Babbitt (Bantam Classics)

I enjoyed Babbitt much more than I thought I would. It's not easy at the start, as the reader gets thrown into a rah rah early 20th century American business environment in the fictional city of Zenith. There isn't a whole lot of plot; it's more a novel of characters, including, of course, George Babbitt. He initially appears to be a pumped-up, full of himself aspirant to the 1%. For a large portion of the book he says all the right things at various local community clubs and political events about squashing unions and rewarding the go-getters needed to get the country back on its feet after the first world war. He gets a reputation as an orator, and his real estate business prospers. But even as he becomes a leader in Zenith's "boosterism", underneath it all he yearns to slip away with the fairy child of his dreams:"He was somewhere among unknown people who laughed at him. He slipped away, ran down the paths of a midnight garden, and at the gate the fairy child was waiting. Her dear and tranquil hand caressed his cheek. He was gallant and wise and well-beloved; warm ivory were her arms; and beyond the perilous moors the brave sea glittered."After a friend's life takes a disastrous turn, Babbitt rebels and for a time searches for the fairy child among women of his acquaintance. He is reminded of his more liberal views when young, and begins to see his own rebellious son differently.The book was a huge success in its time, and in 1930 Lewis won the Nobel Prize, the first American to do so. He writes really well, and more than once I thought this was what Updike was trying to do, with less success. Babbitt is a satire of crass American commercialism and superficial optimism, but the book also has a heart. "Babbitt" became a word in our lexicon defined as ""a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards". To me, that definition is unfair, as Georgie Babbitt wasn't an unthinking conformist. He yearned for escape with the fairy child, but determinedly, with "pep", he tried to make the best of the hand he saw himself dealt. A four star read. (

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 it. 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.

This book should be read for its historical context. Sinclair Lewis was the first American author to have won the Nobel Prize, and it was probably a great novel when it was first published. Now it is just a period piece.

The single star (it would have been zero stars if possible) is not for Mr. Lewis's wonderful novel; rather it is the condition of the book itself. Wildcat Media listed the HBJ copy of this novel as "new." It is anything but new. The copy arrived with a cover that was battered and stained. Even worse, there is a black remainder dot staining the book's pages. These are not flaws one encounters when buying a book that is "new." And especially at the price at which Wildcat Media has listed it. The copy Wildcat Media sent me is one I might have paid $3.00 for if I'd come upon it in a used bookstore. Certainly it is not worth the $30.00 I spent. It is a substandard copy and clearly not a "new" copy as advertised by Wildcat Media. Buyers beware! Do not allow yourselves to be swindled. As a bibliophile, I collect lots of books. If I am unlucky enough to come across Wildcat Media again, I will know to steer clear and move in the opposite direction as fast as I can. How sad it is that businesses can get away with hoodwinking unsuspecting customers. Well, I am one customer who is no longer unsuspecting. Never will I buy anything from Wildcat Media again, as it is untrustworthy. The same goes for Amazon. It should be more discerning about what it allows businesses to advertise... especially when what they are advertising is not what they are selling.As for the Sinclair Lewis, I recommend his work highly. Just make sure to save yourselves some grief and buy copies of his books from sellers who can be trusted to deliver that for which you pay.

Boring and repetitive. No wonder Trump is doing so well in the polls if this book is an indication of small town American mentality.by bY

Babbitt - ein ausgezeichneter und stilistisch hervorragender Roman von Sinclair Lewis über den Alltag eines Immobilienmaklers in New York in den zwanziger Jahren.Die genaue Beobachtung des täglichen Ablaufs eines eher durchschnittlichen Menschen,detailliert beschrieben und niemals langweilig,lässt die Lektüre zu einem Vergnügen werden.und vermittelt tiefe und ernüchternde Einblicke in das damalige amerikanische Wirtschafts- und Finanzsystem - getragen von der ständigen Profitgier, an der sich wohl bis heute noch nichts geändert hat.- lediglich die Methoden wurden verfeinert.Sehr empfehlenswert.

"Kann man das noch lesen?" hat mich jemand gefragt, als er sah, dass ich "Babbitt" las. Man kann! Ich hatte Vergnügen dabei. Die Schilderungen über das Boomtown-Amerika der 20er sind nicht die neuesten und besten, aber interessant. Viel mehr fasziniert hat mich der Held und seine so typische Geschichte rund um männliche Geltungswünsche (Autos, Frauen, Reichtum - die Reihenfolge kann man sich aussuchen), die wenig von ihrer Aktualität verloren hat. Auch wenn andere Charaktere (Paul Riesling, Babbitts Frau) leider zu schemenhaft skizziert bleiben, lohnt es sich das Buch zu lesen.

...as well as a fantastic satire of the American middle-classes in the 1920s.George F Babbitt is a successful businessman in the American Midwest who starts, slowly at first, to rebel against the conformity of respectable society in the (fictional) small city of Zenith, initially bringing confusion from family and friends, and later his causing his own ostracism from the local respectable set. Lewis described in a letter to his publisher how "He is all of us Americans at 46, prosperous but worried, wanting - passionately - to seize something more than motor cars and a house before it's too late."It's a wonderful novel, and if you've never read any Sinclair Lewis before then this is a great place to start. He combines gentle humour through fantastic observation of characters with biting satire. You can be chuckling happily one moment and wincing the next. He also manages to create a character here who is entirely believable, likeable for all his follies and weaknesses, and eventually quite inspiring. Set over two years in Babbitt's life, with a somewhat ambiguous ending, it is a great piece of writing judged either as satire or as a touching portrait of a changing man. I really would recommend this novel to anyone.

In this novel about a Realtor (NOT an estate agent) we see the beginnings of the consumer society to which everyone has since aspired. In the early 20th century Babbitt runs a business selling houses at inflated prices, he goes home in a car to a house on a recently built estate and listens to music on his phonograph. He belongs to several groups such as the masons and makes good money. He enjoys holidays and parties and his life style is better then any other middle class person in any country in the world at that time.However the price of success is dull conformity and he derails himself by taking a mistress , drinking illegally and mixing with the wrong people. Much worse he becomes interested in socialism and is shunned by his former friends. It's a blueprint for life here in the 21st century as well as a commentary on the great issues of the day. It was enjoyable, satisfying and relevant to the way we are now.