.

We find Babbitt unhappy with who he is and getting validation from his best budd More...

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Jan 29, 2011

erin rated it:

George Babbitt, the main character, is introduced to us at the peak of his career and relationship with his fellow white-collar professionals. He lives in the fictional town of Zenith located in the midwest. He takes great pride in his town and his position as a real estate agent. He belongs to local clubs and has a wife and children. A frustration builds from reading this novel when you realize George Babbitt has conformed to society in every aspect and ideology. He is a racist, misogynist More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 20, 2007

Kate rated it:

This is an old favorite of mine hence the 1988 date - that's the first time I read it - it's a wonderful portrait of a business man in the 1920s whose life takes a turn when he decides to stray from the straight and narrow - it rings quite true today as well and is a wonderful illustration of "boosterism" and social pressures. Also, while a critique for sure, it is tender with its characters flaws and shortcomings...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 15, 2011

Jaron rated it:

I don't know how or why it took me so long to "discover" Sinclair Lewis. This is only the second of his books that I've read and he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Babbitt is by turns poignant and funny. I did lots of chuckling while reading. Lewis' satire in Babbitt seems, to me at least, to be a kind of gentle, knowing satire. Not biting or harsh, and maybe that's part of its charm and appeal. Where I was indifferent to most of the characters in Main Street, More...

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Dec 29, 2009

MentorPublicLibrary added it

Babbitt is a satire that takes place at the turn of the century. The reader is given an intimate look inside the head of the main character Babbitt. Babbitt is a business man and buffoon with an over-inflated ego. He prides himself on his social standing and his ability to take care of his family, yet wishes to have a passionate affair with a younger woman. Babbitt is like the person in the room that everyone is laughing at, and yet, he still laughs along with you. Think David Brent from Th More...

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Sep 27, 2011

Courtney rated it:

Imagine a book making fun of narrow-minded conservatives except using colloquial 20s dialogue. Um, hilarious? Yes.

It's basically a satire telling the story of a stereotyped business man from a conformity-driven city called Zenith in the 1920s. It makes fun of his consumerism, Republican-ideals, superficiality, and hypocrisy.

I would've thought reading about the mid-life crisis of a suburban business man would make me miserable as hell. BUT the satire was done so well and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 21, 2011

Mark rated it:

I read this for a project I'm working on about middle-class life, and knew very little about it other than some vague early English literature references to Lewis' greatness (I hadn't read any Sinclair Lewis before this).

It's a masterful piece of work, because Lewis is so obviously disgusted by the whole emerging middle-class of American regional cities of the 20s and what he sees as their lack of ethics, culture and empathy.

And yet, in the end, he manages to make George Babb More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2011

Cdrueallen rated it:

BABBITT is the devastatingly funny yet still endearing portrait of George Babbitt, a suburban real estate broker who is 46 in 1920. It's fascinating and disturbing when reading BABBITT to realize how little American business, American marriages, and American men have changed in the past 91 years. In 1920 gas cost 31 cents a gallon, liquor was illegal though in plentiful supply, and the internet had yet to be imagined, but George's emotional mix of bluster, bullying, babyish pouting, and his desp More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2011

Natalie rated it:

Don't get me wrong, Sinclair Lewis is a great writer and this book is well written, but its satire and social commentary on the 1920's comes off as dated (and hard to understand). If you have to read this book (which I did for college) I suggest getting CliffNotes to make the reading easier on yourself. My biggest problem with the book is that Babbitt is horribly bland and more of an archetype than a character. This is probably the only book I can recall reading where I didn't like ANY of the ch More...

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Aug 09, 2009

Mazel rated it:

prix nobel de littérature 1930
*
Babbitt est l'un des très rares héros de la littérature - comme Tartuffe, Don Quichotte, Don Juan ou Harpagon - dont le patronyme est devenu quasiment un nom commun.

Outre-Atlantique, un "Babbitt" désigne communément cet Américain moyen, homme d'affaires besogneux, affilié à son club, fier de son niveau de vie et de son confort, tel qu'il pouvait fleurir durant les années 20, abeille bourdonnante et docile, habitant de ces ruches q More...

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Feb 28, 2009

Dave rated it:

Typical Sinclair Lewis indictment of American ideals but with little subtlety. The first half of the book is pretty much broad satire of 1920s life in a typical mid-sized American town, interesting but obvious. The second half is more involving as it delves into Babbitt's discontent and struggle to understand what he really wants out of life.

In the end we are left with a neat little moral about personal integrity and independent thinking, along with some frustration that Babbitt did More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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