Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

2013 Reread #7

There are so many reasons why I had to make this book a reread for the year and they all have to do with the tone of the story. This book is funny. Not in-your-face funny or sarcastic, but subtly and intelligently. I love the humor Lewis uses to delve into the life of every-man, George Babbitt.

George is a conformist. He believes what the "good" men of the community believe. He belongs to all the right clubs, holds the right kind of dinner parties, has the correct hobbies, and well, essentially doesn't think for himself at all. His place in society is what's important so he owns the right things and behaves the right way to stay included. Yet, he's constantly contradicting himself between what he thinks and how he acts. It's almost like he's blind to how unoriginal he really is. So, we send a lot of time with George in the early part of the book, watching him do what he should to build his popularity within the outstanding sect of society. It doesn't mean he's a good person, he has just sided with the "right." It's comical how completely Babbitt can rationalize his choices and his behavior to keep him both "right" and good. For example, this book takes place during Prohibition, but it's okay for Babbitt to drink since that law should really only be in place for the poor who can't control themselves, or it's okay to make shady real estate sales because he's being supported by officials in local government who would never to do anything that was truly illegal. Scenarios like that pop up frequently at first.

So, poor George simply looks like another lemming until one day the switch flips and he suddenly things for himself. Of course this then leads to liberal ideals, having an affair, drinking too much, and hanging out with the "wrong" crowd. He loses his friends and begins to get bullied to come back over to the proper side. All for having an opinion and daring to live outside the straight and narrow of the elitist. Babbitt's new-found independence doesn't actually cause any major uproar in real terms. He still works and keeps his family roughly together even while cheating on his wife, but the fact that his choices become his own totally ostracizes him from all the daily activities he's used to doing. The whole concept of, "if you're not with us, you're against us," is a huge theme in this book. All it takes is one slip from where the ruling societal group thinks you belong and that's it.

Babbitt eventually gets his mid-life crisis out of his system and goes back to his old ways which he now fully believes in because he has chosen the lifestyle this time around rather than just gone with the flow. It doesn't change the fact that he ends the book where he began, unable to think for himself, giving in to the bullies.

The observations throughout this story are what appeal to the essayist I am at heart. There's so much to think about. Is Lewis saying conservatism is right because it's safe and is what everyone else (who has the power) agrees with? Is he saying that original thought, acting outside the lines of propriety as set by these big bullies will get you nowhere fast? We hardly ever get a liberal perspective in the story. Most of those characters drink and smoke too much, gossip too heavily, and party all the time while all the business owners and success stories in the community are conservatives. It's so tough to tell because of the element of humor. Babbitt is a funny guy regardless of which side he's on. Most of the characters have funny-sounding names so it's hard to take either side very seriously. The way everyone acts is just a little on the silly side as well. It's almost as if Lewis is poking fun at society as a whole, showing off how both sides are a little ridiculous, that extreme thought is a little silly no matter what direction it's heading. This vagueness of message in the commentary is another very appealing aspect of this book for me. I feel like it's a serious testament to society wrapped in a light blanket of ridiculous.

I'm glad I reread this book and that it had the same effect on me this time around as it initially did. I love books that feel timeless even though they cover a very specific time period. And while the outrage of seeing a woman's shoulders in the story really doesn't play today, the idea of extreme thought getting you into trouble does as does the idea of free-thought. This book doesn't feel like classic literature so even if you shy away from the old stuff, this one shouldn't be crossed off your list just yet.

Possession by A.S. Byatt

You can definitely tell this book was written by an academic. The level of extreme detail is fitting of an author determined to prove her argument (even though she's not really arguing anything here.) Her thoroughness also gives her away. The whole story is fully explained, no unanswered questions are left for the reader to interpret.

Possession is both a mystery and a love story. It's about taboo relationships reaching higher levels of intensity than traditional ones. There are two main sets of lovers: Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte, two poets from the 19th century and Roland and Maud, two modern academics studying the two poets respectively. When Roland comes across some unsent letters linking Ash to LaMotte he seeks out Maud to uncover the history of the poets' connection. The connection is so important because it could possibly change all existing interpretation of not only the poets' lives but their poetry as well. Roland and Maud begin their search pretty casually, but the subject matter is so significant to the scholars it would affect that other academics begin sniffing along the trail. The mystery here is at the center of the world for these characters even though, comparatively, it's not big mystery. Each character involved in the quest for answers brings an additional nugget of information into the story that helps solve things in the end.

The story is primarily told with a modern-day, third person narrator shedding light on the characters and the story. The characters themselves are all lost in such a way that allows this type of narrator to really shed light on every one's inner thoughts and feelings. It adds depth to the story. In addition to the present in the story, letters, poems, journal entries, and flashbacks are all used to reveal bit and pieces of the plot. Even with all these genres, the story never feels jumpy. I will admit that some parts were harder to get through than others because of the style (I wasn't a huge fan of the poetry,) but I finished the book satisfied with the story itself and how it unfolded.

It's hard to say whether or not I'd recommend this book. It's really for a very specific audience if you ask me, the kind of person who still loves classical literature and the suspense of the taboo from the 19th century. It's definitely not a summer, beach read.

Books Everyone Should Read

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

I was so excited to get to the last book in this series. Percy Jackson's five books have proven to be an intelligent and entertaining read full of Greek mythology and young characters determined to keep the world safe. They only have their own demigod abilities and strength of character to sustain them and while it's not always enough, the sheer will of these demigods exceeds the expectations of their enemies as well as their parents.

This fifth book takes us to the final battle foretold in a prophecy about a child of one of the big three gods - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. This demigod will have to make a decision that will determine whether Olympus falls or survives. We have no hints as to what this decision is going to be, but Percy, the son of Poseidon, internalizes the prophecy and decides that he just has to fight as much as he possibly can. He does everything to hone his skills and enhance his chance of defeating his enemies. He thinks he has to do it all on his own. Without giving away the final decision of the prophecy, the biggest lesson Percy learns is that it's not about how strong you are, but who you can depend on that really makes you a hero. His friends are imperative components in this battle and Percy would never get to the "decision" without the fight and support of those closest to him. Even his mom, a regular human jumps in when the time comes to do battle.

The theme of this book is trust. You see what happens when trust is threatened. You see what happens when trust is given even in uncertain terms. You see the reward of trusting your friends even when your brain is telling you to run off alone. It's a wonderful lesson for young readers to learn - that you aren't alone, that you can build important relationships through your actions, through trust. It's almost like a subliminal lesson since a younger reader would definitely be all caught up in the action of a very fast-paced book.

The series wraps up but it doesn't feel like it's over. I haven't ready up on the rest of Riordan's books, but I believe these demigods reappear in other series. I definitely would like to see more of Percy Jackson and his friends. It has been great to find a young adult series that's so engaging and fun and intelligent to read.