Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street
by Richard Lingeman
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"The critic Edmund Wilson called Sinclair Lewis "one of the national poets." In the 1920s, Lewis fired off a fusillade of sensational novels, exploding American shibboleths with a volatile mixture of caricature and photographic realism. With an unerring eye for the American scene and an omnivorous ear for American talk, he mocked such sacrosanct institutions as the small town (Main Street), business (Babbitt), medicine (Arrowsmith), and religion (Elmer Gantry). His shrewdly observed show more characters became part of the American gallery, and his titles became part of the language." "Bringing to bear newly uncovered correspondence, diaries, and criticism, Richard Lingeman, distinguished biographer of Theodore Dreiser, paints a sympathetic portrait - in all its multihued contradictions - of a seminal American writer who could be inwardly the loneliest of men and outwardly as gregarious as George Follansbee Babbitt himself. Lingeman writes with sympathy and understanding about Lewis's losing struggle with alcoholism; his stormy marriages, including one to the superwoman Dorothy Thompson, whose fame as a newspaper columnist in the 1930s outshone Lewis's fading star as a novelist; and his wistful, autumnal love for an actress more than thirty years younger than he."--Jacket. show lessTags
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It's been a long time since I read Mark Schorer's then-definitive biography of Sinclair Lewis, so it's difficult to compare the merits of this exhaustive work with Schorer's. Schorer had the advantage of more immediate sources; Lingeman was at a comparative disadvantage, writing this some 50 years after Lewis' death. But I did learn some things here that I don't think were in the earlier book, and it is undeniably well-written, comprehensive and tinged with interest by Lingeman's willingness to offer his personal evaluations of Lewis' life and work. That said, the book reinforces my view of Sinclair Lewis; that America's first winner of the Nobel Prize for literature was at heart a complex and miserable mess of a human being. Far from a show more great writer, at his peak he was a consummate observer of American society, and perceptive and courageous enough to hold a revealing mirror up to it. His output of the 1920's was nearly unmatched in literary influence, and "Dodsworth" remains one of my favorite novels. But he was a terribly conflicted and insecure man, by turns generous and loyal, and self-obsessed and unpredictably cruel. I have no doubt that I would find him repellent if I knew him, but the man fascinates me, and it was particularly interesting to me to have read this biography shortly after visiting Lewis' hometown of Sauk Centre and touring his home, museum and gravesite. show less
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15+ Works 464 Members
Richard Lingeman is the longtime senior editor of the Nation, as well as a biographer, historian, and satirist. He began his career as an editor at Monocle magazine, and spent nine years at the New York Times Book Review as an editor and daily reviewer. He is the author of Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street; Theodore Dreiser: An American show more Journey; and Double Lives: American Authors' Friendships, among other titles. He lives in New York City. show less
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Sinclair Lewis
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 813.52 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1900-1945
- LCC
- PS3523 .E94 .Z627 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1900-1960
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 80
- Popularity
- 395,686
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
