An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First I must say I very much liked parts of it, I liked the style, and I would recommend it to certain people. Also, it’s been on my TBR list for several decades. So, why only three stars? Because of all the verbosity and the rambling on of detail particularly in Part 1. This 1925 tome is based on a true crime and trial in the early 1920s. The unfortunate Clyde Griffiths, raised basically on the streets of various cities by hyper-religious parents claws his way out of poverty into an exciting life of serving oriented jobs and is introduced to alcohol, sex, and dangerous escapades. A Chance meeting with a wealthy family member serves to transplant Clyde to New York and introduces him to the lifestyle of the rich and influential. Things don’t go well for Clyde.
Discussion is Thursday. For the members who know they can’t finish it I recommended getting summaries for Parts One & Two and reading the “tragedy” in Part Three. Hope it goes well.


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