An American Tragedy

“…as in the case of his politics and his religion, he had borrowed all his notions of what was right and wrong from those about him. A single, serious, intelligent or rightly informing book had never been read by any member of this family—not one. But they were nevertheless excellent, as conventions, morals and religions go—honest, upright, God-fearing and respectable.” (p. 251)

Theodore Dreiser’s behemoth of a novel, An American Tragedy is a mostly annoying read, with only about the last third being worth the effort.

My first annoyance came with the excessive use of the two word phrase, and then; often as the opening of a new chapter. An electronic search for this phrase, in my Kindle eBook, found that it was used a total of 586 times in all 857 pages—almost once every page and a half, on average. That’s excessive.

My second annoyance? The very bland characters. There’s virtually none to like, whatsoever. And then none to too seriously dislike, either.

Last, but far from least, is Dreiser’s crappy, crap-covered world view. If I understand it at all—and I might well not—this novel seems to be trying to tell us that as a society, as a culture, America is disposed to producing mostly morally defective parasites, predators, prone to preying on one another. It’s nice to see not much has changed in a hundred years, but I’m not really buying it, Teddy.

Recommendation: And then, since I have no plans to ever read anything else by T.D., I’m hardly qualified to suggest anyone read this novel; even if it is an American Classic.

“This, then, most certainly was what it meant to be rich, to be a person of consequence in the world—to have money. It meant that you did what you pleased. That other people, like himself, waited upon you. That you possessed all of these luxuries. That you went how, where and when you pleased.” (p. 43)

“The wretched rich! The indifferent rich!” (p. 540)

RosettaBooks. Kindle Edition, 857 pages

Theodore Dreiser captures the American spirit in his brilliant portrait of early 20th century commerce and society. His observations are as relevant in the early 21st century as they were one hundred years ago.

Clyde Griffiths is the hero and the anti-hero of the novel. Clyde grows up poor with parents who preach on the streets for a not very good living. He lives the American dream as he rises both economically and socially. He moves from the position of bellhop to factory manager through cunning, avarice, and hard work. He rises from social outcast to man about town using the same skills.

Eventually he is forced to choose between two loves: his pregnant poor mistress and the wealthy small town social whom he dreams of as his wife. How he extricates himself from this situation causes his downfall and eventual ruin.

Through Griffiths rise and fall, and further fall, Dreiser weaves the themes of the importance of money and social class in America. His character has no moral compass, no conscience. Ultimately this leads to his annihilation.

I highly recommend this book to those who love American literature. It is not a book for the fainthearted. You need to dedicate yourself to this book when you read it. But your efforts will be rewarded by the gifts of an American masterpiece.

I am glad that I read this book because it is clearly a classic. The twists of the plot and the psychology of the main character kept me very involved throughout the book. The writing was well-done, but because of the era in which the book was written, there were times when the composition became an obstacle; passages and descriptions that went on for a paragraph or more so that I found it necessary to reread because I had lost the meaning amid all the verbosity. Nevertheless, a sad and complicated story, and well worth reading.

Don't you all miss the days when it seemed that every great artist was an unabashed socialist? Ok, so maybe I don't actually remember those days at all, but I sometimes feel like I lived for brief periods in the dark worlds of corrupt American capitalism painted by Dreiser, Steinbeck, and even Hemingway (oh, heck, let's through Kerouac in there too), among many others. Don't you? I have this purely romanticized vision of the turn of the twentieth century and the years that followed as a battleground of ideologies when it seemed like a system that valued human relationships (as opposed to supply and demand) might actually raise the human race to another evolutionary level. Of course, the intervening years have largely proven that dream to be just that--a dream--devoid of any grounding in human nature. But I like to reminisce in any case. Ah, those were the (completely nonexistent) days ...

No one, and I mean no one, is better at painting a straightforward tale of the evil influences of American capitalism than Theodore Dreiser. He's like the Brothers Grimm of the American working classes or like the Dr. Suess of anti-capitalist ideology--except that the Cat in the Hat wears a bushy mustache and carries a hammer and sickle. Though 25 years separate them, Sister Carrie (1900) and An American Tragedy (1925) are almost mirror images of each other as they treat the effect of unbridled American ambition on first women and then men, who grow up in Darwinistic America devoid (individually or collectively) of any strong moral compass. The fact that Dreiser's novels continue to be relevant in the twenty-first century is a testament to his ability to find universal and enduring themes.

An American Tragedy was based upon well-publicized actual events in upstate New York in 1906. Here's the short, short version of the story: upwardly-mobile boy from a solid family takes advantage of country girl; aristocratic third-party female then expresses interest in boy; boy dumps country girl for a chance at the good life; but country girl is pregnant; boy thinks, "what to do ... I know ... murder," or is it? Maybe it was just an accident. I will say that in the actual events, the boy was convicted of murder and executed by electric chair. But you'll have to read the book itself to find out what happens to his on-page persona, Clyde Griffiths.

This is one of a very few books that I have re-read over the course of my life. And usually I find that my understanding of the story has changed in the interim. Not so here. Dreiser is forever an idealist and an advocate for the redemptive power of empathy. Though his dream seems further away now than ever, it is still undeniably enjoyable to inhabit that world for a week or two. Give it a shot ...

Poor boy meets poor girl; they fall in love; poor boy then meets rich girl; they fall in love; unfortunately, in the meantime poor girl becomes pregnant without many options in turn of the century America, other than to marry the father. Which is what she demands of the poor boy, Clyde Griffiths. And of course, proving the axiom that it is just as easy to fall in love with a rich girl as a poor one, Clyde prefers instead the rich girl, her lifestyle, her friends, all that she represents to someone like himself. How Clyde gets himself into this fix and out of it is the plot of Dreiser's classic novel. It is a terrific page turner as you root for Clyde to escape his family, make his way in the city, meet "a nice girl". When faced with the dilemma, appreciated in its context (many many moons before Roe v. Wade), you brainstorm with him to try to figure out some good way out of the situation-how to help him get to his happy ending. And at last as events overtake him, the reader is torn between loyalty to Clyde and ... well I can't give away the ending. A great story, and my understanding is that it was taken from a true story. If you are a movie fan, the story was updated and re-told in "A Place in the Sun" in 1951 wth a beautiful young Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in the starring roles. But the movie, though nominated for several Academy Awards, is a pale imitation of Dreiser's book. If you want this story, do yourself a favor and read the book first.

As with some, i read this book for a school assigment (we had to read books to get pointsand a certian ammoiunt of points per smester, long story). When i fist saw the thickness of the book, i was scared a little, and when i opened the front cover and saw the woards "Property of (school name censored) Colored School" and that the last checkout date was over 50 years ago i knew that it would be fun reading a book not read by others in so long. Some of my favorite parts of the book was when he was talking about how Clyde was getting..3 dollars a day i think... and how that was a really good salary, really helps set the tone for a time past. If you didnt know that it was fiction, with so much detail and the way that it is written, one could possibly think that Clyde was a real person.

