The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington 1919

In 1919, the Pulitzer Prize for literature was awarded to Booth Tarkington for The Magnificent Ambersons.  The Magnificent Ambersons is set in an unnamed town in Indiana, where the Ambersons are the most prominent citizens, and is the story of the young scion of the family, George Amberson Minifer.  George is the handsome, much indulged, grandson and heir of the Amberson patriarch.  George's mother, the lovely Isabel, made two mistakes in her life: she refused to marry the love of her life after he made himself look ridiculous one night, and she saw her son as a little angel instead of the holy terror he actually was.  He repays her love with a love of his own so selfish that he prevents her from reuniting as a widow with her first love.  Sadly, the early comparison that came to my mind and took up permanent residence was that George reminded me of Donald Trump, though George remained a gentleman throughout.  Having such an unpleasant protagonist nearly spoiled the book for me.

The Magnificent Ambersons is another book of its era.  Changing times and changing fortunes were key themes in the novel.  In fact, the entire town (and me) were waiting for the comeuppance of our anti-hero.  When financial disaster does finally strike on the heels of his mother's death, George withdraws from society and takes on the very dangerous trade of making and hauling explosives, since "My nerves are good; I'm muscular, and I've got a steady hand."  Surprisingly, he does very well at the work, and is able to take care of his maiden aunt with a gentlemanly politeness he had never previously shown to her.  His downfall is entrenched by his Sunday walks, when he sees the old emblems of his youthful Amberson pride being destroyed in the quest to modernize the city.

I would have been happy for the book to end there, but Tarkington did not agree.  So after being badly injured, not at work, but during his pedestrian wanderings, George is reunited with Lucy, his only love.  Fittingly enough, he was injured by the most signal harbinger of change of the era, a car.  Naturally, Lucy is the rich daughter of his mother's first flame (it's a small town).  She had dumped him before his fall because he had been planning to become a dilettante; and, most especially, because he was so rotten to her dear Papa.  When reunited after his accident, George takes the opportunity to apologize to her father for his baseless interference, making his redemption as complete as it can be for someone who is still basically a snob.

Tarkington's writing is very easy to read and his words bring alive a time now long gone.  His characterizations are excellent. When I wasn't making comparisons to Donald Trump, George reminded me unpleasantly of all the nasty rich kid antagonists that never came to a good end in the works of Horatio Alger.  Much like in His Family, each member of the Ambersons is fully drawn, flaws and all.  Again, character development took pride of place over plot.  It would seem that the same standards were applied for the awarding of the first two Pulitzer prizes: good, solid writing, vivid imagery, and telling a universal story.

So, how does The Magnificent Ambersons stack up against His Family?

Most Enjoyable
His Family - Ernest Poole
The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington

Easy to Read
The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington
His Family - Ernest Poole

Best Characters
His Family - Ernest Poole
The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington

Best Plot
His Family - Ernest Poole
The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington