Customer Reviews

Arrowsmith

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4 star:		(6)
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Martin Arrowsmith is a man with a mission, a scientific truth-seeker, an idealist who perpetually returns to his pure research interests despite the material influences and social pressures of the world around him.

Lewis's biographical novel portrays Arrowsmith, accompanied by his sympathetic wife, Leora, in a roundabout career from medical student to small-town doctor to public health administrator to bacteriology researcher. From boyhood to middle age, Arrowsmith walks a lonesome road, placing verifiable scientific knowledge and sincere craftsmanship above money, publicity, political power and social status (this is Lewis's affront to American "commercialism"). Ultimately, Arrowsmith is heroic in his remarkable perseverance and quest for truth, although some might label him a cold-hearted escapist for deserting his wealthy second wife, young child and promising New York City career in favor of a rustic laboratory and rugged backwoods existence on a fellow rebel researcher's Vermont farm.

Modern readers will find Arrowsmith's devotion to his early 20th century "science as truth" dogma somewhat tiring, narrow and dated. Yet, in a broader sense, what is most important is that Arrowsmith consistently remains true to his core personal belief (which in his case just so happens to be scientific truth). His unwavering self-honesty is what makes Arrowsmith an eternally heroic figure.

However powerful its message, the novel unfortunately reads like a patchwork of stages in our hero's career, somewhat artificially connected with the support of unconvincing reappearances of Arrowsmith's medical school classmates later in their careers (e.g., the sudden reappearance of the crazed, doctor-turned-missionary Reverend Ira Hinkley on Arrowsmith's trip to fight the plague in the West Indies, where incidentally Leora tragically dies). I conjecture that in reaching beyond the familiarity of his family's medical practice and venturing into the more rarified realm of scientific research, Lewis has stretched--as a chronicler commonly does but, I would say, a novelist should not--too far outside his own life experiences. The result is that this classic novel falls short of becoming a more emotionally engaging literary work with a truly believable flow of realistic life events.

Author Sinclair Lewis had some exposure to the medical profession early in his life through his father, who was a country doctor. Yet, even with some personal exposure, it's amazing how much of the idealism and cynicism, evident in modern physician practice, Lewis portrays in his 1926 pulitizer prize winning book, "Arrowsmith". Martin Arrowsmith, M.D. is a fictional idealist who is a human being before all else, but trying to bring science to the practice of Medicine. Actually, the story seems almost autobiographical due to the personal intensity and human fraility of the complex main character. As a registered nurse, reading Arrowsmith brings flashbacks of the past, like the cliches "deja vu all over again", or worse, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". Medicine for financial- profit, patient care challenges, personality conflicts, political shenanigans, professional competition, and overutilization of medical technology are some of the common problems Arrowsmith faces as he pursues a career in medicine after barely struggling through the politics of medical school in the mythical town of Wheatsylvania, Midwest, USA, in the early 20th century. This is not another novel about how physicians affect people's lives, but a masterpiece about the nuances of the medical profession as mysterious and suspect,of physicians who are heros and villans. Most surprising are the humerous vignettes sprinkled throughout the plot like bits and pieces of old Jack Benny radio show skits. When Martin Arrowsmith must decide if he is to fulfill his promise to marry Madeline Fox or betray her for his soul mate Leora Tozer, the genious writer Lewis creates such humor in the ensuing restaurant scene, that should be frought with melodrama, but, instead, is absolutely delightful reading. Similar humor engulfs the life portrayed of Arrowsmith's employer, Pickerbaugh, and his fleet of daughters named after flowers, like the saucy Orchid. Arrowsmith is simply a joy to read, especially for people who have a flair for some classic literature without getting too deep into concentrated philosophic thought. Simply put, Arrowsmith today, were he to practice in modern medicine, would probably be no better or worse off than he was in 1908 through circa 1920, when the novel takes place. Arrowsmith is a classic American novel and an entertaining story.

...hard by having read the book. Sinclair Lewis is a master craftsman of cumulative narratives. It becomes a matter of collating details and making a composite.

The protagonist in this novel is a bit different from Lewis' other lead characters. Whereas Babbitt was always a sell out and phony, and while Carol Kennicott succumbs to a parochial mindset at the end of Main Street (whether or not she admits it), Martin's retirement to a cabin with friend Terry Wicket is an indicator of something rare and refreshing in a Lewis novel: A leading light who doesn't sacrifice integrity for reknown. There are any number of interesting minor characters to keep it interesting. Leora Tozer, Martin's first wife, is a poignant dim wit, and the story of Max Gottlieb's (Martin's college idol) hard-luck-to-sell-out story is a perfect and diverting trial for Martin, a man dedicated to pure research without sponsorship from some results-and-profit obsessed pharmaceutical company.

This book is amazing, as are all Lewis novels I've encountered, in its intelligent depiction of unintelligent or, in some cases, misguided characters. It is something of a departure to find Lewis treating a character as an honorable, not a money-grubbing, human. This deserved its Pulitzer. And, considering Lewis' opprobrium for the greedy American mentality, it's not hard to see him refusing said prize.

Sinclair Lewis's novels typically look at a facet of American life, circa 1920, via an "biography" of a fictional character. _Babbit_ examined the world of a boobish, hapless real-estate dealer. _Elmer Gantry_ showed us the lives of preachers and clergymen and charlatans.

_Arrowsmith_ is recognizably another entry in this series. It is partially set in the fictional midwestern state of Winnemac, and George Babbit makes a cameo appearance. This time around, we see the state of the medical profession, from the practice of a small-town doctor to high-end clinics and public health offices. But unlike George Babbit or the hilarious scoundrel Gantry, Martin Arrowsmith M.D. is someone with ideals. He's no saint; he occasionally neglects an understanding wife and "blows" many opportunities to advance his career by spending too much time in a lab, persuing basic research.

