Long before David Mamet wrote of Rio Rancho, there was Glen Oriole.

Mr. Lewis vividly portrays the art of the hustle, specifically the real-estate hustle, through George Babbitt, a successful entrepreneur in Zenith, a bustling and growing midwestern city.

George is a member of the proper reactionary society. He is married to Myrna and is the father of three children: Verona, Ted, and Tinka (short for Katherine).

Although he hasn't reached the inner sanctum, that exclusive group of A-list players like William W. Eathorne, the president of the First State Bank of Zenith and great-grandson of one of the founders of the city in 1792, who ultimately call the shots in town, he still lives the good life as imagined by many.

Despite his slick sales tactics, George ultimately feels the influence of socialism and libertine freethinking. He senses that there is more to life than what he has. He yearns for unbounded and forbidden zest.

"Babbitt" delves deep into the unrelenting and artificial social norms that operate in our manipulated and consumeristic culture. It explores these norms through the aspects of business, religion, and family. In this culture, individual will is beaten into silent and passive conformity, and the self-interests of the fortunate few are unjustly considered to outweigh the profound needs of the unfortunate many.

George laments his repressed existence, experiments on the wild side, and then returns to his people because, in reality, what other choice does he have?

The question of how we can successfully endure the contest that challenges our spirit is a central one. George Babbitt offers one possible answer.

George F. Babbitt is the ultimate embodiment of the myth of the self-made American man.

As is widely known, the American Dream truly pertains only to those who are bullish, unafraid to break the rules, obsessed with money, morally lax, and emotionally stunted borderline psychotics. And Babbitt not only meets these criteria but exceeds them.

This quintessential novel of the Roaring Twenties is a lively and powerful work that exquisitely captures the refined nuances of speech and the strange, artificial cadences of the overly enthusiastic people in a decade that laid the foundation for the subsequent rampage of cutthroat capitalism.

There is no scarcity of satirical and scathing novels that expose the hypocrisy of republican values and the essentially autocratic "democracy" of the United States. However, this energetic and passionate work must be among the funniest, most quotable, and most searing.

This is a love/hate thing. In Sinclair Lewis’s previous novel Main Street, there is more love than hate. However, in Babbitt, it’s the other way around. He truly despises George Babbitt for his boorishness, complacency, wretched kneejerk reactionary rightwing politics, pallid marriage, blaring friends, ridiculous slang, and stupid stupidity. But by the end, after George has endured several difficult experiences, you can see that Lewis loves him a bit too.

This novel is about two things. Firstly, it depicts the horribleness of American material acquisitive, claustrophobic, class-ridden, unfettered capitalist life. Secondly, it focuses on George Babbitt’s miserable crisis at age 46 and how he strays from the path and then gets back on it.

The novel features several overdetailed satirical descriptions of the hearty braying get-togethers. As we progress through the middle of the novel, we still haven't detected much of a plot, just a lot of fun being made of old George. Eventually, he realizes that he isn't happy.

We are not short of tales of drab regular guys trying to break free from their straightjacketed lives. Examples include Pennies from Heaven by Dennis Potter, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, and the movie American Beauty. And there are many more by authors like Updike, Ford, Roth, and so on. Babbitt is the quintessential Mr Midlife Crisis of 1921.

Sinclair Lewis loves to show us just how sad George’s life has been, despite all his hectic capering and jolly boosterism. The grim realities are summed up in a devastating sentence about his wife.

Now that’s a gut punch for you. “Irritable”… brilliant!

The story of how George got married is quite accidental. He palled around with a fellow student, and before he knew it, she assumed they were engaged. He didn't have the heart to say otherwise. How horrible!

Sinclair Lewis can deliver some devastating lines when you least expect it. He also provides insights into two things about the 1920s: they thought drunk driving was not a problem, and they had young female manicurists working in men’s barber parlors.

However, there are two things Sinclair Lewis did not tell us. When George Babbitt finds a lady friend, it's unclear if the relationship is platonic or more. Also, it's not clear which type of jazz the white middle class was listening to – the black originals or the white ripoff merchants.

George has an epiphany, realizing that perhaps all life as he knows it is futile. In the end, although Babbitt was often a pain in the neck, and there was a lot of laughing-at-the-zoo-animals in the novel, I still found enough compassion in it to give it four stars. But I'm not sure if I would recommend it to you, dear readers. I don't think you'd come back and thank me.

If you were to ask me about my taste in novels, I would say that this glorious and humorous type is my favorite.

I have always been drawn to stories that can make me both laugh out loud and feel a sense of wonder.

The characters in these novels are often larger than life, with their own unique personalities and quirks that make them truly unforgettable.

The plots are usually filled with unexpected twists and turns, keeping me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Whether it's a lighthearted romance or a thrilling adventure, I always find myself completely immersed in the world of the novel.

