Customer Reviews

Elmer Gantry (Signet Classics)

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Elmer Gantry begins this novel as a boozing, womanizing, college football player. Despite having a great speaking voice and dominating personality he has no interest in persuing a career as a minister. Peer pressure leads him to try, and he soon finds himself attending divinity school and headed to life as a man of the cloth.

Elmer's character can be summed up by once incident. After getting a doubt-ridden professor fired, someone leaves 30 dimes wrapped in a religious tract in Elmer's dorm room. He delightedly mines the tract for sermon ideas, and uses the 30 dimes to buy naughty postcards.

Besides following the rise, fall, and rise of hard working, talented, and utterly unprincipled Elmer, Sinclair Lewis's novel shows us the state of evangelical religion in the first decades of the 20th Century. We see back-country Baptist churches, traveling revival shows, "New Age" cults, and middle-of-the road Methodist congregations at work.

It's funny, and hair-raising, stuff. There's also a nice twist ending that puts it in the category of an Awful Warning novel.

When Elmer Gantry was published, author Sinclair Lewis received death threats, an ivitation to be lynched in Virginia, a warning to stay clear of New Hampshire or wind up in a prison cell. I wonder if he would still have the courage to write a similar book today, in the climate of religious fanaticism that prevails. Elmer Gantry is a portrayal of hypocrisy and opportunism among the Evangelical clergy of the early 20th Century. The title character is as hateful and fraudulent as the Bakkers, Swaggerts, and Blackguards of our era, with the same vices, most prominently sexual misbehavior and exploitation. In fact, Gantry is so thoroughly unappealing that the reader's only interest in him is waiting and hoping for his downfall. But the numerous other clergymen, deacons, and congregational leaders portrayed in the novel are none of them very appealing; they are all greedy hypocrites, timorous holders of sinecures, and/or weaklings unable to confront their own doubts about the sanctity of the clerical profession. I have to say that Sinclair Lewis seriously weakens his case by overstating the universality of corruption in the Christian leadership, and damages the literary interest of his book by making his principal character irredeemable. Yet as I survey the current fundamentalist eruption into politics, I also have to say that Lewis was remarkably prophetic. The anti-evolution, anti-science-in-general, anti-diversity rants that fill the pages of Elmer Gantry could be copied-and-pasted right here on our favorite web pages.

The chief woman character of the book, tent evangelist Sharon Falconer, is also portrayed as a power-hungry opportunist, half hypocrite and half delusional madwoman. That portrayal won Lewis no friends, particularly since most readers were certain that Falconer was a thinly disguised representation of Aimee Semple McPherson, one of the founders of modern millenialism, whose personal improprieties are well documented. Likewise, numerous critics supposed that the character of Gantry himself was at least partly a portrait of evangelist Billy Sunday.

We Minnesotans are proud of our Nobel Prize author, though we show our pride mostly by not reading him. Honestly, this is not an easy book to enjoy. The language is stiff and corny at times, the characters are too cartoon-like, and the first half of the book would be better if it were edited in half. Even so, it has intellectual integrity and profound historical relevance, and its unrelenting portrayal of moral shallowness builds enough momentum to make it a worthwhile classic.

A lot of Sinclair Lewis can be read as social history in our days at the turn of the 21st century. Social mores and the whole tenor of society have changed dramatically since the days of his major works. But ELMER GANTRY still reads like a story of our times. Though it covers a period roughly stretching from 1902 to 1926, and America has been transformed since then, the basic idea of the novel---how a man, selfish, ignorant, bullying, and posing as a 'regular guy', can fool most of the people most of the time---is still very much relevant to us. Business was the heart of America in Lewis' day, and it still is. But a career model drawn from that sphere could be used in many other walks of life. ELMER GANTRY is about a man who uses religion and a Protestant church to rise socially, to get and abuse power for his own ends. From Elmer's evangelical college days with his drinking, womanizing, total lack of ability or interest in studies, and his lying and maneuvering to get what he wants, to the stunning but realistic conclusion to the book, Lewis paints a vibrant portrait of an unprincipled climber ; a man who will change any opinion, betray anybody, and do anything to get ahead. If we consider the sagas of TV evangelists in our days, the difference between their revealed hypocrisies and those written by Lewis is startlingly small. The sole difference was that in the 1920s, there was no television for Elmer Gantry to exploit.