Brilliantly subtle, An American Tragedy is the harrowing tale of one young man's struggle with life's uncompromising reality. A poor boy from Kansas City, Clyde Griffiths is disconcerted by his parents' naïve religiosity and dreams of transcending his abstemious upbringing. He takes to the streets to start a life of his own, and is immediately enthralled by the grandeur of lavish hotels and clubs, worshipping their wealthy patrons.
Working as a bellhop for a luxurious hotel, all seems to go well until he gets caught in a group of careless kids-trouble. He eventually flees Kansas City, his hometown, after a little girl is killed in a car accident with which he was involved. He takes up a job in a fancy Chicago club, where me meets his rich and successful Uncle, Samuel Griffiths, who owns a collar business in New York-more trouble. Clyde finds work in his uncle's factory, where he falls in love with and impregnates a girl, Roberta Alden, who works for him, despite the rule that no supervisor is permitted to become involved with his workers.
This is when the real trouble begins for Clyde, as he falls in love with another girl, Sondra Finchley, just after he gets the news of Roberta's pregnancy. Sondra is certainly no worker, she is the daughter of a rich family in the wealthy town of Lycurgus, new York. Sondra, who becomes infatuated with Clyde despite her mother's advice not to become involved with a poor boy, represents the world of success, happiness, freedom and wealth to which Clyde desperately aspires. Sondra is the answer to Clyde's dreams, she is, as Dreiser puts it, a girl with everything asking Clyde for nothing, and Roberta is a girl with nothing asking Clyde for everything-not least among these things is marriage. The only solution Clyde's young mind concocts is murder-yes, murder. He takes Roberta out on a boat and causes her to drown, but he leaves a trail of suspicious clues behind, and after an emotional and perhaps unfair trial, he is sentenced to death at 21 years of age.
Thus, Clyde is so star-struck by the attraction of Sondra and her comfortable world that he sacrifices his life in pursuit of it. An American Tragedy is as emotionally difficult to endure as King Lear or Othello. Dreiser is not kidding; this is most certainly a tragedy in its most severe and harrowing form. An American tragedy stands as an American masterpiece along with such epics as Grapes of Wrath, Patterson or Howl. It is difficult to think that even one reader would not come away from this book without a more compassionate heart

This was a difficult book. It is very, very long. The basic plot was neatly summarized in the excellent movie, but the novel explores Clyde's life experiences and feelings so well that one could understand his reasons for doing what he did. It was almost as if he were a relative or close friend and I cared what happened to him, but became very upset by his unwillingness to resist his impulses. One minute I'm thinking he's rotten to the core, the next I'm hoping somehow he can extricate himself and find a happy ending.

I think the author's genius lies in creating this ambivalence in the reader. I just think he might well have done it in half the number of pages.

I read this book for my own enjoyment many decades ago and have never forgotten it. I was reading for months and months, and the more I read, the more compelling it became, as tho I were being sucked deeper and deeper into an immense oceanic whirlpool. Dreiser's masterpiece slowly became more real than my life, or seemed to.
I remember reading it in the laundromat when a Princeton student noticed me and jokingly said "oh, do you have to read that thing?" "No," I replied, "I'm reading it for myself and it's wonderful!" End of conversation.
But I like Wagnernerian opera too, so it would seem that I can handle length better than many people who prefer an artistic "quickie."

The film "A Simple Plan" could have easily been called "An American Tragedy," and the book "An American Tragedy" could have just as easily been called "A Simple Plan." The plan at the book's center seems so simple indeed. The novel's protagonist, Clyde Griffiths, impregnates a girl below his social station, and he's so terrified by the idea of being exposed and ruining his chances at a life as part of the social elite (and losing the local well-to-do beauty to whom he's hitched himself) that he actually finds himself driven to kill her as his only escape. But Clyde has a simple mind, and his efforts to claw his way out of a desperate situation that inexorably suffocates him is compelling fiction.
Theodore Dreiser has been called one of the worst great writers in the history of literature, and that claim is justified. He can hardly compose a sentence that doesn't drop like lead from the tongue. He's especially fond of the double negative, which can become pretty tedious in a 900+ page novel. And in retrospect, the amount of plot on display in his novel does not seem to warrant its length, but somehow, I was able to overcome these two factors and find myself engrossed in it anyway. It doesn't for one second become boring or slow. And it offers some especially candid and frank ideas about the nature of guilt and the culpability of those who take lives, whether they're working on the side of crime or the law. Most fascinating for me were the novel's final pages, when Clyde tries to turn to religion for solace when he's at his loneliest, but can't get around the notion that there's really nothing to turn to.
Dreiser pulls off quite a feat by making all of his characters sympathetic. I didn't want Clyde to get away scot-free with what he'd done, but my heart couldn't help but go out to him. Likewise, Roberta, the girl he wrongs, could have come across as shrewish in another author's hands (she does in the film version, "A Place in the Sun," if you're interested in a literature to film comparison) but she doesn't here. Even Sondra, who could have been so unlikeably spoiled, comes across as essentially a warm character.
1925 was the literary year for deconstructing the American Dream. Both "An American Tragedy" and "The Great Gatsby" came out that year, and while I have to admit that "Gatsby" is a better written book, "Tragedy" just has a visceral appeal for me, and it's the one I enjoyed more.

Dreiser's story is very easy to read. He writes in a very descriptive style, giving many details to the story. I found it very interesting that the story was based on the life of Chester Gillette who drowned his pregnant girlfriend in a New York lake in 1906. The obvious tragedy in the book is the murder of an innocent girl and then the execution of the young man who killed the girl. But the real tragedy is one that is found in our society. Self-interest comes before any other value in our society. This self-interest is characterized by social and economical gain. While I believe the worship of social gain has subsided in the last century, the desire for economic gain has grown a great deal. So the real tragedy lies in this- that many people don't value anything other than self.
The book closely follows the life of Clyde Griffiths, a weak individual who seems to have no will of his own. The author tries to portray the main character as a cog with no freedom in society. This theme of Naturalism gives too much weight to the influence of genetics and environment. In reality, the main character made awful decision that were deserving of punishment.
The story was very interesting, and I found myself getting angry at the main character as he made poor (tragic) choices. At times, the book was slow because of the descriptive style. But overall the book was interesting, and shows the American tragedy.

