Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis
Read by John W. Michaels
Sinclair Lewis’ George F. Babbitt is a complicated and conflicted character. When you think you have his next move figured out he surprises you. As you begin to like him, he does something to evoke the “what a rat” response.
Male menopause wasn’t a pre Great Depression term, but I would say George has all the symptoms. At a pudgy balding forty six he looks at his life, wife, family and business. He sees himself as a pretty successful business man, but when Tanis, the lonely widow, has a leaky roof, he sees an opportunity for perhaps a more fulfilling relationship then he has at home. Add to Tanis a foray into radical politics, and we are about to whiteness an emotional and financial train wreck with Babbitt at the throttle.
This is a long story, but well worth listening to. Human nature hasn’t changed much in the last ninety years. Enjoy the novel (Summary by Mike Vendetti) (13 hr 25 min)
Chapters
01 - Chapter 1 | 26:39 | Read by John W. Michaels |
02 - Chapter 2 | 20:52 | Read by John W. Michaels |
03 - Chapter 3 | 29:16 | Read by John W. Michaels |
04 - Chapter 4 | 25:47 | Read by John W. Michaels |
05 - Chapter 5 | 35:22 | Read by John W. Michaels |
06 - Chapter 6 | 47:57 | Read by John W. Michaels |
07 - Chapter 7 | 24:52 | Read by John W. Michaels |
08 - Chapter 8 | 39:23 | Read by John W. Michaels |
09 - Chapter 9 | 20:05 | Read by John W. Michaels |
10 - Chapter 10 | 30:18 | Read by John W. Michaels |
11 - Chapter 11 | 12:33 | Read by John W. Michaels |
12 - Chapter 12 | 8:15 | Read by John W. Michaels |
13 - Chapter 13 | 38:01 | Read by John W. Michaels |
14 - Chapter 14 | 30:39 | Read by John W. Michaels |
15 - Chapter 15 | 25:20 | Read by John W. Michaels |
16 - Chapter 16 | 19:54 | Read by John W. Michaels |
17 - Chapter 17 | 22:28 | Read by John W. Michaels |
18 - Chapter 18 | 23:28 | Read by John W. Michaels |
19 - Chapter 19 | 29:34 | Read by John W. Michaels |
20 - Chapter 20 | 13:19 | Read by John W. Michaels |
21 - Chapter 21 | 12:31 | Read by John W. Michaels |
22 -Chapter 22 | 10:20 | Read by John W. Michaels |
23 - Chapter 23 | 20:15 | Read by John W. Michaels |
24 - Chapter 24 | 25:09 | Read by John W. Michaels |
25 - Chapter 25 | 16:34 | Read by John W. Michaels |
26 - Chapter 26 | 16:39 | Read by John W. Michaels |
27 - Chapter 27 | 17:26 | Read by John W. Michaels |
28 - Chapter 28 | 21:48 | Read by John W. Michaels |
29 - Chapter 29 | 36:42 | Read by John W. Michaels |
30 - Chapter 30 | 23:18 | Read by John W. Michaels |
31 - Chapter 31 | 15:38 | Read by John W. Michaels |
32 - Chapter 32 | 21:55 | Read by John W. Michaels |
33 - Chapter 33 | 20:41 | Read by John W. Michaels |
34 - Chapter 34 | 22:55 | Read by John W. Michaels |
Reviews
Interesting portrayal
Byron Lee Scott
Babbitt is a great example of so many things I'm glad I'm not. Good ending though. I thought the reading was good, however, on my car stereo Babbitt's voice was too loud and sharp, especially when conversing with a soft spoken character. I use a 5 band EQ to smooth out many voices, but this one was impossible. Nevertheless, appreciate the effort to read it and will check out Mike's other books.
Telling
NSA
This story is a fantastic portrayal of the crookedness and hypocrisy of moralistic watchdogs in America, as well as the ephemeral joy and prolonged emptiness of a life of conformity to the superficial trope imitated in achieving American dream. The readers dynamics are laudable, however, his mispronunciation of words is frequent enough to pull down the quality of story telling he provides.
excellent story and charming reading
Akku
I really enjoy the way Sinclair Lewis paints such vivid pictures of personalities and such endearing characters, even when they are highly flawed. It’s a great understanding of the human condition. The mundane events of his characters lives become a rich tapestry of a social portrait. His books show how much and how little has changed in 100 years. This is the first time I’ve heard this reader and his deep sonorous voice and fine pacing made this a delight to listen to. My only comment is that I’d like for him to make more distinction in voice to show which characters are speaking. A minor thing in such a lovely reading.
excellent narrator!
Jason Stacy
Mike Vendetti does an outstanding job narrating this, and I think he has George Babbitt down very, very well. He sounds exactly as I picture him, from the book. Aside from Lone Star Planet, I think this is one of the best LibriVox recordings...
Well read
CHreader
I feel like the narrator does a great job dealing with the many voices in the story. narrator may stumble occasionally, but it doesn't affect the flow for me. I'm pretty flexible and understanding, especially when things are free.
A good reading of a good book
jtodd1973
My only complaint is that there are a lot of pauses before difficult to pronounce words or names, which made the narrative a bit stilted. There were also some stumbled over pronunciations.
Amazing compelling read
Sp3lly
Book is great. Story of the USA in prohibition times. Narrator is amazing and could be a professional. Better than a lot of professionals on Audible.
Narration Matters!!
Lizzie
Once again Mike Venedetti makes the written word come alive. Great story made even better with this rendition of male mid-life crisis.