Main Street (1920) by Sinclair Lewis

 


Main Street (1920) by Sinclair Lewis

This is an apparent staple of home-grown fiction for American readers in the early 1920s.

I may not agree with Lewis' ideologies, but I appreciate how Main Street tackles the weight of perspective and the familiar (and often-frustrating) desire to create something bigger than yourself.

It's almost upsetting how much I can relate to the protagonist Carol, a self-important contrarian whose biggest enemy is her own ambition. And I don't think I've ever been so satisfied with a decidedly dissatisfying ending - maybe because the bleak, realist tone of the whole book set me up to accept that, for some particularly troubled people, just edging on contentment is the closest thing to solace.

As depressing as that sounds, I really did enjoy the book. Not as much as Lewis' Babbitt, but still enough that it left a positive impression on me.

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