A Holiday Break: Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis

Books are always the best holiday gift for me. The only thing I like better than the anticipation of reading a long sought after title is the fondness that comes with remembering the discovery of an unexpected treasure.

As I look back on all the books I've profiled here in 2021, the one I'd most like to revisit is Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis, which I blogged about back in November. On the surface, it is the story of Martin Arrowsmith, a young doctor who vacillates between the two opposite poles of all physicians -- the life of the clinician and the life of the researcher. But in Lewis’s capable hands, the tension between these two objectives takes on a more universal and philosophical importance.

As Martin vacillates, the reader is presented with competing ideals and competing understandings of the world. What is the thing that matters? Practical success? Or esoteric greatness? And why is it not possible to have both? For that, as we read and enjoy all of Lewis’s prose describing Martin’s vacillations, is the underlying truth of it all. Whichever one chooses, the other has to be sacrificed in order to attain it.

For me, it is reminiscent of the same choice that Charles Strickland makes at the beginning of The Moon and Sixpence. To achieve something, something else must be sacrificed. In the most general of terms, if you want comfort, you must sacrifice art; and if you want art, you must sacrifice comfort. There’s no other way to approach it, and that may be what I like best about Lewis’s novel.

As you enjoy your holiday break, I hope you find some time to curl up with a good book. I know I will.

+ + +

This post was written by Eric Lanke, an association executive, blogger and author. For more information, visit www.ericlanke.blogspot.com, follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.