Free Air

By: Sinclair Lewis

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Claire Boltwood and her father drive their Gomez-Dep roadster from Minnesota to Seattle, exposing themselves to all the perils of early motoring. They encounter the upper-crust Boltwoods who are at once more noble and more insignificant. Other class barriers exist between Claire and a mechanic named Milt, who, along with his cat, follows close behind.

Free Air anticipates many of the themes of Lewis' later novels and John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. Claire blazing her own trail West personifies the nineteenth-century pioneer woman and looks ahead to the independent minded 20th century woman like the heroines played by Katherine Hepburn.

(P)1997 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An American story in every page....Amusing, interesting, alive to its final period." (The New York Times)
"Lewis really seems to catch the sweep and exhilaration of the great open country over which his characters wind their way." (New Republic)

Good narration

Took a while to get into the story (which I found a bit dated), but I did end up caring about the characters.

So fun!

Quite unique in the normally-gloomy canon of Sinclair Lewis, this was a fun story. Great for a road trip West!