Babbitt


Read by John W. Michaels

(4.4 stars; 61 reviews)

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


(4 stars)

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


(4 stars)

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 narrator!


(5 stars)

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


(5 stars)

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


(3 stars)

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.

Narration Matters!!


(5 stars)

Once again Mike Venedetti makes the written word come alive. Great story made even better with this rendition of male mid-life crisis.

Babbitt


(3 stars)

Mike Vendetti is a great reader, extremely professional...and he sure did a lot of reading here. The book is interminable.

love it.


(5 stars)

Mr Vendetti, it is simply a pleasure to listen to you. Especially the ironic bits are voiced wonderfully.