Review Summaries

• It is praised for the weight of its social history and the precision of its family drama. Readers and critics alike are drawn to the fall of the old elite and to the case for reading the novel on its own terms, apart from its film adaptation.

• It is presented as a novel that captures modern change through both psychological detail and social observation. The emphasis is not only on family drama but also on the way the book registers a larger transformation in American life.

Reviews

• I very much like Booth Tarkington's style and greatly enjoyed this book until the end, which I found too unlikely. Despite this, I look forward to reading other books by Tarkington. Considering that he was once considered America's greatest writer, it seems a shame that he is so little heard of now. Once you look beyond the fact that the book is a hundred years old, I think it still has something relevant to say about society, money and misplaced pride.

• Decent book. Love getting the kindle version for free because I needed it for a class and we all know how expensive it can be to buy university books!

• It seems odd that this is a largely forgotten or ignored book, especially because many American novels maintain some greater popularity and are frequently taught, not because they are especially great books, but because they offer a revealing portrait of their time. In the case of The Magnificent Ambersons, it is hard to think of many American novels that create a more fascinating portrait of their time (in this case, America around the turn of the century) and are equally well written. The book primarily traces the fortunes of the Amberson family as Midwestern America transitions from a rural, small-town society with certain seemingly permanent social distinctions based on land, tradition and "cultivation" (a society based on who you are, i.e., "being"), to an urban society based on money and industry, where the social "ground" is subject to swift, seismic shifts (a society based on "doing"). The Ambersons are the embodiment of the "old" American aristocracy and, at least at the outset, their world and their position in it both seem solid, secure and permanent. The book does a marvelous job of depicting this older society, both in its heyday and as it rapidly disappears, including its elegance, its foibles and its arrogance. It does so not only through an on-going account of the city itself (which is a character in its own right), but through the Amberson family and the character of George Amberson Minafer, seeming scion of the most prominent local family, and cursed with the presumptions and arrogance of his position. Through the book, the family in general, and George in particular, experience a precipitous fall, as we see the old regime give way to money, industry, and, as George would say, "riff-raff." In addition to the brilliant depiction of the transition of American society, Tarkington creates some truly memorable characters: George, his mother, old Major Amberson, the Morgans (the new generation of successful industrial inventor and manufacturer), and George's Aunt Fanny. On the Amberson side, it would be easy for Tarkington to make some of the characters thoroughly despicable, and we certainly have little enough sympathy at times for George and Fanny. (George is often absolutely hateful, and rather funny in his presumptions; Fanny is a work of art.)But it is one of the exceptional qualities of the book that we never entirely despise even these flawed and unlikable characters. We understand them and ultimately empathize with them, and we not only believe in but also celebrate their ultimate "redemption." Similarly, it would be easy for Tarkington to too easily dismiss the presumptions of the "old" society or, for that matter, to damn the corruption and the dirt and the grasping nature of the new. Again, however, Tarkington does a marvelous job in creating a kind of nostalgia for things lost, and also offering some promise (dark though it may be) for the future to come, combining both "progress" and, just possibly, some of the more enduring values of the past. Perhaps the greatest thing about the novel is the author's tone. He is an ironic observer and accurate reporter throughout, but the book and his prose is infused with a certain humor, warmth, understanding and compassion that makes this a tender portrait, even at its most critical. Further, at the close of the book, Tarkington accomplishes something remarkable. Through the almost transcendent powers of love and forgiveness (the supernatural is rather amusingly invoked), the remaining characters are brought together and reconciled, and we do believe that they have come through and may have been redeemed. Overall, this is a fine book that deserves to be more widely read. It is an impressive portrait of America in transition and the American character in the early 20th century. One comment as to the edition. I bought the paperback that I believe is advertised here and it is one of the strangest editions I have ever seen. It appears it is virtually printed to order, includes no publishing history, and consists of some of the smallest and hardest to read print imaginable. Honestly, it is incredibly hard on the eyes so that you are really pleased to see pages of dialogue that at least break up the print. The proofreading or typesetting jobs also leave something to be desired. Rather than buying this funky paperback, I would try to find an older, used hardback edition. It could only be an improvement.

• "The Magnificent Ambersons" is the second book of a trilogy about changes in the society of the United States Midwest after the Civil War. Its main interest is that, in describing the rise and fall of the Amberson family, it reflects the changes in society over this period. It is well written and very good on description, but it has one major flaw. Its main character, the spoilt and arrogant George (or Georgie), is totally unsympathetic. Clearly, Tarkington intended him to be like this and (from a moralistic point of view) Georgie's comeuppance is richly deserved. It is just a shame that it takes until the last three or four chapters to arrive. it is best read as social commentary rather than as a novel

• Bottom line first Booth Tarkinton’s The Magnificent Amberson’s was the Pulitzer Prize Winner of 1919 and remains a book beloved by many. I cannot say that it is close to being my favorite, but it is easy to agree with those who praise it. When folks talk about how books used to be written. The Magnificient Ambersons is one of those books. No objectionable language violence or sex. It has respect for traditions and church. More than this, Tarkington has a story to tell. It could easily have been hackneyed and trite. Instead this is a story about class, and the times changing but from a less expected point of view. The language of the story telling and point of view give it more than ample reading value. Still it is not one of my favorites. The fact that it is a free E Read should help your decision. I had no problems with the technical work of the volunteers who converted the text. The opening pages do a wonderful job of introducing the reader to a time several generations back. Olives for example are a rich person’s extravagance and the reader is advised that you have to eat at least nine if you are ever to enjoy eating them. Indeed the special, exalted status of the new created super rich is introduced as a central theme in a manner so home spun and low key as to almost sneak by. A beautiful woman is of course going to get a certain respect, but a rich, beautiful young woman is to be believed and differed to in all things. Not so much the spoiled male child of the town’s leading money family. George Amberson Minafer is a spoiled, petted, bully. He is self-important blind to others, including his family and incapable of thinking that he should ever do anything except be and by being show the riffraff how life should be lived. From the beginning we will share the town’s hope that he will one day receive his comeuppance. It will be a long time coming and in coming it will not be anything like what the reader might expect. I like this book. Many years ago I had stumbled upon Tarkington’s Penrod books and felt them to be more believable than Mark Twain’s version of adolescent boys. The Amberson’s is a more complex and nuanced novel. I found it a little slow. Towards the end there is an appeal to magic which may not have been that far out for its time, but we had not been prepared for it. It came off as a cheating method to force the story in a certain direction. We also have a town version of the Picture of Dorian Grey in the form of an Amberson donated statue of Neptune. As the Town’s becomes more prosperous and grows beyond the importance of the failing Amberson fortunes, this statue will be the physical marker of these changes.

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