In conclusion, this glorious and humorous type of novel is my go-to choice when it comes to reading for pleasure.

The story is indeed about capitalism, and it is also beautiful.

However, I felt as if I was watching a long movie that speaks Arabic, no more and no less than America.

The enjoyable part is the excellent translation. I will never hesitate to read it again.

It seems that this story not only presents the theme of capitalism but also shows a unique cultural perspective through the use of Arabic.

The translation plays a crucial role in making the story accessible and enjoyable to a wider audience.

Reading it again would allow me to further explore the details and nuances of the story, as well as appreciate the beauty of the language and the translation.

Overall, it is a remarkable piece of work that combines an interesting story with a great translation.

Don't let your family frighten you. No, don't let all of Zaineth frighten you. Also, don't let yourself frighten you, just like I did. Go ahead, my friend! The whole world is in front of you!

This is how Babbitt woke up from his slumber! This is how he left behind the "men of Babbitt"

Babbitt, the real estate agent! The preacher who admonishes... the rich and noble who always has the right, the one with solutions and emergency exits...

Babbitt, the American who brought us a period of time, the capitalist economic side, the social side with a charming and witty style...

His only concern was money! Selling real estate, social clubs, his position in Zaineth! Suddenly, Babbitt fell when he met the girl of stories. He fell and couldn't easily rise due to his social status, his family, and his real estate office until....!

I was amazed and estimated his relationship with his old friend Paul Riesling! His eagerness to stop smoking, his slogans and empty will amused me a lot... He likes smoking and doesn't like it. Don't ask me how!

"The old college anthem, the powerful message of the prophet 94, Babbitt and his words to Zilla 127, Babbitt hated being superior when his old friend invited him because he was of a higher level! Among beautiful women, he becomes a thousand times more refined and human"

"He is sharp in a refined way, strong in a cold way"

"This is what is required! A firm grip in a dreamy leap. Don't let anyone precede you"

Babbitt deserves the Nobel for that long description with extremely detailed mentions of his characters that may sometimes make you angry and sometimes make you happy... The novel requires a deep soul, patience. Group reading helped me a lot in getting through it with love and passion! The imagination roamed through the vivid description as if you were among them!

Thank you, Nobel friends - I recommend it ✨

Same with you. All we do is cut each other's throats and make the public pay for it.

“Babbitt” is a novel penned by the American novelist Sinclair Lewis and initially published in 1922. It chronicles the story of the Babbitt family, with a particular focus on George F. Babbitt. He resides in the city of Zenith, amidst a large number of middle-class Americans who strive to live by specific standards that define their social worth.

Lewis endeavored, through the character of George F. Babbitt, to critique the social life in America and the false relationships. At the outset of the story, Babbitt was desperately attempting to elevate his social rank in Zenith through business connections and club memberships. However, he gradually expressed his discontent with standardization, capitalism, and materialism. "They don't understand the intricacies of merchandizing and profit, the way we business men do, but sometimes I think they're about like the rest of us, and no more hogs for wages than we are for profits.” I must admit that the first 100 - 150 pages were rather dull and sluggish for me, but the tempo gradually picked up afterwards.

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The award was bestowed “for his vigorous and vivid art of description and his capacity to create, with wit and humor, novel types of characters.”

Contemporary satirists would be well-advised to take a fresh look at Sinclair Lewis and glean some valuable insights that may not be as evident in works like Little Children or The Emperor's Children. Lewis has a remarkable ability to make readers empathize with his characters.

It's a rather subtle difference between lampooning social conventions and making fun of the people who adhere to them, whether they are aware of it or not. However, this distinction seems crucial to me. I confess that I'm a bit of a softie and I have a desire to like the main characters in a story. Or, to be more precise, I want to like them because of their vulnerability to their own flaws.

I don't appreciate hearing the author's voice in the background, sounding morally superior, as if they would never fall prey to something as absurd as joining the Zephyr Rotary Club. There are moments in Lewis's other works, such as Elmer Gantry, where this occurs, but not in this particular instance, at least not for me.

Surprisingly, I find myself starting to develop a liking for Babbitt precisely when his life begins to go awry. I can recognize his foibles within myself. And, no, I'm not a member of the Rotary Club - they wouldn't have me anyway!

For the most part, this book is centered around the midlife crisis of a 48-year-old grump. I despised every single moment of this story. From the very beginning, George F. Babbitt seemed entirely offensive and obnoxious to me, and his character only deteriorated further. While I understand, on one level, that this might be to make a certain point, I simply cannot accept that he never receives any comeuppance for being such an idiotic jerk. He constantly presents viewpoints as his own, even though he is merely parroting what he has heard or read in the newspaper.

