Today, I'm reviewing Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
.Summary (from Amazon.com)
An 18-year-old girl without money or connections ventures forth from her small town in search of a better life in Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel. The chronicle of Carrie Meeber's rise from obscurity to fame — and the effects of her progress on the men who use her and are used in turn — aroused a storm of controversy and debate upon its debut in 1900. The author's nonjudgmental portrait of a heroine who violates the contemporary moral code outraged some critics and elated others. A century later, Dreiser's compelling plot and realistic characters continue to fascinate readers.
Review
I'm going to start out by saying that I really liked this book, though it doesn't really seem like the kind of thing I would expect myself to like.
The writing was fantastic, but took some getting used to. I'm used to reading books where the underlying messages are just that: underlying. Not so here. He regularly pauses the story to give commentary, which sometimes appears unrelated to the story, but in the end ties in somehow. He has strong opinions, and he's not afraid to tell them to you. A lot. That does mean that this book in incredibly quotable though, which makes for a different kind of reading experience. There is a lot of foreshadowing and references to later plot events in the writing, and it almost makes me want to just start at the beginning again to catch it all.
The characters in this book are what make it so great. Despite Carrie being the title character, I would argue that she doesn't feel much like the main character. Really, none of them do, but if I had to pick one person to be the official "main character," it would be Hurstwood, even though he isn't even in the first portion of the book.Carrie is young and naive, but Dreiser doesn't use her to make it look bad. In fact, she is the character with, in some ways, the best ending. That of course, it a topic that could be hotly debated (and has caused some family discussions at my house). Drouet is a very realistic character who floats along in his own little bubble. Though he is a good deal smarter than Carrie, he still underestimates her.
The plot was rather unlike most modern books I'm used to reading. While it had the major elements of a story, the pacing felt a little strange. At some times near the end, I felt like I was reading a whole different book than I had been at the beginning. Carrie's life takes very major turn about half way through the book and at that point the whole focus changes. While the plot was good, the characters and writing take the stage here.
There was one point in the story when Hurstwood is about to make a major decision that will completely alter the course of his life. As he wavers between two options, his thoughts and emotions become more and more conflicted. What Dreiser managed to do in that scene was make Hurstwood a real person. In that scene, Hurstwood goes through a process of thoughts and emotions that was intensely relate-able. Everyone, at some point in their life, has had a moment when they debated doing something that they were not sure was right or moral.
I really love this book, if you can't tell, and I didn't even really notice that it was depressing (though other people have said it was). To me, it is a story of life, of the natural rise and fall of people, and while that certainly can be depressing, it can also be fascinating.
Who Should Read This Book
I recommend this book to people who enjoy classic literature (this doesn't read like a modern novel). I also think that people who like Edith Wharton (a favorite author of mine) who like this too. It shows a very different perspective on the same time and place.
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