When Carol Milford, a young, liberated woman from St. Paul, Minnesota, marries small-town doctor Will Kennicott, she suddenly finds herself transplanted to Gopher Prairie. Horrified by her new home, an ugly backwater community, she decides it's time the town made a few changes.
The story of an idealistic young woman's frustrated attempts to change the set ways of her small town, Main Street has been hailed as one of the essential literary satires of the American scene. An allegory of exile and return, it attacks the complacency and ingrown mores of those who resist change and are under the illusion that they have chosen their tradition. The lonely predicament of Carol Kennicott, caught between her desires for social reform and individual happiness, reflects the position in which America's turn-of-the-century "emancipated woman" found herself. Sinclair Lewis' cutting portrait of the small-minded inhabitants of small-town America is rich with sociological insight that still resonates today.
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"Caustic satire of small-town life. Although some of the concepts in the book are invariably dated, the concept and the characters are still only too familiar, and the follies of small-town living are laid bare. " — Kaworu (4 out of 5 stars)
"Caustic satire of small-town life. Although some of the concepts in the book are invariably dated, the concept and the characters are still only too familiar, and the follies of small-town living are laid bare. "
“A most searching and excellent piece of work; a feather in the cap of literature.”
“At once an artifact and a modern classic, its characters’ slang and civic amenities are exotic—their social and personal concerns wholly familiar.”
“Emerson’s narration allows listeners to perfectly visualize ‘emancipated woman’ Carol Kennicott, ‘the girl on the hilltop, credulous, plastic, young, drinking the air as she longed to drink life.’”
“Emerson’s pace, tone and style suit the novel. He voices characters and accents, gently parodying only a few. Lewis spins a great story and this classic is still hard hitting.”
" Small town life in Minnesota 1910s with an engaging main character, Carol Milford. Nice job, Red. "
" I really did have to laugh that parts of this book sound like America today. Carol was a bit waffly and whiny, but I guess we all are as fish out of water with no allies. "
" I definitely was not the target audience for this book. Although it's well written, the plot was transparent, the main character very naive and annoying, and the messages obvious and, in the case of one of them, untrue. "
" Main Street is prevalent today...sorry to say. "
" A stark and somewhat depressing book chronicling small town life. "
" I adored this book, American literature at its best! I loved the vivid characterizations, exploration of social topics, and (sexism, classism, etc.) description of the Minnesota prairie. "
" Sorry to say, but a bit dated. "
Harry Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951), the son of a country doctor, was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. He attended Yale University, where he was editor of the literary magazine, and graduated in 1907. After a few of his stories had appeared in magazines and his first novel, Our Mr. Wrenn (1914), had been published, he was able to write full time. He was awarded the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Arrowsmith (1925) but refused to accept the honor. However, he accepted the Nobel Prize awarded him in 1930. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Brian Emerson is an actor and technical director with a long career in the Washington, DC, and Baltimore areas.
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