Book Review: Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis

One-line summary: This satirical story about a Bible-thumping charlatan still annoys evangelical Christians, because it's still spot-on.



First published by Harcourt, Brace, in 1927; 432 pages

Today universally recognized as a landmark in American literature, Elmer Gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing Sinclair Lewis to be "invited" to a jail cell in New Hampshire and to his own lynching in Virginia. His portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church - a saver of souls who lives a life of hypocrisy, sensuality, and ruthless self-indulgence - is also the record of a period, a reign of grotesque vulgarity, which but for Lewis would have left no record of itself. Elmer Gantry has been called the greatest, most vital, and most penetrating study of hypocrisy that has been written since Voltaire.

( Sinclair Lewis knew Middle America like Dickens knew England, and he was just as unsparing, but this book goes deeper than satire. )

Verdict: Books written generations ago about a time period even further back may or may not seem relevant today. Sinclair Lewis was enough of a writer for his books to still be readable and his characters contemporary. Elmer Gantry is a bit dated, but it remains entertaining and smart, and probably a lot more enjoyable if you don't mind seeing religion poked with a sharp stick.

Book Review: Elmer Gantry, by Sinclair Lewis

One-line summary: This satirical story about a Bible-thumping charlatan still annoys evangelical Christians, because it's still spot-on.



First published by Harcourt, Brace, in 1927; 432 pages

Today universally recognized as a landmark in American literature, Elmer Gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing Sinclair Lewis to be "invited" to a jail cell in New Hampshire and to his own lynching in Virginia. His portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church - a saver of souls who lives a life of hypocrisy, sensuality, and ruthless self-indulgence - is also the record of a period, a reign of grotesque vulgarity, which but for Lewis would have left no record of itself. Elmer Gantry has been called the greatest, most vital, and most penetrating study of hypocrisy that has been written since Voltaire.

( Sinclair Lewis knew Middle America like Dickens knew England, and he was just as unsparing, but this book goes deeper than satire. )

Verdict: Books written generations ago about a time period even further back may or may not seem relevant today. Sinclair Lewis was enough of a writer for his books to still be readable and his characters contemporary. Elmer Gantry is a bit dated, but it remains entertaining and smart, and probably a lot more enjoyable if you don't mind seeing religion poked with a sharp stick.