An American Tragedy

By: Theodore Dreiser

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

An American Tragedy is the story of Clyde Griffiths, who spends his life in the desperate pursuit of success. On a deeper, more profound level, it is the masterful portrayal of the society whose values both shape Clyde's ambitions and seal his fate; it is an unsurpassed depiction of the harsh realities of American life and of the dark side of the American dream. Extraordinary in scope and power, vivid in its sense of wholesale human waste, unceasing in its rich compassion, An American Tragedy stands as Theodore Dreiser's supreme achievement.

First published in 1925 and based on an actual criminal case, An American Tragedy was the inspiration for the 1951 film A Place in the Sun, which won six Academy Awards and starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift.

©1925 Theodore Dreiser (P)2011 Tantor

Not Monty

The story had a strong premise, but became a bit too preachy by the end for my taste. The narration was fine until in my opinion, he tried to imitate Montgomery Clift from the movie A Place in the Sun, which was based on this novel. He made him sound whiny and began to grate on my nerves. I completed the novel since I loved the movie and wanted to see how they compared. The book is worth a read, but I'd pass on the audible.

Quintessentially American--Warts and All

I waited many decades to undertake this book. While it has often cropped up in lists of essential American novels, references to it always came with off-putting caveats. First, there’s the sheer length of the book—a doorstop if there ever was one. Then there is Dreiser’s writing style, which is among the most unlovely in the English language. The author’s voice is an odd combination of tough, journalistic prose with florid verbosity. Why call something a lightbulb, when you can use the term “incandescent globe?” By the time I was half way through the book, I had started to compile a list of such “Dreiserisms.” A sampling: “eventuality,” “languishments” and “tergiversation.”

Yet for all his clumsiness as a writer, it would be wrong to call Dreiser tone deaf. In fact, when his characters speak, Dreiser reveals a deft ability to capture the nuance of place and class in their language. Business executives sound convincingly stentorian, tradespeople sound canny and unsentimental, young folk sound slangy and louche.

[An aside: It’s strange that both James Fenimore Cooper and Theodore Dreiser—key literary figures in the 19th and 20th centuries—had similarly tortured writing styles that were mitigated by an ear for dialog. What is it about the creative soil from which these writers sprang that they could only sing when their characters spoke?]

The contradictions in Dreiser’s style offer a microcosm of the novel’s assets and deficits. On the positive side of the ledger, An American Tragedy takes us on a guided tour of early 20th century America, from desolate city streets to the small town boarding houses, from revival meetings to drunken road trips, from swank hotels to factory floors. Along the way, were are shown an indelible profile of capitalism’s unwitting pawns. On the negative side, the story crawls along at such a pace that even its several reversals of fortune lack any punch. Dreiser was no puritan—indeed, he explores his character’s lustful and craven impulses without censure or commentary. Even so, he seems determined to drain his narrative of any pleasure, as if entertaining the reader were like dancing on the sabbath.

For much of his career, Dreiser made a living as a reporter, and in many respects, An American Tragedy reads like a very long news story. Nowhere is the journalistic voice more evident than in the last third of the novel, which deals with a murder trial and its aftermath. This is also where Dreiser seems on surest footing, his just-the-facts approach sounding and feeling thoroughly modern. But if such writing anticipates works like Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song by half a century, it must also be acknowledged that every narrative device Dreiser employs had been developed fifty years earlier by Emile Zola and his realist confrères. We are all susceptible to cultural chauvinism and can easily fall into the trap of viewing cornerstones of our culture’s art and literature as being the product of conditions that are uniquely our own. Let the record therefore show that there would have been no An American Tragedy without there first being a Germinal or La Bête Humaine.

Despite these French antecedents, An American Tragedy is a quintessentially American work of art. Its dark themes, sprawling scope and hard-nosed storytelling all have analogues in the contours of American history, geography and art. Reading this book is like driving across the United States. There are some noteworthy landmarks to be seen along the way, but also long, boring stretches that must be endured, and indeed this mix of adventure and tedium feels uniquely American. In the end, you are glad to have made the journey, but also glad when the trip is over.

[NOTE ON THE AUDIBLE PERFORMANCE OF THIS BOOK: Reading Dreiser’s prose would be a challenge for any actor, and therefore any performance of this text should be handicapped accordingly. That said, Dan John Miller is probably not the best choice for this undertaking. He reads stiffly—a problem that can be somewhat overcome by speeding up playback—and he struggles to give characters distinct voices. Some of his choices land very wide of the mark. Much of the novel’s action takes place in upstate New York, yet he gives many of the hard scrabble characters of the region southern drawls. Gosh darn it, this ain’t Faulkner!]

Still relevant

Relevant after 100 years. Unmarried and pregnant? Want an abortion? You might as well be dead…

Past as prologue

I love going back to titles from a century ago or more to see what still resonates today. With An American Tragedy, a lot. Stories like this still happen and probably always will, but not usually told so well. The characters are so fully fleshed out, their environments, their aspirations, their weaknesses, their shameful fears. And Dan John Miller's voice acting is superb, contributing much to the portrait of each individual.

Tragedy

This is the story of Clifford Gillette. I found the story of a man that falls in love with two women an interesting read. I discovered the trial in the 1920s made a significant landmark legal precedent.

Great performance to a very good story.

Tragic story. I should have figured with the title as it was that this book would be depressing. You feel for Clyde...and his seeming powerlessness against the tides of his life. Dreiser is an excellent conveyor of tragedy: of winding us up and letting us down... pulling the heart strings and making it hurt and bleed. He strives for what all authors would strive for. I recommend this book and this version to all looking forward to a gripping tragedy of epic proportions.

Classic

Gets bogged down in parts,
Great story coming of age
Every high school student would find this a typical classic
Also one if you missed on your summer reading list, read now.

the book

loved this book. i laughed and cried . i loved the narator and will listen again.

a period piece, still resonant

Though most of the factory girls who make our clothes are now overseas, Dreiser's themes of social inequality, evangelical Christianity, the death penalty, and access to birth control and abortion are disquietingly familiar today. Dreiser (who partied with anarchist Emma Goldman) is sensitive and unsparing in his exploration of these issues. Protagonist Clyde Griffiths would probably make the list of "fifty boyfriends worse than yours," but narrator Dan John Miller gives him the necessary charm to make his story credible. The book drags a bit near the end, but is memorable overall.

Worth every minute

This book is exceptionally long. I was daunted by the length, but found it utterly compelling. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The minutiae of the writing reveals much about the historical period. This is very different from the movie adaptation "A Place in the Sun" which softens the story. The author does not tell you how to feel about the characters and the events, leaving you to make up your own mind. This is emotionally moving and an excellent story. Narration is also excellent.