I read the book over 32 years ago. Although I no longer remember all of it, I do remember enough of it to recommend the book to almost anyone. If you're going on a long plane flight or need a book for your vacation, leave Clancy, Kellerman, et al at home and take this or any of Lewis' other works with you. You will enjoy the book and your trip much more than you would have had you taken some other work of popular fiction along. ( )

Babbitt is the story of a man attempting to break free from the stranglehold of society. In the start of the novel Babbitt is just another conservative upper class citizen but throughout the story he takes on new directions in both his lifestyle and political ideals. Besides politics this novel is so much more. The only downside to the book is its length, far to short. I wish the book would be twice the long so I could enjoy all the more time with it.

If you wish to read a brilliant political satire than this is the book for you. Lewis has a simple but thought provoking style which combines the best qualities of storytelling and Orwellian satire to create a new masterpiece which is Babbitt.

Some reviewers complain about being able to follow the storyline, but that is simply not true. You must enter the novel with both an open mind and an understanding of satire in order to understand Lewis' creative style. Well worth any effort you may instow upon it.

A must for any bookshelf! ( )

this book was very confusing so confusing that I had to start over this is why I have not taken the AR test so if you are going to read this book give your self some time.
ben ( )

1922. Really liked it. Sinclair Lewis writes so beautifully that he can make even a middle class businessman's life lyrical. The novel deals with traditional conservative ideals like pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and unquestioning patriotism and loyalty. Babbitt briefly entertains a liberal thought. He sympathizes with the labor movement for about thirty seconds, cheats on his wife and drinks too much for a few months, and loses all his friends and most of his social standing.

Then his wife gets appendicitis and he rushes to her side to be the perfect husband once again, and he conforms to the standards he was living by before, with just a bit of niggling doubt left in his mind. He places his hope of ever breaking out of society's mold in his son and hopes he does a better job of it.

For someone who basically upholds views I disagree with for most of the book, Babbitt is wonderfully human and loveable. He struggles with real-life questions which I think nearly every one can relate to. His life gets too routine and he experiments, but returns to the safe, straight and narrow path before long. And the dialogue is tip-top! ( )

This book took me a lot longer to read than I felt it should have. I just couldn't get into it. Gosh, the lack of plot and constant use of jargon wore me out. That said, it seemed like an interesting snapshot of life in early 1920's America and this book definitely made me think a lot. When this book was published in 1922, apparently the idea that we've become a society of boring, hypocritical conformists was new and shocking. Nowadays we're more aware of this tendency in ourselves, so it's not a shock, but I still found it to be rather depressing. A lot of George F. Babbitt's problems still exist today--how can I avoid allowing my family to fall into the pitfalls that the Babbitts fell into? Can I raise kids in a typical suburban home without becoming the old frumpish, boring, and needy Myra Babbitt? Is it possible to have a long marriage without it leading to violence or extramarital affairs? Can we disagree with our neighbors and coworkers and still be successful? ( )