An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser

I honestly don't know why this book is included on the 100 Best Books List.  It is overly dramatic and sentimental and sooo long.  I was very tired of it and ready for it to be over long before it finished.

An American Tragedy tells the story of Clyde, a young man who has been raised doing missionary work on the streets with his parents.  He gets a job at a hotel and is introduced to alcohol and prostitution.  He gets in trouble with the law because of this and has to leave to another city where he gets a job through family connections.  He continues to make stupid choices and to be motivated mostly by greed and ambition and ends up in jail writing to his heartbroken mother.

This book is mostly clean, although it deals with a lot of mature subjects like prostitution, abortion, and murder, although not in detail.  It probably isn't appropriate for younger readers.

This book isn't worth the large amount of time it takes to read.