An American Tragedy | 
pickAn immensely sad book (hence the “tragedy”) based on a real crime that took place in 1906, a young man drowning his pregnant girlfriend in a secluded Adirondack lake. Dreiser takes a long hard look at the unforgiving cultural and religious machinations demarcating social class and the lure of material wealth that eventually destroys these two young people‘s lives (the young man is eventually sent to the electric chair).
panI have never read a book so in dire need of an editor. This was painful. And Clyde is an absolute loser. #100essentialnovels
panThis was wretched. It is the perfect book for those imbeciles who believe they have a right to sex and never mind the women‘s wishes. A whinging, horrid main character who was obsessed with sex and riches and vacillated between stalking and indifference. Ick
A day late, but what does time mean anymore?
1 - going with MC from the tagged, Clyde. First assigned reading I ever didn‘t finish and had to bluff my way through an essay and discussion.
2 - I‘m sensitive to scents so no perfume or scented products, but I do like lavender and jasmine on the vine.
3 - just finished Neuromancer and about to start The Blood of Olympus.
#thoughtfulThursday thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94
Book 1 of #7Books7Days of books that profoundly affected me. I read this when I was 20 years old and have never forgotten this book. It is a bit slow but takes off midway.
An American Masterpiece Clyde Griffiths finds his social-climbing aspirations and love for a rich and beautiful debutante threatened when his lower-class pregnant girlfriend gives him an ultimatum.
I read this book when I was a teenager and I still think about it today so I would consider it an #XcellentRead.
An American Masterpiece Clyde Griffiths finds his social-climbing aspirations and love for a rich and beautiful debutante threatened when his lower-class pregnant girlfriend gives him an ultimatum.
Day 24 - #XcellentRead #AnAmericanTragedy #TheodoreDreiser #AugustABC
so-soThis book is too long.
I‘d hoped Clyde Griffiths‘ story would be similar to Sister Carrie‘s and it does share my favourite characteristic of Dreiser‘s earlier novel: he‘s very very good at depicting characters who are deeply flawed in a non-judgemental way. Unfortunately, this is even more prone to wheel-spinning.
I found myself wishing I were reading Hemingway or James M. Cain‘s version of this story. #modernlibrarytop100
More ⬇️
so-soSo this is my edition, rather than the snazzy one pictured in my earlier post. How to review this without sounding snotty? I didn‘t like his writing style, and it was a slog, especially Books 1 and 2. Book 3 was faster, but even then I found myself thinking “get on with it!” But. He does a good job of portraying the sense of being pulled in different directions by conflicting beliefs that are unresolvable. Glad I read it. Won‘t reread.
I‘m about 30 pages from the end, and I stopped to read this New Yorker article from 2003 on the publication of the pictured edition. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/04/21/the-cost-of-desire It‘s long, but worth it, and really added to my understanding of the book as well as validating my own opinions. 😀 @laur89 @Hestapleton @twohectobooks
A huge thanks to @Lcsmcat and @twohectobooks for continuing to share their progress on this enjoyable yet tedious #BuddyRead, and tagging me in ALL THE POSTS!!! You guys have no idea how much this has motivated me to keep on reading 😄 Book 2, Ch. 25... here we go! 🎉 It‘s an #audiobook and Sudoku night 🤓
@Hestapleton - can‘t wait for you to start!
150 pages to go! I want to finish by Friday so that‘s a pretty-doable 25 pages per day. I hate when I “have to” drag myself to the end of a book like this.
“Have to” because of course I‘m doing this to myself.
I AM curious about what the overall outcome of the book will be, at least. I‘d just prefer to be reading the 175 page James M. Cain version of this story.
And then five entire days consumed Mason and Belknap in selecting a jury.
I was genuinely worried I‘d have to read the entire jury selection process so this is a relief. I‘m at 638/814 and am planning to finish by the end of next week. If this wasn‘t a #modernlibrarytop100 book I would‘ve DNF‘d it a long time ago.
On to Sondra, girl number three, or is it four? Clyde falls in “love” more often than I vacuum my carpet. 🙄 @laur89 @Hestapleton @twohectobooks
Hey fellow buddy readers!
> I‘m at p 573/814 (Book 3 Chapter 11). I started mid-July and picked this up because it‘s #16 on the #modernlibrarytop100 list I‘ve been working through.
> Dreiser is really good at creating characters you love to hate. Clyde is such a tool but I can‘t look away.
> I really liked his style in Sister Carrie which is 300 pgs (!) shorter but even then he was long winded and it‘s so much worse here.
Check out the An American Tragedy movie poster while you check in on our #BuddyRead!
*If you‘ve already started...
>How many pages have you read?
>Any major thoughts you want to share?
>Are you finding Dreiser‘s writing style descriptive or overwhelming?
Share below in the comments, or create a post and tag me in it!
*If you haven‘t begun, it‘s ok! All posts will stay up, and I‘ll be happy to discuss whenever you‘re ready 😃
I know Dreiser doesn‘t want us to like Hortense (and I don‘t) but he‘s really making me not like him. I try to judge books by their own time, but even for his time this portrayal is just awful. @laur89 @Hestapleton
My copy is illustrated! It‘s a library discard that I bought at a library sale, published in 1953. This ought to make my posts more visually interesting. @laur89 @Hestapleton
“I love you just the same and I guess you care for me a little, anyhow, don‘t you?”
Feeling sorry for Clyde atm. All of the events that led him to this point were activities he had 2nd thoughts about participating in, but was too drawn by the promise of a “high-flying” social life to refuse.
I don‘t think he should‘ve run away from the crime. He seemed to play a very minor part and I think he could‘ve been saved 🤷🏻♀️ But, the plot thickens!