Certain sections of the book read better than others--it is not of uniform quality---and sometimes you wonder why Lewis inserted a chapter here or there. I think particularly of the two chapters on the fate of Frank Shallard, Gantry's alter-ego. They seemed to be an afterthought, and the point was brutally taken, but for what purpose other than shock ? On the other hand, Lewis' use of the colloquial language of the times and inclusion of thousands of minor details of life in that era reveal a whole world which might, in the absence of ELMER GANTRY, have disappeared from our consciousness. On the whole, this is a powerful novel about an unscrupulous, offensive scoundrel which still resonates well in our day. The Gantrys of this world are endless. Unfortunately.

In Babbit, Sinclair Lewis turns business into a religion. Whereas, in Elmer Gantry, Lewis turns religion into a business. Elmer Gantry is a very real portrayal of a man who is ecstatic about his religion, but it is all an outward show for profit. We might be tempted to think that the corruption evident in modern televangelists is a new occurence. Lewis proves us wrong. Lewis shows the entire spectrum of christian belief in this novel from hypocrisy, to agnosticism, to an abiding spiritual life. Despite the fact that Lewis is one of my favorite authors and this is a superior novel, there was one disappointment. Near the end of the book, Gantry is confronted by the book's one genuine believer. There was a lot of emotional tension in the scene, and I felt Lewis just let it slip away. It was an unsatisfying resolution after the build up. Beyond that one moment, It's one of the best works of fiction I have ever read.

For Christians -- Read this book. It will force you to examine who you are and the faith you adhere to. Being a Christian myself, it has encouraged me to focus more being what we should be. Despite the fact that this book is terribly shocking, it is real. I've heard of many ministers, locally and nationally, who are creeps and sleep around on their spouses. Elmer isn't as far off as we want him to be.

For cynical non-Christians -- Sinclair Lewis tells a tale that will, unfortunately, make you even more cynical to the church. It is a great book that helps you see inside the evils that can and do happen. But don't let the book stop there. By seeing the dirt inside Elmer Gantry's ministry, examine yourselve compared to who you say you are. Elmer Gantry is a challenge to everyone to really be who they say they are.

I never expected to be moved so much by this book, to feel so strongly about it. Published in 1927, I expected something dated, both in prose and story -- it wasn't at all. This novel isn't just as it's usually described: adventures of a golden-tongued evangelist who lives a live of hypocrisy and self-indulgence. This also isn't a novel whose primary purpose is to attack the clergy. This is a profile of the USA, of the American psyche, a profile that still works today. I finished the book and sat staring out the window for 10 minutes. I didn't know whether to laugh or weep.

What's so disheartening about this book, for me, is, as noted in the afterword by Mark Schorer, "The forces of social good and enlightenment as presented in "Elmer Gantry" are not strong enough to offer any real resistance to the forces of social evil and banality." This is a book where all the good guys go down.

Maybe you have to have been raised in the South or Midwest of the USA, and to have been brought up Baptist or Methodist, to really, truly get all the layers of this magnificent book, all the hidden humor, all the razor-sharp and, at times, incredibly subtle, criticism and commentary. If you've never been to a church supper where a person proudly claims to have traced their lineage all the way back to Adam and Eve, if you have never had your school board or local city council hear arguments about why certain books should be banned from school or local libraries, if a significant number of your family wouldn't boycott your wedding if you chose to serve alcohol, if you have never heard Catholics called "Papists" from a pulpit, if school friends haven't told you, in all sincerity, that they are going to pray for you because of your questions and intellect, if you haven't heard "Christians" rationalize about their actions that are in direct contrast to what the Bible says, if you haven't noticed the onslaught of efforts to get science out of our schools, I'm not sure you can really, truly "get" this book. Part of me is ashamed to have only finally read Sinclair Lewis when I'm already 40 -- and part of me wonders if I could ever have understood this book on the level I feel that I do had I not been this age.

