Elmer Gantry

By: Sinclair Lewis

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Audie Award, Literary Fiction, 2009

Elmer Gantry is the portrait of a silver-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church, yet lives a life of hypocrisy, sensuality, and ruthless self-indulgence.

The title character starts out as a greedy, shallow, philandering Baptist minister, turns to evangelism, and eventually becomes the leader of a large Methodist congregation. Throughout the novel, Gantry encounters fellow religious hypocrites. Although often exposed as a fraud, Gantry is never fully discredited.

Elmer Gantry is considered a landmark American novel and one of the most penetrating studies of hypocrisy in modern literature. It portrays the evangelistic activity that was common in 1920s America as well as attitudes toward it.

©1954 Michael Lewis (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A Pure Delight

I can't recall exactly what I expected when I ordered this audio book - probably something classic and venerable, ie. boring and covered in cobwebs. What a wonderful surprise! A smart and funny writer, a 70-year old but perfectly contemporary theme, and a brilliant narration. A lucky choice and my favorite audio book to date.

Amazing Performance

I listen to a lot of books and this narration is incredible. It was a really long book so I was afraid it would get old but all the characters really came to life. Of course the writing and the story are superb so the narrator had a great deal to work with. This is an American classic indeed.

Elmer Gantry

Fantastic and Interesting, Elmer is still everywhere today.

Exceptional narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Elmer Gantry to be better than the print version?

Anthony Heald narrates this preacher-factory satire with such an exceptional feel for the characters and their cunning ways, I can't imagine any other narrator doing this book justice. Mr. Heald is the true star of this audiobook. The story is also a great satirical read about the life of the Southern turn-of-the-century bible-thumping preachers traveling the revival tent circuit. I highly recommend this book. I did not read the print version.

What about Anthony Heald’s performance did you like?

Anthony Heald is the bomb on this production. He takes you right into the heart and soul and conscience of each character.

Overdone

A little overdone. Seems like the author had an axe to grind with Christianity in general.

Fascinating!

The unflinching, story combined with the exquisite reading makes for an unforgettable listening experience. Love, hate, admire or pity Elmer Gantry, you will not forget this complex paradox of a man. The eloquence of his speeches, his brashness, his inner turmoil, the people swept up and away by him, leaves the listener breathless! And, there is much to think about long after the final chapter.

Spectacular Book, Superb Narrator

Anthony Heald brings this nearly 90-year-old story to life, giving the listener full access to the brilliant and acerbic writing of Sinclair Lewis. The story is a timeless and mesmerizing send-up of hypocritical evangelists then and now. Burt Lancaster's performance in the 1960 movie does justice to the character but truncates most of the novel. Well worth the listener's time. This book opened up the world of Sinclair Lewis for me. I cannot say enough good things about Anthony Heald's performance. Five-stars all the way.

American classic

A true American classic, bold, irreverent, hilarious. A look at American religion and life at the turn of the last century. Wonderfully read with humor and feeling. This book covers themes that could come out of today's papers.

nothing's changed in 90 years

This book was a best-seller in 1927, when it created a furor and was apparently banned in several cities. I got it on a whim, because it was on sale and i had vaguely heard of it, but it turned out to be a whopper of a book. Billed as a satire of organized religion, it tells the story of a ruthless, narcissistic evangelist. Only i didn't find it particularly satirical; the story rings far too true-to-life to me, as a non-believer and ex-Christian. Really sad, tho, that it was written almost 90 years ago, and yet nothing has changed. It foretells the Moral Majority decades early, and Gantry could be almost any televangelist or mega-church pastor today. It's a long book, and there are times when the story does bog down a bit, but overall it's a very entertaining and biting look at our society. The narrator is excellent, giving the characters just the right amount of attitude without overdoing it.

This book is fun

Elmer Gantry is a classic without the weighty mindnumbing prose that can accompany the label, "classic." The characters are well developed and interesting and the time listening went by quickly because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. If you are like me and left this book off of your reading list, don't wait a minute more. Be careful, you may loose your religion!