I bought this paperback after listening to the book on audio - I wanted to savor the text. It's a lovely look at the rise and fall of a family and the effects of this on the sole son and heir. There are intricate personal problems and personality clashes, and there are sketches of life in the early 1900s, with some compare-and-contrast between the old guard and the newfangled upstarts. Young George Amberson, born to wealth and position (the position of a family that's a very large frog in a relatively small pond), is very badly spoiled, and this drives some of the bleaker and more frustrating aspects of the story - his pride manages to ruin things for several people, and it isn't clear for a long time whether he's going to be able to turn things around.

There's a bit of a jarring note near the end, in scenes involving a spiritualist; I know it was a popular topic at the time, but it feels out of place to me, and I couldn't help thinking the author should have found a better way to bring the plot threads together - but other than that, I enjoyed the book very much. Even when I wanted to throttle poor George!

I'd seen the 1942 film long ago - the one that's legendary for having been taken out of the hands of director Orson Welles and massively cut and edited before release. Some say this ruined it utterly, but I remember the film fondly, and having finally read the book, I think it compares pretty well - and, if anything, the tweaks to the ending may be an improvement.

[There was a 2002 TV mini-series adaptation that I had great hopes for, but even though some of the cast members were actors I admired, I didn't care for the production.]

This book's going into my Based on the Book bookbox, with this book serving as the bookbox journal. The box will be on the way to the first participant soon. Enjoy!

Found in the "Based on the Book" bookbox.

To be released as part of the "Based on the Book" bookbox. Sending it off!

Chosen from GoryDetails' Based on the Book bookbox

I am pink with pleasure on finding a link between myself and the illustrious GoryDetails: reading this book after hearing it read aloud. In my case, it was on my local radio station's Book Club of the Air, which also included such eye-openers as 'It Can't Happen Here' by Sinclair Lewis, and 'The Master and Margarita' by Mikhail Bulgakov. Small wonder that I became permanently smitten with listening to books!

The viewpoint character is George Amberson Minafer - Tarkington ironically emphasizes the way George identifies himself exclusively with the magnificence, since he actually bears another name. In a way, his doom is sealed by page 17, when one perceptive woman predicts accurately that his mother will be so besotted that she will raise him without the benefits of any ambition, discipline, judgment, or even common courtesy (she does pay a heavy price for this). So George intends to spend his life being rather than doing: being rich, being snobbish, being an Amberson.

But the times, they are a-changing. Living on their own private estates in the Amberson Addition on Amberson Boulevard, the wealthy aristocrats reject with scorn the opportunity to invest in an automobile manufacturing plant. They also pretty much refuse to descend from their heights to pay much attention to other social trends, or even their own financial affairs. What follows is just what you would expect.

Closing thoughts: I agree with Gory that the last chapter feels out of place; I'd be happy to skip it altogether. Now I really want to see the 1942 film. And this particular volume has a very nice cover. Thanks for sharing it, Gory!

But this is just one person's opinion. Future readers, what do YOU think of the book?

Placed in bookstogive's "I Hate Science Fiction" book box.

Pulled out of the "I Hate SF Bookbox" because it's one of those classics I haven't read yet.

Left in the Little Free Library shortly after 2 p.m.

Congratulations--you caught a book!
Welcome to BookCrossing.com, where we are trying to make the whole world a library!

Take your time reading the book, and after you finish, please make a journal entry to record your thoughts about it. This book is now yours, and you can keep it if you choose, though we would love for you to share it. If you pass it along, please make a release note to let others know where you left it.

Whatever you decide to do, please leave the label intact, so the book has a chance to keep in touch with us. Thanks and enjoy!