Rating: 
Summary: American Literature of the Past Beats Anything Written Today
Review: As I have aged, and become aware of the time left in life, I have returned to reading classic books that I read in high school, or overlooked for popular fiction works of today. And am I glad I did. When in high school, we read Dreiser's American Tragedy, and I remember being one of the few who loved it. I felt it reached me as a teenager as no other book ever had, and to this day it is one of my few favorite books of all time (then again I love American Romantic Period paintings, and not many people I know do, so maybe it's just my taste). Anyway, Sister Carrie is new to me, and I love it. Of all the books that explain women's true feelings that I have read, this is one of the best. I think it still holds true for many women...circumstances may be different, but the feelings remain the same. If you want to understand the woman in your life, study Carrie. And the path of the male character is astoundingly real, even today. It is a thoughtful book that warrants everyone's attention. And added benefit...the language is beautiful. Writers from our past used words in ways to describe the world that I have rarely read in modern times...you can feel the wind through the trees, sense the depression of winter days, understand the inner feelings of characters far better than much put into books today provides. I have read far too many books today in which action takes precedence over character. Read Dreiser, or Dickens, or Hardy, or Austen and then try a modern book..its shocking how little the new books can hold you after the experience. SISTER CARRIE is worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: It resonated with me.
Review: It's a big world. We all don't enjoy the same pleaures and we certainly all don't like the same books. I read "Sister Carrie" about ten years ago. I still remember it vividly. Many times since then, I have thought about the characters in it, and what they did, so it's a bit of a surprise to see that some other readers despised it. I wonder what they've read that they liked and if I would like those books. I recommend "Sister Carrie" and Dreiser's other great novel "An American Tragedy" for those who try to understand what motivates us as we live our lives. It is just the circumstances we find ourselves in by chance or are their irresistable forces that drive us?
Rating: 
Summary: Great portrait of unhappiness
Review: I finally got around to reading something by Dreiser, namely Sister Carrie. A friend raved it up about 20 years ago. The pink-covered old battered Bantam paperback he read is the same one I'm reading now. I'm only half-way through it, but I'm enjoying its grim working out of these characters' destinies. They are a rather hopeless bunch, but what fascinates me is how Dreiser brilliantly evokes the state of unhappiness and how quickly happiness can go sour and how impossible it is to hold onto happiness for any length of time, especially when people seek to base it on empty premises, as these characters do. Incidentally, I began to wonder if the great Tennessee Williams was inspired by Sister Carrie's opening when he wrote A Streetcar Named Desire. The early scenes are eerily like the one where poor Blanche DuBois steps off the streetcar and looks for the tenement where her sister lives. The big-city atmospherics, the weather, the buildings, the lonely crowds in Sister Carrie are very well done, very vivid. Dreiser is a real clutz of a writer, stylistically, and yet he manages to bring all of this off with undeniable hellish power. It's fun, now and then, to read one of these naturalistic, turn-of-the-century grim, doomy books. It's amazing how little human behavior changes. We see the same materialistic grasping, the self-centered greed and lust, and the same sorts people with so little insight into themselves in wandering lost in todays' world. That's another good reason for reading Sister Carrie. I'd recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Good book overall
Review: I really enjoyed the first 495 pages of the book, with Dreiser's excellent descriptions, analyses, and an excellent plot. I'm very disappointed with the ending of the book, however, and I feel a little empty upon finishing it. If Dreiser had spent just a few more paragraphs, it would have made for a much better ending, but still, a fine first book from Dreiser.
Rating:
Summary: I honestly cannot believe anyone doesn't love this book....
Review: Okay granted I had to read it for a paper, I still loved this book. I started to read merely the first chapter and I found I could not put it down. Dreiser is incredibly unestimated and not given his due credit. Those who don't even like this book are probably just bitter that they had to read anything at all because it was for school. It probably wouldn't matter what book they had to read they would hate everything. Sister Carrie is anything but boring and everything including amazing...
Rating: 
Summary: A very boring book to read.
Review: This book is so boring. The bastards at my school made me read it. I want to assassinate them all. Chupacabara!!
Rating:
Summary: A Glittering Jewel
Review: 'Tis a pity to see how some do not know what a wonderful book is in its own form. High school educators should not have students who don't know how to appreciate brilliant literature read such... it is a sure sign that our society is in the pits if one does not understand this work. On the up side, do take the time to read this... it's delicious.
Rating:
Summary: I Disagree With The Bad Things...
Review: ...people have said about this book. I really liked it. Carrie is riddled with faults, but she manages to believe in herselve during hard times, and she persists. The reader is happy by her successes. An interesting look at what makes some rise and others fall. Hooray!
Rating:
Summary: You're not happy, said Hurstwood
Review: You're not happy -- so you do something about it. To make yourself happy, you compete with others and the strongest will survive. Hints of Darwinian thought mix with Dreiser's own opinions on society as the reader follows the tale of Carrie and Hurstwood. Carrie goes to the city from the country and proceeds to work her way up in life. Hurstwood begins in a good position yet makes a tragic choice to end up down in life. The strongest survive in the city, and Dreiser's characters are all trying to survive. Works laced with determinism are not the most fun to read, but often have very important things to say about society. Sister Carrie is a profound book and well worth the time and effort.
Rating:
Summary: BORRRRRRRING!
Review: THIS IS POSITIVELY ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ - AND I WOULD NEVER HAVE READ IT IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO FOR A SCHOOL PROJECT. NOW THAT PROJECT WAS OVER 20 YEARS AGO BUT THE BITTER MEMORY OF THIS INSANELY MONOTONOUS BOOK STILL HAUNTS ME. SISTER CARRIE IS SO BOGGED DOWN WITH SYMBOLISM IT IS REPETITIVE AND THE STORY LINE MISSES ITS MARK COMPLETELY. TAKE MY ADVICE - IF YOU CAN AVOID THIS BOOK DO SO!
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