
Main Street
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Narrated by:
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Brian Emerson
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By:
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Sinclair Lewis
Published in 1920, Main Street was Sinclair Lewis' first really successful novel. An allegory of exile and return, Main Street attacks the complacency and ingrown mores of those who resist change, who are under the illusion that they have chosen their tradition.
Maxwell Geismar lauded this work as "a remarkable diary of the middle-class mind in America".
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Time for a classic
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Can't believe I hadn't read it before
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Honestly, I really did not like Carol. To me she was stuck-up, entitled, and condescending to those of us who embrace the slowness and safely insular attitudes for those of us who live in small towns. She was ungrateful in my opinion of the fine life she had, the husband she had (no spouse is perfect), and the comfort and intimacy of neighborhood camaraderie that she sneered at politely rather than appreciated. This is not a thoughtful, intelligent character in my opinion. This was most on display not when she courted the idea of having an affair but because of the reason and quality of that "possible affair" because she was seemingly "bored" with the routine of her life. I can understand with one getting bored with small time life when you are either adjusted to or pining for large city cultural. On the other hand, when someone like Carol sees her life with such contempt, any romantic thoughts of intrigue and drama are careless due to her inability to "give Gopher P" a chance to be something important. Contempt for comfort is a dangerous place to be. Fortunately, Carol may have learned her lesson by the end of the story...but...
Brian Emerson does his best with the story, but he seems to have trouble differentiating the men in the story--all of them sound the same.
My favorite character was...Gopher P. The strongest part of Main Street is how superbly Lewis describes small town life in such sensorial beauty. There were several different instances that I cannot list them all. He makes it sound like a lovely, timeless world unto itself.
A interesting book that is worth looking at again, but quite critical of small town life as if it threatens the progress of civilization. It does just the opposite: small towns are the bastion of civilization in an uncivilized world in a major way.
Small Towns Are Paused
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What did you love best about Main Street?
The descriptions of Gopher Prarie, Minnesota, are as apt today as they were almost 100 years ago. Lewis alternately loves and loathes the town, where an outsider is anyone who wasn't born and raised in the town.The treatment and scorn of minorities by the town could be Arizona today, except that in Gopher Prairie, the hated immigrants taking the worst jobs and struggling to find a better future for their children are Swedish immigrants.
Carol, the idealistic wife of one of the town doctors imported from the big city, finds solace in her friendships with her maids. The town disapproves, and she is shocked to find, talks about her behind her back.
At the same time, the sins of her husband, are never revealed to her.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The story was unexpectedly bleak, and I realized it couldn't have been written today. In the 1920's, women mostly didn't work outside of the home. There was no television, and if radio had come to Gopher Prarie, Lewis didn't mention it. The town spent its time watching its inhabitants, gossiping, and seeking a safe kind of education through traveling lectures. I was able to imagine what the lives of my Midwestern great grandparents were like.The pace of the story was slow, but it was written in a much different time.
Which character – as performed by Brian Emerson – was your favorite?
Mr. Emerson is an excellent narrator, and I will look for other performances. He tells the story without putting himself into it. Carol, who struggles against the status quo, is my favorite character.Small town, small minds, big book
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Performance: The reader was very good. In time, I forgot there was reader and toward the end of the book the reader acted some of the characters well out.
Main Street - Sinclair Classic
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What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The performance was above average- I had to speed it up quite a bit, and I appreciated him trying to differentiate voices. I think this would have been a hard book to stay engaged with if the narrator didn’t participate so much with the voices and characters.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
yesAny additional comments?
I read this while trying to read and compare Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Lewis’ writing styles. Considering they were all writing around the same time, I find Lewis’ writing style and commentary more realistic and poignant. Especially in “Main Street,” his prose continues to challenge the American ideals. There were specific parts, like with the red Swede, which were a remarkably accurate paradox between the 20s and today. The feeling of being a liberal or a reformer, but also being a part of a middle to high class lifestyle. Furthermore, Lewis’ novel superbly describes the balance and hardship of wanting to challenge the norm for betterment of society, while wanting to fit in.The novel challenges me to reconsider any charity or progressive ideal I may have and really think about the intention behind those ideals. Lewis seems to want to show that we are all kindred spirits and that the poor man needs the rich man just as much as the rich man needs the poor man.
I will say, sometimes the descriptions and banter was a little over-done for me, especially at the beginning, but it also made sure to paint the full picture. If you power through the first ten or so chapters you will become entranced and very thoughtful about the underlying messages. At times, I also struggled with the innocence (sometimes crossing into ignorance) of Carol, as well as her complete disregard (and Lewis’) for the benefits of small towns. Nonetheless, I highly recommend! I wish I would have read this in high school or college too!
Better than expected
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Timeless
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Considering the book had a female protagonist, I'm disappointed that the narrator is male, but I suppose he does well enough.
A surprising underrated gem!
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I tried to like it...
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File was out of order- unlistenable
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