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sidharthvardhan's review
4.0
So Carol is a kind of both romantic (as in someone who loves beautiful things) and idealist - the two things that disconnect you from the world. Her attempts to change her small town are thus often Quioxitic - seeing the futility of her efofrts to change her town exhausts her and she gives up. Very quickly. Again and again. But that is the case with most (but not all) such dreamers.
I just wish it was a bit shorter work.
I just wish it was a bit shorter work.
kdawn999's review
4.0
I’ve been sleeping on Sinclair Lewis! This was a very convincing dive into the life of a college-educated, midwestern woman in the first two decades of the 20th century. While there isn’t much of a plot, there is witty, well-wrought prose, strong feminist themes, and multilayered character development. These feel like real human beings the whole way through. I can’t say I was riveted at every moment, but the gossipy, small-town events pick up toward the end. I don’t see why sad wife narratives like The Awakening, Anna Karenina, and Madame Bovary are more well known than this work (maybe because killing off women is more sensational). Anyway, I fully intend to read more Sinclair Lewis—probably Arrowsmith or It Can’t Happen Here.
captainhyperbole's review
Ultimately, just not in the mood. Also, satire should probably try snf keep it tight. Nearly 500 pages seems like too much for this idea and set of characters.
colleengeedrumm's review against another edition
4.0
But the event unchronicled, undiscussed, and supremely controlling, was her slow admission of longing to find her own people.
There are two insults which no human being will endure: the assertion that he hasn’t a sense of humor, and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.
There are two insults which no human being will endure: the assertion that he hasn’t a sense of humor, and the doubly impertinent assertion that he has never known trouble.
nwilliams96's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
smtvash's review
4.0
Minor Arcana - The 9 of Pentacles
People of THE TOWN
History doesn't repeat itself, it just doesn't change.
Consent, feminism, warnings about capitalism, equal rights in 1920 USA.
People of THE TOWN
History doesn't repeat itself, it just doesn't change.
Consent, feminism, warnings about capitalism, equal rights in 1920 USA.
mondovertigo's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and War
soniapage's review against another edition
3.0
There are a lot of "small towns" in our lives with the same characteristics - narrow-mindedness, cliques, back-stabbing gossip, unacceptance of new people and ideas, and pride. I've lived in small towns like this and have encountered it in every office I've worked in. Carol, the main character, finds this out when she leaves Gopher Prairie and escapes to Washington, DC for a "breather" and where she hopes to feel free and liberated again. She returns to Gopher Prairie.
You can't feel too sorry for Carol. I couldn't understand why she married the good doctor in the first place. He wasn't really her ideal and shouldn't the name of the town, Gopher Prairie, have been a red flag as to what she was getting herself into. She thought she would go there and enlighten and change the doctor and the town. She forgot that some people don't want to change and resent those trying to "enlighten" them. These close-minded people like to play "keep out" when they encounter someone unwilling to become just like them.
One resident warns her of "village virus" and she ultimately succumbs.
You can't feel too sorry for Carol. I couldn't understand why she married the good doctor in the first place. He wasn't really her ideal and shouldn't the name of the town, Gopher Prairie, have been a red flag as to what she was getting herself into. She thought she would go there and enlighten and change the doctor and the town. She forgot that some people don't want to change and resent those trying to "enlighten" them. These close-minded people like to play "keep out" when they encounter someone unwilling to become just like them.
One resident warns her of "village virus" and she ultimately succumbs.