This masterpiece by Theodore Dreiser depicts the story of ClydeGriffiths, a youth in 1900s America who wishes only to achieve what hebelieves to be the American dream; high social standing andpriviledge.
He grows up in many varied cities in the United States due to his parents religious self-employed missionary work, but finds the beginnings of his life in Kansas City, Missouri. Introduced into a new concept, the working world, and friends he never knew he could have, Clyde is launched into a whirpool of social acceptance. A dream come true, maybe, but this gives him his first taste of "the good life", which he soon develops a ravenous hunger for.
Clyde's weakness and eventual downfall is women, and this is realized very early in the text. His outright lust for the female sex is relevant to the time in which Dreiser wrote the book (1925), and cannot be taken offense to; it is presented tastefully by Mr. Dreiser.
From Kansas City, MO to Chicago, IL to Lycurgus, NY, Clyde is on a quest to attain what he desires. And seemingly enough, morals are out of the question. Nothing will be able to stand in his way. Trouble does eventually befall Mr. Clyde Griffiths though, in the form of an illicit relationship... This is only the early stage of his troubles. The novel actually got its basis from transcripts of the 1906 Gillette-Brown murder case in Moose Lake, N.Y....
An all-too-true view of life in early America and a young man's hunger for wealth, An American Tragedy is a novel that will remain in a reader's mind long after the last words are read.
Dreiser's characters are easily related to, the plot is realistic and the novel is incredibly well-written. Any time spent reading this piece is most definitely time well spent.

Dreiser's writing is dense and his character development is often lacking. This is clearly an author in search of an editor. But, the story is compelling. Better entitled The American Tragedy, Dreiser probes the dark side of the American dream. Dreiser is both a realist and a fatalist who manages to craft a 900 page book without one heroic character and perhaps only one sympathetic one. But for a book written in 1925 it raises questions that are still topical today: Why do seemingly normal people do horrible things? What are the implications of Americans refusal to acknowledge the impact of our class differences? What is the cummulative impact of our drive for material goods.
A satisfying read.

I skipped the first chapter and have failed in three attempts to read beyond the third page of the book's third section (the trial). What I did read, chapters 2-47, delivered the most magical reading experience of my life. Every great novelist is essentially a poet. Perhaps Dreiser was a clunker in other works, but the first two books of American Tragedy is some of the best writing I've ever encountered. I'd rank it with Proust, Faulkner and Toni Morrison's Beloved. A few books shanghai you and take you captive for life. They put your life on hold while you read them. 500 pages of pitch perfect virtuosity, as resonant as the best poetry, as startling as the best movie.

The situation in this book, a couple in a canoe, could be used to understand a lot of situations, if all of the incite provided by Theodore Dreiser were applied. Most obviously to me, it seems that American policy in Vietnam was shaped by someone who thought that the map of Nam looked a lot like a canoe, without noticing that the American half looked a lot more like a canoe than the other half did. I also find that the book is related to philosophy. The guy in the book is not presented as knowing a lot of philosophy, but most of what most people would accept as good philosophy is like knowing that a guy has a choice between being happy that a woman is not pregnant, or happy that a woman is pregnant, but if he is unhappy that a woman is pregnant, he is more likely to fall back on something in his unconscious, like the man in this book kept thinking about her inability to swim. I think women would have been more likely to learn to swim back when this book was set if they didn't have to wear so many clothes. Some of my contacts with philosophy have led me to believe that philosophy is a lot like the clothes that the woman was wearing. The woman in the water might have been a lot closer to learning to swim if she had gotten out of her clothes, but she was at a public lake.
The position that the guy finds himself in at the end of the book, being considered responsible for the woman's death, greatly resembles the failure of the American policy of Vietnamization in the 1970s. America had the ability to withdraw its forces from Vietnam by promising both sides that it would pay them to keep killing each other, but actually looking at it that way seemed like a bad deal to the US Congress, which was supposed to make it happen by providing the money. People who understand this book might know what I mean.

I first read this novel in a high school literature class, and it immediately became one of my all-time favorite books.
In a nutshell: the main character, Clyde, seems to be a relatively decent person, but once his moral fiber is tested, it fails! Miserably! He just wants to be loved...but it has to be by the right social group. Hence the tragedy. Dreiser is an absolute genius, and this is probably his greatest novel. Everyone in America should read this book, and remember that selfishness and heartlessness will get you nowhere, at least nowhere you would really want to be. Highly recommended-I just cannot stress how amazing this book is. Enjoy!

This book has a great storyline however the author's insistence on using a late Victorian dialect of the English language long buried was straining. In the characters speech so many double negatives to imply a positive and the characters confusing lines of thinking made me have to renew once and check out this this title twice just to get through it! I read to the end as I was sympathetic to Clyde and wondered of his fate but it was a tortuous read with not a few too many ;) biblical references at the end.

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

Theodore Dreiser captures the American spirit in his brilliant portrait of early 20th century commerce and society. His observations are as relevant in the early 21st century as they were one hundred years ago. I highly recommend this book to those who love American literature. It is not a book for the fainthearted. You need to dedicate yourself to this book when you read it. But your efforts will be rewarded by the gifts of an American masterpiece.

I enjoyed reading this book. With its vivid scenes from the poor streets of Kansas City to the fatal lake to the beautiful Sondra Finchley and her glamorous life. It showed just how incredible a life could have been for the main character if he had not made hasty decisions and followed his illusionous dream instead of the true reality of life around him. If you want to read a great novel about the life of teenager and later his early twenties trying to reach for that American Dream, a dream that changed so many people's lives in the early 20th century, this is a great work!

The story follows Clyde,'age 16. His parents are evangelists which has lead to his family moving around a lot, currently they live in Kansas City. He was disappointed with his family so he takes up a job at the Green-Davidson hotel, and with all stories he gets distracted/intertwined by a girl. He ends up getting in a car crash with some friends when he runs away to safety. I give it 4 out of 5 Green-Davidson hotels because of the intricacy of the story, but only 4 because how complex it can be at times.

This novel provides an engrossing view of American society in the early 1900s by following the partial rise and complete downfall of Clive Griffiths. The examination of Griffiths's life offers comments on poverty, wealth, religion, politics and morality. Griffiths is truly a flawed hero, and the reader will have trouble finding sympathy for him despite his deprived background. His greatest sin is that he is never satisfied; he always wants more. In the end he discovers that "more" comes at great cost to himself and those who care for him.

It's a tragic but story about Clyde Griffiths a poor relation to a rich, factory owner. In Book 1 he gets in trouble with the law after being a car that killed a young girl. He gets a job at his uncle's factory where he eventually meets poor but beautiful Roberta Alden, a factory hand. He meets Sondra Finchley, a rich girl who associates with Clyde's cousin.
However I believe the reason he was with Sondra Finchley was not love but curiousity of her being rich.
The murder trial towards the end of the book was a bit long and almost boring but the end is worth it.
I cried several times throughout the book. For Clyde and Roberta too.
It's based on a true story about the Gilette family. You know, the ones you buy razors from.
Read it and let it open up a world.

