Helpful Score: 4
I just finished this book yesterday and I know it will stay with me for a long time. I know it will be one of my all time favorite books. It was better than 1984, and Brave New World. In my mind, it compares with The Handmaid's Tale and the Messiah of Morris Avenue especially in tone and type of commentary. Like many before me, I will note that what Lewis lacked in storytelling he made up for with thematic and political discourse. However, the story was not as weak as I expected from reading other reviews. I rather liked the characters, even if some of them had really obvious names (the communist guy is named Karl). Sissy and Buck were my favorites - they really seemed to pop for me, I felt like they were people I knew.
I was prepared to see parallels with the current political situation in the US. I was not prepared to be so shocked by how spot on Lewis was. To say he was ahead of his time is an understatement. "It Can't Happen Here" was published in 1935 and is as important today as it was then. The story grabbed me and held me transfixed - I had chills during some of the climactic scenes.
Needless to say, I highly recommend this book.
I was prepared to see parallels with the current political situation in the US. I was not prepared to be so shocked by how spot on Lewis was. To say he was ahead of his time is an understatement. "It Can't Happen Here" was published in 1935 and is as important today as it was then. The story grabbed me and held me transfixed - I had chills during some of the climactic scenes.
Needless to say, I highly recommend this book.
Interesting idea about how a country can sink into dictatorship.
A novel about the beginning of fascism in America
It can happen here. That is the genius and terror of this classic book.