Still a landmark in American literature, still a biting, chilling commentary on our country.

When you ask the question "Why is it that you dislike Christianity," one answer almost certainly arises. Hypocrisy. Elmer Gantry examines this phenomen expertly. Wrap in Elmer Gantry is the arrogantly conniving ignorance that seems to be a prerequisite for certain members of the Christian community. Truly fascinating is that Lewis penned Gantry in the early twentieth century but it reflects largely upon our current -society. Non-Christian and Christian alike will gain from reading Elmer Gantry.

In my opinion, ELMER GANTRY is Sinclair Lewis' finest novel, and that's saying a lot. I first read it some years ago during the height of the televangelist scandals, and while the vernacular seemed a bit quaint, the story itself was as fresh as the daily headlines--so topical that for a while there I regarded Lewis as something of a prophet. He wasn't of course. His novel is set in the early decades of the 20th century, and the fact that it seems so current today is testimony not to Lewis' prescience, but to the persistence of the religious milieu in which real-life Elmer Gantrys thrive. Lewis had obviously researched his subject extremely well, for he was almost uncannily familiar with the dim-witted but canny types who fill pews and collection plates by telling people what they want to hear.

Modern readers will recognize Elmer Gantry as the 1920s equivalent of today's televangelists. Lewis had no patience with hypocrites and very little with organized religion, even the respectable "mainline" kind. The book has more satiric bite and even more sexual "oomph" than the 1960 movie. Elmer's self-deception and many flaws are well conveyed, and the Sister Falconer character, with whom he has an affair, was largely based on Aimee Semple McPherson. I guess you could call ELMER GANTRY a deep portrait of a shallow man.

Excellent read, extremely interesting and intelligent prose. Lewis has a field day exposing the sinful, sanctimonious world of evangelism in early twentieth century Mid-America. And does he ever expose it! You will be hard pressed to find a more disreputable jackass in all of literature than Sinclair's main protagonist the Reverend Elmer Gantry. Long before the days of Jim & Tammy Baker & the Reverend Jimmy Swaggart there was this very funny story about this soulless, vapid, amoral, self-absorbed, overbearing, mama's boy who uses religion as his road to success. He's not smart enough, and far too lazy to make it in the real world, so Elmer decides to become a con man, errrrr Methodist preacher (although, it could have been one of several Christian sects) who's definition of success is about two things - money and power.

One thing that I find truly remarkable about this novel was how Sinclair was able to keep us interested and more importantly keep us from throwing the book in the trash or fireplace. When you finish this book, you will know what I mean. For upon reflection, Elmer Gantry is one despicable excuse for a human being. The man has no soul. He manipulates the masses and those around him without ever a tinge of guilt. He treats his family (except of course for his mama) like a pile of horse manure. And he's the most hypocritical cad you'll ever find in fiction. I could go on and on, but I don't want to divulge too much. Yet, despite how loathsome Elmer is, he does have a certain charm about him (don't they all?). It is that charm that keeps us from truly hating him enough to not care anymore. It is that charm that kept me reading on instead of tossing it in the Good Will box. I don't know about the rest of you, but if I can't stand the main character, no matter how interesting the story is or how well written, I usually can't finish the book. Am I the only one like this? Anyway, that's the beauty of Lewis' creation; the character of Reverend Gantry with all of it's vulgarities still had that undefined 'positive' something that keeps us reading on.

It's a great, great story. I had one hec of a time putting it down. I also recommend reading the book's very interesting 'Afterword' written by Mark Schorer. After reading it, I came away with even greater respect for Sinclair Lewis as a writer. The work and research this man did for a story is quite remakable on top of highly commendable. No wonder this classic (along with several others of his) is such an enjoyable read and definitely not dated at all like many classics unfortunately are. For me one of the keys to being dubbed a classic is being timeless. This book truly is. For there are certainly plenty of real life Elmer Gantry's running around all over the place in this world right now.
If you enjoy it half as much as I did, you'll love it.