Classics can be such drudgery, but this one rarely fell into that category. The premise is very good: poor boy grows up wanting to be rich. poor boy starts working for rich uncle. poor boy falls in love with poor factory girl. poor boy also fa...lls in love with rich girl and start moving in high society circles. poor boy gets poor girl pregnant. poor boy decides to kill poor girl so he can be with rich girl. And on and on. The hardest part to read was the dialogue. Apparently the most used word in the 1920's was "Gee". Other than that, it was so very good. I was repulsed by the main character, Clyde. I also felt sorry for him. Dreiser captured perfectly the class struggle in America. It doesn't seem much different today than in 1925 when this was published. So many of us seem to be clawing our way somewhere. It brings to mind something my college professor said to me, "When you're climbing the corporate/social ladder, remember you're always looking up at the next a-hole."

Clyde Griffiths, an ambitious social climber with grave personal flaw, fell in and out of love with an adoring factory girl, but abandons his moral anchor when the opportunity of fortune and status avail itself in the affection of an upper-class dame. Affectingly developed characters, biographical realism and a simple, linear yet encompassing plot line lend this fiction its masterpiece mantle.

Theodore Dreisers massive book An American Tragedy is an almost complete life story of Clyde Griffiths, a man born into a poor relgious family who is corrupted by the society in which he lives and commits an outrageous crime in the name of money and success.
Though Dreisers book has an important message, the story is just weighed down with unneccesary detail. Attempting to read this exhaustive book is a burden and I don't recommend picking it up unless you have to for some college or high school course. Dreiser feels the need to put every bit of information that he has researched into the novel. Granted it is exhaustive and paints an effective picture but it is hell on the reader.
Dreiser also has to be one of the worst technical writers I have ever read. He is like the anti-Nabokov. He has absolutley no grasp of language or flow. Your taught in 11th grade english not to use however and also after every point.
I would recommend the movie, A Place in the Sun with Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. The movie was enjoyable and you get the message of the story without all the unneccesary typing. I would also recommend The Great Gatsby, which has the same message and is only around 200 pages long. I gave the book 2 stars because it does have a point, but I sure didn't enjoy reading it.

Writing in a period when the "poor boy makes good'' myth was an integral part of American life, Dreiser turned it upside down (as he did for women in "Sister Carrie.'') . This indeed is Poor Boy Makes Bad. I've read this a half-dozen times and I can't find many flaws other than the occasionally murky prose and my prediliction for visualizing the protagonists as Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters and even Raymond Burr in his cameo as the prosecutor. A wonderful book.

Highly recommend.
I knew about the movie "A Place in the Sun", but did not realize it was made from this book. I just happened to pick up the book and it was wonderful. The author can make you fall in love with a character in one paragraph and two paragraphs later, make you hate him. Amazing writing.
Yes, it is long, but well, well worth the effort.

Dreiser exposes the seamy side of the American middle-class aspiration to succeed socially and economically. He does this by concentrating on the fortunes of Clyde, who starts out in the 800-page book as an unfortunate victim of his evangelical parents, forced to sing on street corners in the Kansas City business district. Clyde gradually becomes the personification of the 'banality of evil', as he drives himself on, goaded by his own poor self-image.
Dreiser's voice, in keeping with the Naturalist style, is extremely subtle -- many times I forgot it was he who presented the character, I felt as though I had discovered him by myself. This is the most successful form of fiction writing, probably due to Dreiser's background as a journalist. The contemplation of evil action, together with a fascinating treatment of Evangelical Christianity, makes this book a sort of moral treatise... except that we are left with an ambiguity, the amoral anti-hero being our total concern.
I could hardly put the book down. It was totally absorbing and consuming

In An American Tragedy, Dreiser sets out to outline the pathos of an American Dream gone wrong. In Clyde Griffiths, you have Everyman, someone who strives to rise from poverty to riches, from anonymity to wealth. But to reach that goal, he resorts to falsehood,adultery and murder. The early part of this epic focuses on Clyde's childhood, his religious upbringing and his subsequent rebellion against the austere and joyless existence he is destined to live had he stayed in his parent's mission.
Working as a bell-boy in a hotel, Clyde comes under the influence of other wayward youths, which will play a big part in his having to leave Kansas. In Chicago, he meets his wealthy uncle, who offers him a job at his collar factory in Lycurgus, and it is there that Clyde meets and falls in love with Roberta, a worker under his charge. Again, fate deals Clyde a bad hand and he chances upon Sondra, a rich girl who catches his fancy and who, ultimately, leads to his demise. While the last part of this book can be tightened and shortened, Dreiser presents to the reader an excellent example of the power of great narrative. The ominous portents of Cylde's destruction is presented as his initial pursuit of Hortense, a less-wealthy version of Sondra. The irony of his first direct contact with Roberta on a boat on a lake, and her subsequent death in similar circumstances, cannot escape the reader. Clyde's inability to grasp his guilt even up to the end is a true reflection of human nature. Although Dreiser's sentence construction can, at times, be ponderous, the his descriptive and narrative powers more than make up for that. This 800-plus epic is well worth taking the time to read!

It took me all of eight months to slog through this novel, but it was well worth the time investment. Dreiser's passionate humanism shines through a grim tale of a naif who has bought into the American ideal of wealth and status - and how those aspirations become his undoing. The theme is apropos in our materialistic times. Drieser is often criticized for awkward writing, but any novel that makes me think and feel so deeply about our culture and its values is a masterpiece in my book

I read several reviews of this book. I myself read it many years ago, and remember the story quite vividly. It is a fascinating read and really brought you into the characters lives. But all of the reviews I have read have referred to it as fictional (and one mentioned that it seemed so real that you could imagine it was a real story). Don't most people know that it was, indeed, a real story? Yes, the names and places have been changed, but Dreiser's American Tragedy is based on an event that occurred in upstate New York in the early 1900's. Clyde is based on the life of Chester Gillette, who was the son of religious zealots, and his relationship with Grace Brown, a girl he met while working in his uncle's shirt factory in or around Herkimer, New York.

Chester wanted nothing more than to be accepted by the upper class, but when Grace, a commoner, became pregnant, and demanded that he marry her, his dreams were shattered. In the end, Grace ends up at the bottom of a lake. In truth, the lake was Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks of New York State. Chester never does admit to his guilt, but one can gather from his lack of defense of himself, that he was indeed guilty. The real story is actually a book titled Murder In The Adirondacks.

It too is a fascinating read, and most definitely, a true story.

Inspired by the sensational details from a famous 1906 murder case -- in which a young man named Chester Gillette killed his girlfriend Grace Brown for being 'inconveniently' pregnant -- Theodore Dreiser had all the elements to paint a great portrait of American society on its rise as an industrial power at the turn of the 20th century.

