Sister Carrie
By Theodore Dreiser

I think many people are surprised that I like this novel; they imagine I have an overly glorified picture of America, having emigrated here from Czechoslovakia after World War II. But I actually don't have illusions about how difficult it is to make a life in a new place. Plus, I have always liked stories about an ordinary person that are epic in scope. I found Dreiser's descriptions of the industrial revolution and how it affected the opportunities available to people at that time very moving.