4.5 stars

This is my first book by Theodore Dreiser and I'm glad I read it. As long as it is, I think the combination of narrator and Dreiser's style worked very well. I found myself yelling more and more at Clyde as the book kept on ramping up, but then during the trial, I started feeling sorry for him and that part of Clyde's inability to see how wrong he was and how at fault he was was because of all the lessons he was learning from society, especially high society. And yet, why did he not learn better lessons from his parents? Part of that is because he felt stifled by their life and he couldn't accept it as a good way to be. He was constantly trying to move up in the societal castes and problems would arrive not because of anything he did but because others were doing it to HIM. There are so many layers to this book and I can see how it would be perfect for a High School English class, except for the sheer length of the book. Although the book starts out slowly, about halfway through the book it starts to move more quickly until, by the end, you're on a runaway train. Looking back, I don't know that I would have wanted to sit down and read and study such a book, but it is definitely worthwhile! The title is completely appropriate and although times are different, I can see how this could still happen (ack!) today. The more things have changed the more they stay the same, huh?

The extra half star is because I think the narrator does such a great job conveying the feeling of the author's words. Especially when Dreiser repeats words and phrases to convey the intensity of the moment--Dan John Miller completely captures this feeling. And the trial had me hanging by the edge of my seat, even though you just knew how it was going to all end; how it HAD to end. This was a story where, by the end, everyone is screaming and there is no way to stop it. Whew! Now I need a breather!