english, anglais, fiction, classics, american literature, novel 

Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser's revolutionary first novel, was published in 1900--sort of. The story of Carrie Meeber, an 18-year-old country girl who moves to Chicago and becomes a kept woman, was strong stuff at the turn of the century, and what Dreiser's wary publisher released was a highly expurgated version. Times change, and we now have a restored "author's cut" of Sister Carrie that shows how truly ahead of his time Dreiser was. First and foremost, he has written an astute, nonmoralizing account of a woman and her limited options in late-19th-century America. That's impressive in and of itself, but Dreiser doesn't stop there. Digging deeply into the psychological underpinnings of his characters, he gives us people who are often strangers to themselves, drifting numbly until fate pushes them on a path they can later neither defend nor even remember choosing.

Dreiser's story unfolds in the measured cadences of an earlier era. This sometimes works brilliantly as we follow the choices, small and large, that lead some characters to doom and others to glory. On the other hand, the middle chapters--of which there are many--do drag somewhat, even when one appreciates Dreiser's intentions. If you can make it through the sagging midsection, however, you'll be rewarded by Sister Carrie's last 150 pages, which depict the harrowing downward spiral of one of the book's central characters. Here Dreiser portrays with brutal power how the wrong decision--or lack of decision--can lay waste to a life. --Rebecca Gleason 

Carrie à peine majeure, décide de quitter l'ennui de sa campagne pour tenter sa chance à Boston. Sa soeur aînée, déjà mariée, l'accueille contre participation au frais du foyer. Mais trouver du travail pour une jeune fille inexpérimentée dans le Boston du début du 20ème siècle se révèle difficile. Après de nombreux échecs et une place sur une chaîne de montage, Carrie réalise que les salaires de misère qu'on lui offre ne lui permettront jamais d'accéder à la vraie vie de Boston, la vie mondaine avec ses restaurants, ses théâtres, ses beaux vêtements... Drouet, un négociant amateur de jolies femmes, rencontré dans le train pour Boston, lui propose de l'aider. Après quelques atermoiements et hésitations, Carrie accepte de se mettre sous sa coupe et de profiter ainsi de la vie. Mais le temps passant, Carrie découvre que même Drouet a des limites. Elle se laisse alors séduire par Hurstwood qui l'entraînera jusqu'à New York où elle continuera de rechercher la richesse et l'accès aux classes supérieures.