Elmer Gantry may be the most depressing novel I have ever read. Its core message seems to be that people who are willing to lie and cheat will succeed, and even when they occasionally slip up and get caught, if they lie and cheat even harder they will come out even more successful. While I accept th...
First, some backstory. Pride and Prejudice turned me into a lit major. It's also the book that completely changed my life.English was always my best subject at school because I was allowed to read novels and call it work. You knew me as a kid: I was the one with the scraggly hair and glasses who ...