The social barriers between the poor and the (new) rich, the tugging materialism, and an underlying puritanism made up the social fabric around which Dreiser recreated Clyde Griffiths as Gillette and Roberta Alden as Brown. Driven by their human impulses and then trapped by social and moral prejudices, the outcome was a monumental tragedy of wasted young lives for both characters.

This novel is long (over 800 pages), and the writing style is torturous. It could probably be more appreciated for its social-historical value than as 'classic literature'. If you haven't read anything by Dreiser previously, you may want to try 'Sister Carrie' before tackling this one.

Theodore Dreiser is not a great linguist. He sometimes structures his text awkwardly. Although he can be excused by the dated language (the book was written in 1925), he tends toward excessive use of some words (e.g., I think he uses the word "gay" about 567 times!). At points within the narrative, it slows to almost an excruciating crawl.
Despite these drawbacks, Dreiser succeeds in acquiring and sustaining one's attention over a long book. His character development is second to none and, in my opinion, demonstrates significant growth since writing "Sister Carrie". You'll find yourself first rooting for Clyde (after all, he's the protagonist and at least in Book One, he is a sympathetic character), then being shocked by him, then, finally, damning him (and grieving over "her", the truly tragic figure of the novel). The book left me shaking my head at the waste and, yes, tragedy of it all and the role society played in it.
This book is a must read for any serious student of American literature. It combines the superlative character development noted above with a keen understanding of the caste-system of American society and the gulfs that separate the classes.
After the depth of drama preceding it, the simple "Souvenir" at the end is powerful in its impact. I agree with others that the Afterword by Irving Howe is well worth reading and adds some wonderful context to the work.
Finally, I'd recommend that, like a good film, the reader not enter into the novel already knowing the ending....its length requires some dedication and the experience is much more suspenseful and rewarding when one is open to surprises.

An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser is a powerful novel of one's battle with self and the temptaions of society, something everyone faces. Clyde Griffiths, the main character, was raised by a religiou mother and father and taught to seek God for what he needs. Clyde desires more. His desire for riches and women leads to his greed and lust.
Dreiser uses and abundance of foreshadowing and symbolism in his novel. For instance, the Hotel Green-Davidson in which Clyde is employed at the beginning of the novel as a bellhop is is described as its "workers doing everything at the sound of a bell," like fighters do in a boxing ring. Dreiser also uses military words while describing the hotel. Together they represent battle, like the battle Clyde faces within himself.
This is a great novel. It is full os suspense and action. Dreiser incorperates many aspects of "American Tragedies" in this book. It contains lust, money, power, an illigitamate child, lying, cheating, and eventually even murder.
I strongly recommend this novel, An American Tragedy to everyone. It is a wonderful and enjoyable book for both men and women of all ages.

Coming from a fan of tragedy I hope those who read this review will complacently accept my words when saying that this novel is rich in emotion, and character. Dreiser does a great job at keeping the descriptions to the bare minimum...only the details necessary to paint the picture needed to tell the story which is often a relaxing break after reading works such as Ayn Rand's, or Upton Sinclair's. I still havn't seen the film "A Place in the Sun", so naturally the book left me at the tip of my seat in surprise and excitement. This book is worth your attention for its emotional potency, moral advocating, brilliantly written scenarios and characters with believable emotions, and much more. You should read this....

Dreiser does a very nice job in this novel of recreating early 20th Century America from the perspective of an ambitious young man, Clyde Griffiths. Through Clyde, we get a taste of what it's like to be poor, to be middle class, and even to be wealthy. Despite Clyde's weaknesses, we rather like him, and we genuinely care what happens to him, for the most part. Naturally, bad things happen to Clyde, mostly due to his own fault. It is a tragedy, after all.
Clyde, thanks to the family name, is quickly brought into the social scene of his new hometown. He develops a relationship with a co-worker (Roberta) but as soon as a young lady of wealth and social status (Sondra)shows favor to him, Clyde looses interest in Roberta. He and Roberta produce a baby and the situation spins out of Clyde's control. Eventually Clyde's self interests outweigh his sense of right and wrong, resulting in tragedy.
The Characters are pretty easy to relate to and the plot is very realistic. I liked this book mainly because it was easier for me to understand Drieser's style of writing.
I read this book faster than most other books that I read. I think it's because I didn't always procrastinate reading it. most books I read I will put off reading until I really have too, this book was a breeze to read. I enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a big plot line with twists.

A fabulous novel but limiting my access to a mere fourteen out of scores of chapters make this e-edition poor at best. If I'm going to read a famous and classic novel, I prefer to be able to finish it. I live and work in Beijing, so ebooks are a life-saver for me. This edition not only is incomplete, but ends before the first book ends--at chapter 14; there are 19 Chapters in Book One. This is an embarrassment to your products and services in my opinion. Please add the remainder of Chapters and Books to this worth-while e-read!

I am a senior in high school and read this book as part of my Advanced Placement English class. Many of the books that are on our curriculum are "the classics" that everyone reads during high school. Although they all have an important message and are worthwile to read, none of them has touched me in the way this book has. It has had an effect on me the way no movie, book, or other work has ever had on me. There were times that I felt like I couldn't read any more, not because I was bored with it or because it was difficult getting through the words, but instead it had made such a tremendous impression on me that I could read no further although I wanted to so much. I just need to take a second away from the book to think about what had just happened. I was so into the novel that I lost my sense of reality. I was in the novel. I felt the pain and happiness of the character. I have felt things somewhat like this before but never near this as strong as this. Theodore Dreiser has created a true work of art. I honestly believe that he has created the most tragic story ever written. It is not for anyone who is cold or insensitive, for if you don't truly feel the pain of Clyde Griffiths and Roberta Alden, you can not feel the whole effect of the book. Once again I strongly reccomend this book to anyone with a heart they are willing to put through a little pain in order to experience a feeling that cannot be found anywhere else

Although this book is quite long, I found it to be quite interesting, and Dreiser's prose was by far as far away from F. Scott Fitzgerald prose as you can get, making for easier reading. I found it hard to put this book down because I was able to relate to Clyde Griffiths, to a certain extent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It's brilliantly written, and a very accurate reflection of the 1920's.

This being my first encounter with a classic novel, I was at first very skeptical. How would I like it? Would it drone on an on as classics are so infamous for doing? To my surprise and delight, I came to adore the book and its main character, Clyde Griffiths. The novel follows Clyde on his personal journey through life and its struggles. Coming from a very humble background, Clyde encountered many conflicts regarding his financial and social standings. He aspired to be like his wealthy relatives who displayed all the ideals of the American dream.
Clyde's journey came with its peaks and valleys. At times, it seemed as if he was moving forward and being accepted. Though, it can be said that Clyde's seemingly endless pursuit was an unsuccessful one. All it succeeded at doing was corrupting and creating a shallow, selfish, mis-guided man.
All in all, the novel was inticately and effectively written with wonderful detail and foreshadowing. The way Theodore Dreiser described the characters made me feel like I knew themor people like them. That and the plot twists has made this one of my favortie novels. The only complaint I have is that it was terribly long; with over 200 characters and 800+ pages. This high schooler would highly recommend AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY to anyone who likes a good, thought provoking story.

