First published in 1935, when Americans were still largely oblivious to the rise of Hitler in Europe, this prescient novel tells a cautionary tale of the fragility of democracy and offers an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America.
Doremus Jessup, a newspaper editor, is dismayed to find how many people he knows support presidential candidate Berzelius Windrip. The suspiciously fascist Windrip is offering to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. But after Windrip wins the election, dissent soon becomes dangerous for Jessup. Windrip forcibly gains control of Congress and the Supreme Court and, with the aid of his personal paramilitary storm troopers, turns the United States into a totalitarian state.
Christopher Hurt's voice--dry, slightly harsh, yet expressive--and his tone--sprightly and waspish--match the satirical mode of Lewis's 1936 novel of a fascist takeover of the U.S. and its aftermath. The sprightliness is troubling in descriptions of brutal violence and oppression, but Hurt faithfully mirrors the tone of the novel, a sometimes uncomfortable mix of clownish satire, hyperrealistic bourgeois fiction, and essayistic imaginary history, all a bit dated. He provides accents, varied voices, and even singing, as needed. He also supplies an emotional awareness that matches the power the novel accumulates. Despite its flaws, this book has much to say about political repression. It hits hard, and Hurt puts it across effectively. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
New Yorker...
“Not only [Lewis's] most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in this country.”
About the Author
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 this honor. However, in 1930 he accepted the Nobel Prize for literature, the first American to win that honor.
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