womens fiction

This book was written at the turn of the century and it is a great portrait of American life and ideals at that time. It is the story of a young girl named Carrie who leaves her small town to go to Chicago to live with her sister and find work. She soon finds that living with her sister and her husband is very boring and that work is hard and dull. Soon she is a mistress of a pretty wealthy man, and the rest of the book is the story of her rise in society.

One of the main themes of this book is materialism, and how people would do anything for money. During the book I could see how innocent Carrie becomes a victim of circumstances as she tries to fit into the environment around her and becomes swallowed by the anonymity of the city. I love Dreiser's style, although he goes off on unneccessary little lectures at times, and I really liked following the plot. The characters were drawn so well that I would forget they weren't real. This is a great book to read and it accurately portrays American cities at the rise of industrialism and materialism.

Dreiser is best known for "An American Tragedy," which to my taste is one of the most boring books ever written. But Sister Carrie is a classic in the best sense of the word.

Dreiser draws the reader back in time to turn of the century America, and immerses him completely in the hopes, fears, desires, and mores of that lost time. The now fading archetype of the travelling salesman as the dangerously seductive dandy despoiling virtuous young women comes to life here.

Sound corny? Not in the least. Because Dreiser gets inside these people's heads, and they're just as interesting as anyone gracing the pages of People Magazine.

The novel starts with a timeless theme, young girl goes to the big city and gets seduced by smooth travelling salesman. Every made for TV movie variation on this theme nowadays reduces this to a morality tale to warn young viewers.

Not Dreiser. He turns this into what I'd argue is one of the first and least politically tainted feminist novels of the 20th century. Buy this book. It'll cost you half of the newest John Grisham or Stephen King novel, you'll be solidly entertained with page turning excitement, and you can brag to all your friends about the classic you just finished.

Okay, I'll admit it: I'm normally one to stick with the bestseller or current Oprah list suggestion; books like "The Da Vinci Code" or "The Bark of the Dogwood." And while those books were enjoyable, I will go back and visit (or re-visit) the "classics." Such is the case with "Sister Carrie." At first I was afraid this was going to be some turn-of-the-century, stodgy, "Oh, My! Look at that!" type of novel. Boy, was I wrong. This is one great book, and Dreiser not only gets down and dirty with the material, but presents it in a non-preachy way that will knock your socks off.

T.Dreiser is without a doubt, one of the most underappreciated authors ever to grace the American scene. This book is, or should be, on the same level as "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "Grapes of Wrath." I highly, highly, highly (can you tell I liked it?) recommend this book to you.