But Martin eventually does succeed on his own terms, idealism intact, a rare victory for a Lewis character.

_Arrowsmith_ was definitely a slog compared to _Babbit_ or _Elmer Gantry_. There are plenty of satirical bits, but they are fewer and far between. Those interested in the nitty-gritty of medicine and scientific research before electronic gear, electron microscropes, and computers might forgive the relatively slow pace.

If you have any interest in science or research or medicine, you'll probably like it.
I read it once about 2 years ago, and the character of Arrowsmith remains in my mind as potently as Huck Finn. It also paint's a pretty picture of 19th century North East America.
The university and laboratory 'scenes' are realistic.

If an author wanted to portray the difficulties and conflicts of interest inherent in the medical profession to the world, a biography of some famous surgeon or medical researcher might be just the ticket. If, on the other hand, an author wanted to write a lasting novel of top quality, I believe that there is no other way than to develop one or several characters in as much depth as possible, to plumb their very souls (as they say in the classics !) Irving Stone-style fictionalized biographies are another way possible way to go-you can combine the two genres. What Sinclair Lewis created in ARROWSMITH is a piece of socialist realism that drags dreadfully, a book in which no character is open to us, a psychological void. The novel is more a sociology of the American medical profession in the first decades of the 20th century, a kind of uninspired exposé of medical colleges, country doctors, pharmaceutical firms, big city surgeons, and top-level research institutions---a social catalogue peopled with insipid characters that lack all the zany but convincing frenzy of Lewis' other books. We follow Martin Arrowsmith's career from small town to university to North Dakota hick town and on up. It's not an easy climb; it's not a Hollywood story, I'll grant you that. There is an exotic interlude on a plague-stricken West Indian island to liven up the far reaches of the novel, but nothing can really stir you much if you've hung on till then. The basic problem is, as I've already claimed, that the characters take second place to the process. Who can forget Babbitt or Elmer Gantry ? There are no such larger-than-life figures marching through ARROWSMITH. The protagonist's first wife is so thinly-drawn as to be almost invisible, like some cardboard cutout instead of a flesh and blood woman. She conveniently takes a back seat to her husband's career. The characters tend towards stereotype. A couple characters from other novels---George Babbitt and Chum Frick---have walk-on appearances, and there is a Prof. Schlemihl, (who, so satisfyingly, Lewis did not fail to mention, was quite a porker) but none of the main actors in ARROWSMITH will stick in your mind. Romantic interests are added from time to time, like salt to soup. I felt, as I read, that Lewis' real talent lay in caricature. When he wrote, tongue-in-cheek, about the "small town glories" of 1920s and '30s America, and he let his imagination soar, he was unbeatable. When he reined himself in, trying to be 'serious' and 'natural', he lost touch with that special genius. Written in between four of his greatest novels---"Main Street" and "Babbitt" came before and "Elmer Gantry" and "Dodsworth" came after, I can only think that Lewis' imagination faltered when he wrote ARROWSMITH. It comes to an unsatisfying conclusion and is entirely forgettable.

Once again, Sinclair Lewis engulfed me. This is the fourth of his works that I have read (Elmer Gantry, Main Street and Babbit being the others) and although I didn't like Arrowsmith quite as much as those three, I still couldn't put it down.

Unlike so many novelists, Lewis' endings are impossible to predict. They're not necessarily happy, or tragic, they're open-ended, which often mirrors real life. For Martin Arrowsmith, he ends up, in a sense, free and able to devote the rest of his life to research without any distractions. At the same time, he's lost his first wife and deserted his second and their son.

Like the main characters of Lewis' other books, Elmer Gantry, Carol Kennicot and George Babbit, Martin Arrowsmith is not clearly a protagonist or an antagonist. The reader sympathizes with his frustrations, especially in dealing with his first wife's knee-jerk family. At the same time, I found myself rather angry with Martin's attitude now and then. Many of the other major characters: Max Gottleib (Arrowsmith's mentor), Almus Pickerbrauh, and Terry Wickett (Arrowsmith's friend and partner) evoke the same mixed reactions. Once again, I think this is an example of Lewis' realism, for in real life, there are few "pure" heroes; and even the noblest soul is tainted at times.

Read this book to understand the personal frustrations and conflicts that infect everyone's soul; read it for a contrasted depiction of American life in small towns, mid-sized cities and large metropolis' in the earlier 20th century. But read it.

After randomly choosing Arrowsmith for a Year 11 assignment on American Literature I was pleasantly surprised to get such an amazing, and enthralling book.Being already intersted in science, particularly medical research I was exited to read such a detailed (I dont know about accurate, it certainly seems to be)insight in to the world of medicine and science in general. It certainly set the ambition clear in my mind and renewed my desire at 16 to enter the medical world. It is a great book and anyone who reads it will feel the same compulsion I did if they have any interest whatsoever in medicine.

I have to say that i do love to read a variety of books, but Sinclair Lewis' novel Arrowsmith was absolutely horrible, and discouraged me from reading any other novels by Lewis. The novel was dull and boring. There was no excitement or suspense. There wasn't even a interesting plot. The novel also had an extreme amount of unnecessary characters,and it was too long which made the novel even more ridiculous. From most novels, you learn some values or something, but I didn't learn anything from Arrowsmith, except that sometimes a nap can be more interesting than reading a book.

Lewis has written such a wonderful story, filled with tongue-in-cheek contempt for the mercenary ways of mankind. In Arrowsmith, he has created a protagonist who is not without flaws, but has good intentions. Also a wonderful story for people who enjoy medicine or the medical world. (But you don't have to to enjoy the book!) After reading it, I'll want to check out some of Lewis' other works.