Loved this book but it is very long. I thought about the length of this book and how I would shorten it but couldn't bear to see anything cut.
This book was the subject of a movie by the same name in 1931 starring Sylvia Sidney as "Bert" and Phillips Holmes as Clyde. I have yet to see this movie but I have read that it stays closer to the original novel than 1951 remake titled "A Place In The Sun" starring Montgomery Clift as Clyde, Elizabeth Taylor as Angela Vickers and Shelly Winters in the role of "Bert" renamed for this movie Alice Tripp. Montgomery Clift was born to play the part of Clyde, renamed in this version George Eastman, one cannot imagine anyone else in the role. Elizabeth Taylor is beautiful and her portrayal of Angela (Sondra Finchley)is compassionate and convincing. However, I found Shelly Winters portral of the Bert character tiresome and heavy handed.
A Place In The Sun departs greatly from the book but is still a Hollywood classic.

I'd agree with the other critics who gave this novel one star but give it two for Dreiser's perseverance in writing nearly eight hundred pages of drivel. I can only sympathize with the poor editor who had to read every word of this and make corrections; I shudder at the thought that it was longer before the editor took an axe to it.

If Dreiser were simply telling a story, this could have been handled in less than 350 pages. The first part alone -- the criminal's past in Kansas City -- could have been handled in less than 100. This was a long, hard slog through quicksand. It probably took me longer to read this than it did to convict and execute the real criminal on whose story this book is based.

I don't often suggest this, but get the Cliff's Notes version of this. It's just not worth the effort.

An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser is a compelling novel about a boy's struggle with himself and his position in society. Born into a poor, religious family, he desires to live among the upper class socialites. He almost achieves this when he moves out to live with his rich uncle. But his lust for money and women brings about a trial for murder ...
Although this may sound like an incredible novel, it is indeed "An American Tragedy." I would not recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a page turner and being kept on the edge of their seat. Dreiser's use of foreshadowing and symbolism are excellent, yet the details are endless. This book could have easily been compacted into 300 pages rather than 856 if it weren't for the neverending details Dreiser wrote into every paragraph. Besides the details, there were also nearly 200 characters. This made it very difficult to keep up with who was who and which one was important. In the end, for the reasons I stated above, if you have a lot of time on your hands, you might enjoy this book.

This book was very good. It was descriptive, well written, and the story itself was one that many of us could relate to. A story of somebody trying to become rich and famous but failing miserably. The only possible bad point is that it becomes tedious at times, although at other times it really speeds up. A terrific read, a terrific novel that should be read.

What intrigued me most was just how modern the world portrayed in AT is. I always find it fascinating just how little has changed since the beginning of the century - still the same basic need for love and sex obscured as ever by a smog of class and religious hypocrisy.
The book is a wonderful example of sustained stroytelling and although Dreiser does trip over his own sentences, it is never sufficient to break the flow.
The only weakness, if you can call it a weakness, is that you know what is going to happen. The moralist in Dreiser is never going to let Clyde off, and the book is such an oil tanker that once arrested you just know he hasn't got a chance - it'd take at least 200 pages to change direction.
Read it and weep (sic) and Sister Carrie.

Dreiser unfortunately catches a lot of bad press, especially from readers of my generation. He gets coupled with Dickens and James as being one of those tedious, unaffecting, verbally inflated novelists. I will grant that this label is partially deserved on Dreiser's part, but I found _An American Tragedy_ to be truly compelling in so many more ways than those other hogs of the English language.
This specific novel addresses self-delusion and the personal struggle to be someone whom you think you're supposed to be. Though it admittedly sounds trite, there is a little Clyde Griffiths in all of us, and the reader's potential to identify with such a revolting character should drive anyone to finish this immense tome with ease. In the very least, stick around for the chilling and compelling execution scene, which to me tops Capote's rendition in _In Cold Blood_, though they are similar in a variety of respects.
This is no doubt a book to settle into, but I believe it will surprise any reader who thinks that contemporary issues of sex and violence didn't appear in blunt terms in early twentieth-century novels.

Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) is one of the giants of American letters. His novel "Sister Carrie," written in 1900, is a cathedral of naturalist literature. Almost as epic as his novels was the constant state of warfare that existed between Dreiser and publishers who consistently refused to publish his books because of the shocking themes the author wrote about. One of his biggest battles involved "An American Tragedy," a sprawling book based on a real murder case that occurred in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. Dreiser used the Chester Gillette/Grace Brown episode as the basis for a story that strongly criticized America's infatuation with materialism and social status. In the Gillette case, a young dandy with an eye for the ladies impregnated a young woman and then drowned her in a lake when her condition threatened to put an end to his social life. During the subsequent trial of Chester Gillette, all of America readily soaked up the sordid details of the case. Gillette, vehemently denying that he had anything to do with Grace Brown's murder despite his conviction on a first-degree murder charge, died in the electric chair at Auburn State Prison on March 30, 1908. Dreiser went to such lengths investigating the case for his book that he even took his wife out on the lake where Gillette committed his crime, apparently worrying his spouse that he might recreate the crime.
In "An American Tragedy," Chester Gillette becomes Clyde Griffiths, the son of itinerant evangelists who roam the country operating missions for the destitute. His parents often take Clyde and his siblings out on the streets of the city in order to sing hymns and hand out religious tracts. While in Kansas City, Clyde reaches the age of sixteen and decides to strike out on his own. Tired of the austere life led by his family, Clyde secures a job as a bellboy at a big hotel downtown. The money he earns and the friends he makes at the hotel quickly lead to Clyde's indoctrination into the fast life of fine clothes, fine food, and fast women. An unfortunate incident with a "borrowed" car leads to his hasty departure from Kansas City to points east.
After a few years of drifting from job to job under an assumed name, Clyde happens to run into a rich uncle at a hotel in Chicago. The uncle, moderately impressed with his nephew's appearance and attitude, offers the young man a job at his collar factory in Lycurgus, New York. Clyde jumps at the opportunity, picturing himself rising quickly at the factory into a world of wealth and privilege. The reality turns out to be quite the opposite. His uncle is indifferent to Clyde's presence, rarely inviting him out to the family estate and starting him at the lowest, dirtiest job in the factory. A cousin named Gilbert also proves troublesome to Clyde's aspirations. Gilbert sees his poor cousin as a real threat to his own position as heir apparent at the factory. Moreover, Gilbert and Clyde are astonishingly similar in appearance. Despite these obstacles, Clyde is optimistic that he will win over his cousin and uncle after a few months time. But he needs to move fast when he meets Sondra Finchley, the daughter of one of the richest families in Lycurgus. If only Clyde could woo this pretty girl and get a good position at the factory! All his dreams would come true!
Clyde's dreams nearly do reach fruition until he finds himself in a spectacularly scandalous position. For when Sondra finally decides to make a move for Clyde, she doesn't know about his involvement with a poor factory girl named Roberta Alden. The inevitable eventually happens: Clyde impregnates Roberta at a time when Sondra professes her love for him. Griffiths is in a real pickle now, for he must drop Roberta so he can position himself with Sondra. Clyde convinces Roberta to seek a way out of the pregnancy but various methods fail to work. All seems disaster until Clyde remembers an article in the paper about a drowning at a local lake, and an unthinkable plan begins to form.
The minute detail of Clyde's rise and eventual fall leaves no stone unturned. The chapters covering the defense and prosecution's questioning of Clyde during his murder trial cover some seventy pages. Sometimes the details are too much, such as a description of a car accident that takes up way too many pages. Dreiser's mania for detail may be the biggest failing of "An American Tragedy" because the reader quickly becomes impatient with the pace of the story as the narrative bogs down under a mass of minutiae. Moreover, the author's convoluted prose style leaves a lot to be desired. His language is often so dense that even H.L. Mencken commented on it in the introduction to the story.
BUT, and this is a big but, Dreiser's story is deeply affecting. It is well worth reading 850 pages to experience the mind blasting intensity of the story. This is truly a tragedy, as Clyde's crime ruins dozens of people's lives. And such a powerful conclusion! Clyde's march to the electric chair brought tears to my eyes, especially when his mother chucks all the religious chatter, grabs her son, and murmurs "my son, my baby." Then note how Dreiser brings the story full circle after the execution. That is what the author does with this story: he makes you feel for nearly every character in the narrative. Ultimately, "An American Tragedy" is a great book with a few niggling problems. You will be glad you read it, though.

