Ragtime
What books should everyone read before they die?Add Book
Not Available
Ragtime
E. L. Doctorow
Literature
James Mustich
Aug 1, 2018
Ragtime is first and foremost a good read, animated with complex characters, real and invented, and several absorbing plotlines that intersect in the narrative’s ingenious design. The layering of fiction and fact, ephemera and history, headline news and private heartache is alluring, giving the book a surface glamour that is at once entertaining and compelling. Equally captivating are the juxtapositions of poverty and wealth, leisure and labor, sex and politics, idea and emotion. And although it is lucidly declarative, it is peculiarly told: There is a matter-of-factness to Doctorow’s prose, no matter how outlandish its content, that keeps the telling—appropriately enough given the book’s title—a little offbeat. The narrative itself is syncopated, playing off our expectations of history to present an entirely new music, one that holds us in thrall and creates no little sense of wonder.
0
Add Reply
Steve Jump
Dec 2, 2018
Anything by the Doc.
0
Add Reply
Vicky
Oct 2, 2019
Love it
0
Add Reply
Agree (38)
Life's too short (3)
Want to read
Post Comment
"1,000 Books To Read Before You Die" is a registered trademark of Workman Publishing, Inc. Based on the book: 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich, (Workman Publishing Co., Inc.: © 2018 James Mustich)
All other website content © 2018-2024 The Company of Books LLC.