Jess’s Book Pick for February: Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

I had this book on my ‘to read’ pile for a while, but when I finally got around to reading it, I was astounded by how fresh and modern Dreiser’s writing was.

A book that was highly controversial in its day, in my review I note:“With today’s failing economy, Dreiser could not have been more prophetic. Here we have a society of people who live beyond their means, use material possessions to define themselves, and Carrie ultimately is nothing more than a mere user. Her sense of entitlement is particularly aggravating, but it is this kind of quality that makes the story and characters so compelling and realistic. Dreiser also accomplishes something that is just another sign of what a great writer he really is. He manages to create a compelling story of depth based largely on shallow characters.”If you’re thinking this looks like some stuffy, uptight, boring high mannered classic, you are wrong. Dreiser focused on social issues, on working people and their troubles, and he was never shy about ripping into the vapid shallowness of culture—something we’ve clearly not grown out of. So because the economy is so poor, the cost of this book is rather cheap. I selected the version I read, but you can get any version that is available. There is also an interesting essay on Amazon—just click on the image icon.

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Jess’s Book Pick for February: Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

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