I read this book when I was a sophomore in high school and decided to read it again (40+ years later). Although I remembered the basic plot, it was well worth the time I invested in reading the book for a second time. This is a classic book and takes the reader through the life and choices made by a young man. The reader will initially feel sympathy for the main character and will then feel rage toward him. Highly recommended.

I don't want to insult this book, because so many people hold it in such high regard. After all, it is listed on four respected Top 100 Book lists. But one thing is certain -- this book is not for me.

Now I am a fairly patient reader. But after reading hundreds of novels, and well over a hundred confirmed classics, I've learned what I like and dislike in a novel. This book has much that I dislike. It saddens me, too, because I went into it expecting a really great read. However, it is my firm belief that reading fiction - even highly challenging fiction (which this is not) -- should be a pleasure, rather than a chore. Therefore, after enduring 300 pages of unending tedium (with another 550 pages to go), I chose to quit and move onto something else. I have to admit I felt pretty guilty about it, too. But soon after, when I found I was enjoying a software textbook far more than "An American Tragedy," I realized I had made the right choice.

You must decide yourself whether or not this is a good book. All I can do is explain what I don't like about it.

1. Page after page, every thought and action of the primary characters is meticulously and exhaustively analyzed (think of "Crime and Punishment," or Stendhal's "The Red and the Black," taken to a ridiculous extreme). I have always hated this kind of "psychological" story telling. Ugh.

2. Dreiser frequently uses long, serpentine sentences and narrative passages that constantly interrupt the flow of the story. They are crammed with double negatives and distracting tangential side trips (think: Hawthorne). In my opinion, this is why Dreiser is largely forgotten. His modern contemporaries left this kind of wordy baggage behind. For this, I am eternally grateful.

3. Many thoughts and worries are driven home again and again. I find this obsessive repetition to be unnecessary and tiresome.

4. In spite of Dreiser's extensive character development, his humorless and detached style leaves me empty and uncaring.

5. The main characters are constantly unhappy with their circumstances, no matter what they achieve, or what opportunities or good fortune come their way. They ride emotional roller coasters of indecision and always crave more (think "Sons and Lovers"). I don't even want to associated with this kind of people, let alone read about them. Doesn't the world have enough materialistic whiners?

If you enjoy wordy psychological novels, then you will probably think this is a tremendously great book. By all means, place your order and enjoy. Many of you will love it. I hope you do!

If, like me, you prefer lean prose that gets to the point and lets you figure out a thing or two on your own, then you may want to leave this one behind. If this is the case, try reading Booth Tarkington, John O'Hara, Sinclair Lewis, James T. Farrell, or Scott Fitzgerald. They write about the same era, and address many of the same issues (class, status, social climbing, and sex). However, they do so with a much livelier style.

Even though this book has been written long time ago; the issues Dreiser talks about are still current. This novel is a great over view of American society at any point in time. Somehow people manage to turn the American dream into American tragedy. The money driven society often forgets about the importance of things in life. Things, cars, money and status become more important for so many of us, that we live our lives forgetting about what is really important.
Among many of the works of Dreiser this novel and "The Genius" are my two favorite. Those two novels inspire me to stay focus on what is important in live.

I read this book almost 20 years ago. It still sticks with me today, and every so often the story pops back into my head. I've read so many books, I don't know why this one seems to stand out among a very few books that stay with me, but it does.

The truly amazing thing about this novel is it's relevancy even to the current day. The characters resonate in a very real and poignant way in this novel of a man who slides into debacle and treachery in his pursuit of the 'American Dream'. It is a long book, but I did not find it boring at all. It's a fascinating study of the confluence of character and circumstances eminent in one person's actions. I think everyone can relate, at least somewhat, to each of the characters in this novel.

An American Tragedy I think the best American novel to date.
It's about poverty resulting in greed combined with the egotism and blindness of adolescence, finally leading to murder. Tragic and deeply touching. I call the book a triumph because it is immensely humane as it seeks the social causes of criminal behaviour and shows the absolute wrongness of the death penalty.
The book is beautifully written and it will keep the reader in its spell, even long afterwards.

After reading "Murder in the Adirondacks" by Brandon on the true story of the Gillette/Brown murder case which was very interesting I purchased this fictional work that Dreiser based on that case. Quite frankly am bored. Dreiser seems to subscribe to the "leave no word unsaid or scratched nose undescribed" style of writing that is downright monotonous, tedious, what have you. Am at the point of leafing through it to see if he ever "cuts to the chase" but am not holding my breath.

An American Tragedy portrays the struggle and downfall of the young Clyde Griffiths as he tries to achieve social and societal success in industrial America. He is driven by his own desires for social status and wealth. The tragedies he encounters are not only a result of chance, but of his own thoughts and weaknesses. Although Dreiser's style is excess in detail, the novel is a work of genius. I recommend tackling this gargantuan novel because it will undoubtedly leave an impact.