Once again, I opted to listen to an audiobook. It's rather challenging for me to determine whether it was a good performance of the novel or not, considering how much I loathed the novel itself. Right from the start, I had a strong urge to punch Colacci in the face to make him cease talking. His voice is both grating and annoying. This leads me to believe that this is not a great audiobook. However, to be fair, such a voice does perfectly match the truly dreadful people in the story. I can vividly imagine that Babbitt sounds precisely like that.

A more objective criticism of the performance, aside from my personal dislike of Colacci's voice, is that it was often difficult to distinguish between the characters. During conversations, I really struggled to follow who was speaking, unless there was some sort of indication as to who said what. For example, one conversation between Paul Riesling and Babbitt left me confused as to whose wife was being annoying and who was praising whom. Surprisingly, though, this gruff-voiced man did a rather good job with the female voices. Although, once again, they all sounded fairly similar. Of course, the women never really engage in a proper conversation, so that didn't matter much.

Pretty much the only interesting aspect of this novel is the setting (the 1920s). However, I would suggest obtaining that from An American Tragedy instead, which has some really strange parallels. Babbitt is repetitive (constantly mentioning his desire to quit smoking, then forgetting, and then announcing he'll do it this time and so on) and obnoxious (spending the first half of the novel being sanctimonious about things and behavior, and then going ahead and doing all those things and being sanctimonious about those who judge him for it). If that sort of thing appeals to you, then by all means, give it a try.

I truly relished reading "Babbitt." The protagonist begins as a middle-class real estate agent. He experiences a brief period of glory, only to be humbled by the hardships of life. Subsequently, he passes through a phase where he empathizes with the working class. Eventually, he manages to regain his position within the social hierarchy.

This novel is exceptionally well-written and captivating. It offers a vivid portrayal of the midwestern American bourgeoisie at the turn of the century and in the aftermath of World War I. In fact, it was more or less this very book that earned its author the Nobel Prize for Literature, which I firmly believe was richly deserved.

"Babbitt" is highly readable. It presents an archetype that, although perhaps somewhat overlooked in today's society, accurately described the typical salesman's personality, characterized by passive machismo and a penchant for alcoholism. This archetype provides valuable insights into the social and cultural milieu of that era.

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

It's truly a masterful piece of work. Lewis is so clearly disgusted by the whole emerging middle-class of American regional cities in the 1920s. He views them as lacking in ethics, culture, and empathy.

Yet, in the end, he manages to make George Babbitt a sympathetic character, almost despite himself. Babbitt is a real estate agent. He is meant to be lampooned for his belief in "zip" and "a sound business approach to life," along with a thousand other maxims that he rarely explores and only superficially understands. He has a devoted wife whom he bosses around and sometimes barely tolerates. He has a comfortable but not too lavish home. His son's lack of seriousness worries him, and his daughter's overseriousness confounds him. He also has a surging ambition that is carefully calibrated to keep him above the working class but below the elite of his city, whom he idolizes but is ready to spurn the moment they make it clear he doesn't belong to their group.

Most of the first three quarters of "Babbitt" is written as a broad satire of the kind of men who populated the Elks and Good Citizens Leagues and new suburbs in the 1920s, all followers of the American belief in progress and pep. But then, George experiences what today would be called a midlife crisis. His best friend pulls a gun on his embittered wife, and during a long absence from his own wife as she takes care of a relative, he starts an affair, begins to hang out with a younger, racier crowd, and wonders why nothing seems to be making him happy.

It takes a family crisis to bring George back to his senses. Lewis manages to show him becoming a better, more rooted person as a result, yet giving up any notion of rebelling against the rock-ribbed Republican values of his peers.

I liked George Babbitt, despite not wanting to. I think that was Lewis' goal.

George F. Babbitt is a successful real estate broker, a loving husband and father of three children. He owns two houses and a fine car, and earns more than eight thousand dollars a year (which was considered a large amount in the 1920s). He is a member of the city's most important clubs, a popular speaker at big parties, and a major supporter of the Episcopal Church...

But why, despite all this, does Mr. Babbitt always feel that there is something not quite right? And why is he not satisfied with his limited life?

Due to a personal crisis, he will gradually start to think about revolutionizing the social traditions that confine him, in an attempt to turn everything in his world upside down...

In this novel by the American writer Sinclair Lewis, he will try to personify the middle class in American society during the 1920s. This novel is one of the author's most important works, as it humorously tells, from Mr. Babbitt's point of view, his situation and the circumstances of those around him, starting from his failed attempts to quit smoking and ban alcohol, and culminating in the widespread corruption in the government and the media, where the power of money and influence has the first and last word in a society where success is considered to be the accumulation of wealth and submission to the traditions imposed by a social system that suppresses anyone who rebels against it.

It's an interesting novel and I recommend reading it :).