It Can't Happen Here
Penguin Publishing Group · Paperback · October 4, 2005
“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—Salon It Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith.
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- Who it’s for
- Readers interested in political satire and historical fiction
- Themes
- fragility of democracy, rise of fascism, political satire
- Pacing
- Steady
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For younger readers: Strongman, The Young Person's Illustrated Guide to American Fascism
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“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—Salon It Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America.
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Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler’s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called “a message to thinking Americans” by the Springfield Republican when it was published in 1935, It Can’t Happen Here is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today’s news.
Who it’s for
- Readers interested in political satire and historical fiction
- Those concerned with themes of democracy and authoritarianism
Where it sits
| Literary Fiction | 80% |
|---|---|
| Political Fiction | 77% |
| The Classics | 71% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- The Classics
- Literary Fiction
- Political Fiction
- Authors
- Sinclair Lewis, Michael Meyer
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- October 4, 2005
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- fragility of democracy · rise of fascism · political satire
- Reading lane
- The Classics