Plowing through the first few chapters of this! I usually like books set in this time period, and Dreiser‘s descriptive writing of the places in Clyde‘s life makes for great mental visualization 🧠🎥👀
Although I‘m enjoying the introduction to the MC, I‘m wondering when the true crime piece will come in... 🧐
Have you guys started? What do you think so far?
Having just finished a chunkster (The Magic Mountain) I thought I was going to read shorter more recently published books for August. But a buddy read called my name, so I‘ll be starting this today or tomorrow. Buddy reads give me the push I sometimes need to read these bad boys. @laur89
Repost for @laur89 :
Alright people. I‘m taking this on for #ReadLikeRory (my own #GilmoreGirlsReadingChallenge).
This one is a #CHUNKSTER at over 1000 pages. I‘m sort of intimidated, but it‘ll be Mr. Dreiser‘s birthday on the 27th, so I‘m doing this in honor of him. 🎂
I would totally love to #BuddyRead this with anyone who‘s interested! Hefty novels like these are better with friends... so comment & tag @laur89 if this book catches your eye!
Alright people. I‘m taking this on for #ReadLikeRory (my own #GilmoreGirlsReadingChallenge).
This one is a #CHUNKSTER at over 1000 pages. I‘m sort of intimidated, but it‘ll be Mr. Dreiser‘s birthday on the 27th, so I‘m doing this in honor of him. 🎂
I would totally love to #BuddyRead this with anyone who‘s interested! Hefty novels like these are better with friends... so comment below if this book catches your eye! ⬇️
It‘s a rainy, gloomy evening here so I‘ll be getting an early start with #24in48. Hoping to read a ton and catch up on my #BFCr2 progress.
Would like to have a word with whoever decided to read these three chunky books during #BFCr2 😐
Oh wait, it was me 😅
We are past the halfway point so I am 1-2 books behind (2/7 read) and I‘m reading these three chunky books, which are, from top to bottom, 800+, 1000+, and 500+ pages long. Can I finish these plus two more within the time available?
...
I guess I better put some comics on hold at the library!
#MayMadness Some of my favorite books happen to be on #BannedBooks lists Slaughterhouse Five ,1984 ,Catch 22 ,Of Mice and Men,The Color Purple,The Great Gatsby,The Jungle ,Cat‘s Cradle,The Sun Also Rises , Leaves of Grass ......
#anglophileapril
(Day 17 - #CarelessWhisper)
*A “careless whisper” puts me in mind of a rumor. Rumors hurt—they are not benign. The tagged book, by Dreiser, was published in 1925, and rumors influence the actions of the young, socially aspirational protagonist. I loved this book so much. It has been adapted for both the stage and film several times, but for me the best adaptation is “A Place in the Sun,” starring Montgomery Clift.
Day 19 - #adventrecommends
Read the book in my teens and I thought it was a tremendous read even though it is a tragedy!
An American Masterpiece Clyde Griffiths finds his social-climbing aspirations and love for a rich and beautiful debutante threatened when his lower-class pregnant girlfriend gives him an ultimatum.
panTrapped on the outside, looking in, Clyde makes all the wrong choices in his pursuit of the American Dream.
I wanted to like this book, but there was So Much Plot. A dozen pages describing every thought as a character vacillated between two alternatives. It read as if the short declarative sentences of Hemingway were used to write a convoluted, too long Henry James novel. 🌟 🌟
#LitsyClassics, @Sarah83, #popsugar2018
so-soUgh! All the characters in this book were just horrible people (which I guess is the point), and the audiobook narrator did excruciating female voices, but at least the last part made up for the rest. A bit.
bailedThis was the first book I ever didn't finish for school. I hated everything about it. I skipped about 300 pages and read the last two. It's also one of the few books I didn't finish and had no desire to go back and try again in later years.
pick@Kaye you were right. This is a very good book, it just takes a long time to read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our son (1,5 yo) loves bookdepository bookmarks. With my last order I got a Spot and a Kipper bookmark. He kept Spot and just gave this one to #morbidelli. 😊
Delli is not too impressed 😂
Halfway into An American Tragedy and I still don't know if I actually like this book. It's slow, nothing seems to happen. But I just have to keep reading, since I have the feeling something might be about to happen on the next page...🤔
#currentlyreading
#TBRtemptation post 1! An American classic that almost rivals "Gone With the Wind" in length, clocking in at almost 900 pages. Based on an actual criminal case, & made into an award-winning film--"A Place In the Sun", starring Elizabeth Taylor & Montgomery Clift--this is the story of Clyde Griffiths, who forfeits his life in pursuit of success, showing the darker side of the American Dream. Sounds riveting! #blameLitsy #blameMrBook ?
Mood: simultaneously hating and loving Dreiser. Also, snuggly #gilmoregirlsreadingchallenge
panDidn't care for this book at all. But I suffered through the roughly 900 pages. I was relieved when it was finally over. I kept thinking just kill him already so this book can be over.
Wonderful read. This is my 3rd time reading this book but still an awesome read. If you have never read it please take the time, it's not a happy read but truly gripping story.
Hello friends got done with Crime and Punishment and made this my next choice. An American Tragedy is a story, based on a real crime, it's about a young man who is working his way towards the American dream but gets a former girlfriend pregnant he doesn't let that stand in the way of his chance for romance with a wealthy woman. He takes the her out in a boat & clobbers her, but is tried and executed for the crime. Looking forward to this read.
An American tragedy is when your mother "borrows" your Radiohead CD and replaces it with Counting Crows.
"And yet, before he had ever earned any money at all, he had always told himself that if only he had a better collar, a nicer shirt, a good suit, a swell overcoat, like some boys had!"
An American Tragedy is being in desperate need of coffee and the diner only having decaf. #caffeineaddictproblems
