dreiser's still fascinatingly dull. he's like william dean howells minus the wry sense of humor, or f. scott fitzgerald without the beautiful prose. all it is is striving after money and success without a hint of charm. the main character is excessively fond of speculation and he will do and dare anything to win a dime, other conditions of life and their endeavours are strange and unknown to him. he's supposedly en embodiment of élan vital that can never find an object or goal commensurate with its unlimited energy. that's why he pursues aileen butler, the daughter of a philadelphia contractor who had the political and financial power to crush him. that's why he seduces the wives and daughters of some of his principal supporters. that's why he admires and collects pantings. he doesn't really seek beauty or sex. rather, he feels the need to constantly test himself against the will of the very best women, respond to every challenge and every risk as he pursues an ultimate ideal of perfection and mastery that apparently can never be found. it could almost be tolerable if not for the dry writing style of textbook authors.

dreiser seems to accept both american ethic of success and a pessimistic materialism and he clearly identifies himself with cowperwood, who, by seeking stresses that would test his own will and capacity for transcending the deterministic flux, defiantly challenged the materialistic world view yet failed to confront the narrow equation of morality and success.

first book of the series was refreshing and interesting, considering it was one of the first novels i read about america as a business civilization, but reading another load of 500 pages of a leisurely novel is beyond almost all people even sophisticated readers, of which i'm definitely not part