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Loading... Ragtimeby E. L. Doctorow
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. 2   klpm | Nov 17, 2009 |  I just read Homer and Langely before Ragtime, and I must say I did not enjoy Ragtime as much. I read Ragtime as mostly a period piece, trying to capture the times, color and chaos of the early 20th Century in New York. As such, it is quite vibrant and successful. I felt the story, however, was a bit thin. Also, I felt like Doctorow tried a bit too hard to bring into the book many famous figures, and some of their stories, at times, were distracting or too forced for my taste. Overall, however, I definitely enjoyed this book. Homer & Langely, however, shows me how much a writer can grow--to write a "smaller" story, with much greater emotional resonance and truth. Looking forward to my next Doctorow read, "World's Fair" (  ) arblock | Oct 12, 2009 | Reading Doctorow is like watching a horse run downhill. He picks up speed and is fearless; but is graceful and won't run you over. The risks he takes know no limits, but they make sense. (  ) jjs6791 | Jul 24, 2009 | Excellent historical fiction that weaves together fictional characters : a black Harlem musician, a Jewish peddler, and rebellious young WASP from a middle class family, along with real life figures J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, and Henry Ford. The beginning was a little odd for me, but I soon was able to keep up with the various characters and accept the factual content mixed with the author's fantasy. ( )2 jonesli | Apr 16, 2009 | A beautifully written book that weaves together stories of original characters and notable persons from early twentieth-century America. Although it involves many characters and often moves from one to another from one short chapter to the next, Doctorow's style and story make it easy for the reader to keep up. One is left satisfied and curious about the age and its people, and satisfied with the time devoted to a good story. ( )1 jesssh | Jan 4, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0812978188, Paperback)Published in 1975, Ragtime changed our very concept of what a novel could be. An extraordinary tapestry, Ragtime captures the spirit of America in the era between the turn of the century and the First World War.The story opens in 1906 in New Rochelle, New York, at the home of an affluent American family. One lazy Sunday afternoon, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside their house. And almost magically, the line between fantasy and historical fact, between real and imaginary characters, disappears. Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J. P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emiliano Zapata slip in and out of the tale, crossing paths with Doctorow's imagined family and other fictional characters, including an immigrant peddler and a ragtime musician from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice drives him to revolutionary violence. The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century. The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foundation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought. For the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torch-bearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets, bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:10 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
A wide variety of historical figures make appearances -- from escape artist Harry Houdini to "it girl" Evelyn Nesbit and workers' rights advocate and Socialist leader Emma Goldman. There are three fictional families in the story -- one is the family of a successful businessman and explorer, the second is an immigrant Jewish father and daughter and the final one, a family not yet fully formed, is a young black working class girl, her baby and her sometimes beau, a ragtime pianist. These families all encounter the prejudices and disadvantages of the period which have various degrees of effect on their lives. They all do the best they can to achieve the American dream but it turns out that it might not be available to everyone.
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The juxtaposition of the lives of tycoon J.P. Morgan and Tateh, a poor Jewish immigrant, living in the same city but living in opposite situations, highlights the disparity of the era. I will definitely look for more books set in this time and will also read other books by Doctorow.
http://webereading.com/2009/11/in-190... (