This is the first book I've ever read by Dreiser, and although it took me awhile to read, and it was an assignment for my English class, i really, really enjoyed it. I love the way Dreiser presents Clyde as being someone who always runs from his problems, as many of us do, but then shows how it all catches up with him in the end. It's really a good life lesson. . .for all of us. You play, you pay. He made bad decisions, and he had to pay the consequences.

I read An American Tragedy only because it was assigned to me from my english teacher. Of COURSE the length of it made me a bit uneasy, but after a chapter or two, I was completely hooked. This might be one of my favorite books! Now that I'm a few years older, I read this book once a year just to refresh my memory of why I loved it so much. It's definately a book you'll read again and again. 5 stars all the way :}

Review of An American Tragedy
Hot Toasty Rag, May 22, 2017

There are two things you need to know about Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy. First, this was the novel behind 1951’s iconic film A Place in the Sun, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Second, this book is almost 900 pages. That’s right: 884 pages.

If you’re still reading this review, good for you. You need to know what you’re getting into with this tome. You’re going to need an enormous amount of patience, several stiff drinks, or perhaps an entire bottle, and a love for a tedious tragedy. Three hundred pages in, and it shows no resemblance to the film. If you’re a fan of exceedingly long, tiresome, rambling novels, by all means, give this one a try. My advice, though, would be to stick with the movie. Nine hundred pages doesn’t compare to Liz Taylor’s gorgeous pan on the big screen.

Not an easy reading, definitely. The more I read, the more of Griffiths' features I found in myself which of course was a painful experience. This lust for wealth and recognition, a habit of blaming everyone except oneself are unfortunately common traits of human beings. Like a surgeuon cutting your skin to cure your innards, Dreiser shows you these.

Bravo the "wordy stuff!" What the hell are we reading fiction for? To get to the essence? I love words! I'm going to buy this book just on the "words" of someone I don't even know! D.H Lawrence. Thomas Hardy. WORDS! I could jump out of my skin just arguing the point. Lose me in the words, tease me with your description and let's get lost! Ain'a or no?

I read this book, word for word, as part of the curriculum in my junior year in high school. The length did not put me off, as I have loved reading all my life and regularly chose books much longer than average. But I did not enjoy this one. The ending turned me off completely, but I was unhappy with the book long before the ending came around. Without even touching on the moral deficiencies of the main character that comprise the crux of the storyline in the latter half of the book, I just couldn't get into the story. The pace of the book was slow and there was an excess of detail that just wasn't interesting to me. (I've heard that Theodore Dreiser divided the original manuscript in half and then sent the two halves to two different proofreaders or editors...and that each one cut his or her portion in half...but that most critics claim the finished book is still twice as long as it needs to be.)

I know this is considered by many to be a classic, but it was the *only* book of those required to be read in my junior year of high school that I did not like. I won't go so far as to say I despised this book, but it comes awfully close.

This novel baffles me. Dreiser is capable of so much more - read Sister Carrie for instance, written around 1900 but still capable of transfixing the reader today with one of the first (unpoliticized) portrayals of a woman transformed from suffering victim to survivor and victor.
But while Sister Carrie shattered cliches which hadn't even been recognized yet, An American Tragedy is a long book that reads very much like an extended cliche.

i loved this book and for the dumbest reason, i didn't want to finish the book, only because i knew what was going to happen. i didn't think the prose was long and windy, rather i found it beautifully written. perhaps one of the most beautifully written book i've ever read..

Theodore Dreiser is considered to be the leading American practitioner of Naturalism--which consists of writing about sex and violence in the lower classes in order to reveal what I gather were supposed to be shattering truths about the bleak aspects of modern industrial urban life. To that end, Sister Carrie tells the story of a pretty small town girl who uses her feminine wiles to sleep her way from the factories and saloons of Chicago to the New York stage. Along the way, the tavern owning married man who stole to fund their escape to Chicago, kills himself after being abandoned by Carrie and ending up in Bowery flophouses. Meanwhile, An American Tragedy tells the story, based on a sensational true crime, of a young man who is working his way towards the American dream and refuses to let a pregnant former girlfriend stand in the way of his chance for romance with a wealthy woman. He takes the slattern out in a boat & clobbers her, but is tried and executed for the crime.
It is an open secret that even critics who admire Dreiser, consider him to be a horrible writer technically. American Tragedy has been called "the worst-written great novel in the world" and the otherwise loathsome Garrison Keillor has an amusing column about how bad he finds Sister Carrie on rereading it. His books have all the literary grace of the phone book.
Thus, his reputation rests solely on the agreement of Left wing critics with his hatred of American capitalism. Well, 100 years on, I think we can safely say that the American system has served us pretty well and the Sister Carrie's of the world are not simply insignificant but, worse for a writer, uninteresting.
GRADE: F

I am a classics guy and have been reading them from childhood. You could call me a collector of sorts when it comes to classics and high literature. Show me any list and I have probably read most. However, I was disappointed in "An American Tragedy". True, Theodore Dreiser's writing style isn't one to draw you in. But I've read other works of his and knew what to expect as far as style. What I did not expect was the near-overt bias against Christianity in this book. It's as though Christianity itself is a bad guy. I had hoped Theodore Dreiser was only showing exceptions to Christians in this book. I made it to the point where Clyde Griffiths was a bell-hop and said "enough is enough". Good writing, I love. Overt bias, stereotyping and propaganda for a particular worldview, I despise.

My college roommate, the best-read person I know, recommended this to me recently as the "best American novel ever written." While it is not without its faults - overlong, repetitious in sections, and too full of religious hokum - it has certainly found a place on my own list of Greatest Ten American Novels. Its ability to create a sense of personal suffocation, its depiction of the price that both social conservatism and the American dream of upward advancement exact on the young is unsurpassed. It may seem dated stylistically, but thematically it still resonates. If you haven't read this novel yet, do.

"An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser is considered one of the greatest American books ever written. This may be the case if you can get past the first chapter. Five times, I have tried to read this book. To date, I am 0 for 5, having fallen asleep each time trying to read it. If you're a bit of a lazy reader or one who doesn't want to work through a book, this is not for you. Try Mark Twain instead.

I have ordered many used and new books from the store. This book, from Alibris, was supposed to be in "new to very good" condition. Instead, it came with yellowed, musty smelling pages. I would not order another book from Alibris.

"An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser is considered one of the greatest American books ever written. This may be the case if you can get past the first chapter. Five times, I have tried to read this book. To date, I am 0 for 5, having fallen asleep each time trying to read it. If you're a bit of a lazy reader or one who doesn't want to work through a book, this is not for you. Try Mark Twain instead.

I have ordered many used and new books from the store. This book, from Alibris, was supposed to be in "new to very good" condition. Instead, it came with yellowed, musty smelling pages. I would not order another book from Alibris.