![]() Indeed, his reputation for drinking and carousing with women is so notorious he earns the nickname "Hellcat". Sinclair Lewis' ferocious 1927 satire, "Elmer Gantry", traces the career of a young man who is sent to a theological seminary by his pious mother but initially has no interest in becoming a minister. There are so many elements to parody that Elmer's career needs its timespan and ups and downs. I disagree that the novel would have been better if shorter. And unfortunately the psychological insight into human condition and social commentary on how we spin religious experience are both still too relevant. history as they, like Elmer, proclaimed: "We shall yet make these United Sates a moral nation!" The sly satire reminded me of Anthony Trollope but in prose that is less dense and formal than the late Victorians-so this is easy listening but delightful prose made more wonderful by excellent narration. He could have been the architect of the ascendancy and co-opting of the religious right in recent U.S. I thought this would be dated, even corny, but Elmer could be journeying through some of today's megachurches, or peddling by turns the gospel of prosperity as a televangelist OR the laws of success as a new age guru. Not some silly "journal -entry-stream-of-consciousness" garbage that happened to sell a million copies because everyone reads while their on their treadmills and talking on their blackberry.Īs wonderful as Burt Lancaster was in the classic movie based on this novel, the film doesn't come close to capturing the social commentary and humour in Elmer Gantry. I wish all books were written with this much detail, clarity and care. But it didn't seem to matter much as Elmer and the reader made up for that. Elmer WAS captivating and his character (and the voice of the reader) really carried me through the entire book. My only complaint - and I fear this is because I am a child of TV/video games/movies, etc - is the story was not captivating. Sinclair Lewis reminds me of John Steinbeck in his clarity. The use of language was well thought out, intentional, meaningful, enticing and entertaining. Elmer Gantry was lovable and dreadful all at the same time. ![]() The character development was absolutely amazing. ![]() I wish all books could be written this well. ![]()
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