Dodsworth (Library of America #133) - Elmer Gantry

Sinclair Lewis defines Martin Arrowsmith as `a young man who was in no degree a hero, who regarded himself as a seeker of truth, yet who stumbled and slid back all his life and bogged in every obvious morass.' He is `a snuffing beagle', who in his lifespan covered in this book never was in control of his destiny.

This book touches all kind of important themes:

- Commercialism and the religion of a scientist: `Knowledge is the greatest thing in the medical world, but it's no good whatever if you can't sell it.'

- Commercialism and profession: `Explain to a patient, also his stricken and anxious family, the hard work and thought you are giving to his case, and so make him feel that the good you have done to him, is even greater than the fee you plan to charge.'

- Public v. private health system: `to get rid of avoidable diseases and produce a healthy population is killing commercialization, making money. Therefore doctors must become public health officers.'

- Psycho-analysts as guess-scientists.

- General human problems: `the cruelty of nature kicking human beings by every gay device of moonlight and white limbs into heaving babies.

- Influence of the Church on the irrationality of the masses. Its battle against free-thinking.

- Personal problems: alcoholism, marriage.

None of these themes is properly developed.

The scientific basis of this book is very poor: fighting the plague with bacteriophages.

Into the bargain, there is virtually no plot: the human relations with friends, colleagues, professors or women are more or less accidental. Also, after a far too long itinerary, the story ends abruptly.

This book is a big disappointment and can only be recommended to Sinclair Lewis fans.

Martin Arrowsmith is a semi-competent, ne'er-do-well whiner. I stopped rooting for him about a third of the way through the book. A "hero" can't shoot himself in the foot a dozen times and remain a hero. At least I've never seen anyone outside a Woody Allen movie pull it off.

Martin isn't helped by Sinclair Lewis's habitual "telling," rather than "showing," and by his tin-ear for dialogue, which comes in two voices: Finishing School and School of Hard Knocks. Martin--one of the few college graduates in his medical school class--speaks in Hard-Knocks English, and a rather forced version at that. Compare the masterful dialogue of Twain's illiterate and semi-literate characters in Huck Finn, written forty years earlier. Compare also the clear, realistic dialogue of Lewis's contemporaries, Hemingway and Dos Passos.

Finally, if the writing of Arrowsmith were a meal, Sinclair Lewis finished his dinner around the close of Chapter 35, when Martin returns from St. Hubert. After that, Lewis just played with his food.

Arrowsmith is a much more ambitious work than The Great Gatsby, also published in 1925, or The Sun Also Rises, published a year later. But unlike Arrowsmith, these other novels still hold up well, as does Dos Passos's much-more-ambitious USA Trilogy. If Sinclair Lewis's star has fallen in the last fifty years, it's easy to see why, reading this book.

Lewis has written such a wonderful story, filled with tongue-in-cheek contempt for the mercenary ways of mankind. In Arrowsmith, he has created a protagonist who is not without flaws, but has good intentions. Also a wonderful story for people who enjoy medicine or the medical world. (But you don't have to to enjoy the book!) After reading it, I'll want to check out some of Lewis' other works.

A period piece of early twentieth century America, this book still remains a worthwhile read in spite of typed, flat, and cardboard caricatures of the players in the story. The sometimes didactic discussion of `doing the right thing' is timeless and worth consideration by any generation of readers. The tension of what is right versus what is good in Arrowsmith's science and medical profession can be teased and tested beyond that parochial domain. Every reader's battle with that tension will find a thorough airing of important considerations for their own lives through Arrowsmith's saga.

This story rings true about someone living a life full of thought and desire to do good. It is rare to see the combination of a protagonist searching for higher things while living a down-to-earth life,

After randomly choosing Arrowsmith for a Year 11 assignment on American Literature I was pleasantly surprised to get such an amazing, and enthralling book.Being already intersted in science, particularly medical research I was exited to read such a detailed (I dont know about accurate, it certainly seems to be)insight in to the world of medicine and science in general. It certainly set the ambition clear in my mind and renewed my desire at 16 to enter the medical world. It is a great book and anyone who reads it will feel the same compulsion I did if they have any interest whatsoever in medicine.

For those interested in reading this outstanding book: DON'T READ THE the store.COM REVIEW. It gave away the ending that takes 400 pages to get to. Very aggravating to say the least.

For the book itself: It is a great read that is very applicable to today's healthcare and research.

Great story of young idealism and enthusiasm in struggle with bigotry, backwardness. Despite being set in its time and social circumstances, remains timeless. Highly recommended for those who aspire to become doctors, especially for those choosing academic and scientific careers. For others it is lasting reminder that to achieve something great in life one has to pay the price, that there are not only rewards.

Having never previously read any of Lewis' books, I enjoyed this story of Dr Arrowsmith's career and the tension between "commercialism" and "research" that plays out in his life. Although it reads easily, I still find myself (days after finishing the book) thinking about it, relating it to my own life. I think this classic story is relevant for any professional.

I liked this book. I found it readable and compelling. I am glad that I finally read this Sinclair Lewis book. I plan on reading Main Street next. Wonder why I never read any of his works before. He's worth a try, at least for Dodsworth. I am now reading Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. It is interesting - two Minnesotans observe interwar Europe with very different results.

This is an excellent novel. It tells the story of a brilliant man who, unlike his fellow graduates, wants to prevent disease and death. Sinclair Lewis tells a beautiful tale of the ups and downs of an honest man in a Commercial World.