Pretty good novel of struggles of a doctor in a community. ( )

3.5 stars, rounded down.

To truly appreciate Arrowsmith, you must appreciate satire, because much of this book is written a bit tongue in cheek. Martin Arrowsmith is a man who aspires to be a pure scientist, and struggles to do so in the face of commercialism, hubris and ambition. I must confess to not liking Martin universally. He is pompous at times, and he is cold and unfeeling at others. I wanted him to find a better balance between his dedication to his work and his personal relationships, particularly the one he shared with his wife, Leora.

I was struck with how little has changed in our society over the century that lies between the publication of this novel and our own day. Martin Arrowsmith is a physician, but one who cares little for the practice of medicine and is much more involved with the research of disease. With our current struggle with how to best provide health care for the masses, I could see so many of the questions were the same in 1920. Do you rush to market with an inoculation that has not been completely proved or do you continue your research until you are satisfied there can be no error, risking the deaths of infected people and the chance that someone else will beat you to the market with their own serum? What is the purpose of the independent research laboratory--the production of discovery useful to the population or the making of profits for the shareholders? What about the charming but ignorant, or worse, morally corrupt, men who are running things, making the decisions, choosing the direction?

While I found this to be well-written and its message meaningful, there was a missing element for me, and that was emotional involvement. I found that the further into the story I got the more emotionally divorced I felt. I could not muster a tear when the events in the story might have merited one, nor could I feel the injustice or frustration, although I recognized it and chronicled it. I was very much looking forward to reading this, and I felt a bit deflated when I closed the last page.

Don’t misunderstand, I am not suggesting it isn’t worth the reading, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. ( )

The story about the noble pursuit of medicine vs. the modern trappings of wealth, recognition, and power. Lewis thew everything but action into this book; capitalism, ethics, morality, fraud, lust ...

If I could, I'd give it 3.75 stars ... ( )

Yes, I know it won the Pulitzer Prize. Yes, I know Sinclair Lewis wrote it. But it was still boring, boring, boring. ( )

One of my top favorite books, I find it especially interesting as it carries themes that apply to day. ( )