I wanted so much to enjoy this book. The content is something I would normally not care to spend a whole novel digesting but I heard great things about how Dreiser makes the narrative exciting and draws a person in. This was not the case for me. Dreiser does have a way of painting a word picture that makes a talented author, however, you lose that beauty because it just drones on. I don't know how many times I said to myself "just get on with it already!" It took me a year to get through this an in the end I was just reading it to finish it. For those that want to read it, please do! It shows a different side to the way American culture drives our human condition. This novel has great value as part of American literature. Just be prepared to muddle though it.