Exploring World’s End: Upton Sinclair’s Pre-WWI Epic – Summary & Review

 Exploring World’s End: Upton Sinclair’s Pre-WWI Epic – Summary & Review

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review.

The life of Lanny Budd, from prep school to his first political appointment.

A Summary:

World’s End follows the early life of Lanny Budd, the privileged son of an American arms manufacturer, as he comes of age in the glittering and deeply troubled world of pre–World War I Europe. From his idyllic childhood in France to his education in elite prep schools and art academies, Lanny grows up surrounded by wealth, power, and political intrigue. By the novel’s end, he steps into his first political appointment, setting the stage for a sweeping, eleven-volume saga that traces the upheavals of the twentieth century through his eyes.

My favorite quote:

"Truth is whatever you can get believed. Remember it every time you pick up a newspaper."

- Upton Sinclair, World's End

Questions to ponder while reading:

Do you believe everything you read?

What do you think gives people power?

My review:

World’s End is a fascinating window into European and American society on the eve of World War I. Sinclair’s meticulous attention to historical mood, social tensions, shifting alliances, and the lingering optimism of the Belle Époque gives the novel a lush and immersive texture. Lanny Budd makes an excellent guide: a young man caught between privilege and naïveté, art and politics, luxury and looming catastrophe.

The book is genuinely enjoyable, both as a story and as a cultural study. But it is only the beginning. This is book one of Sinclair’s eleven-volume Lanny Budd epic, and I’m still not sure I have the stamina for the whole journey. Huge sagas can be challenging to commit to. The Wheel of Time saga just about did me in! Sinclair’s pacing is thoughtful rather than swift, and you can feel the size of the story expanding beneath your feet.

Still, as a standalone reading experience, World’s End is rich, smart, and surprisingly warm. Even if I never make it to book eleven, I’m glad I made it through Lanny’s beginning.

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Tonitown, Arkansas. 

In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

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