3.75. Great to read if you love the musical. ( )

Did not finish ( )

I just finished this and liked it fairly well. Much of it, especially in the beginning, was not so much a story to follow---more like a list of everything the narrator could think of that went on during the time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just lots of snippets of information without a lot of depth. By the middle of the story though, I began to see everything come together and the three families' stories ended predictably but satisfactorily entwined.

I love reading anything about this period of time. Many of my turn of the century favorites made cameos: Houdini, Emma Goldman, and Lavinia Warren, to name just a few.

So many times I found myself laying the book aside to Google a story and see if it was true. Turns out, much of this is fiction surrounded by lots of historical characters and settings. Some of my favorite parts included the story of Charles Victor Faust and the very violent baseball game, Evelyn Nesbit's generosity, and JP Morgan's crazy ideas about Egypt and the afterlife.

I probably won't read this one again, but I don't regret the time I gave to it. One more off my 1001 list! ( )

Doctorow is a gifted writer, especially when it comes to characterization, descriptions, and dialogue. At its core this book is an extended commentary on America: especially as it comes to dealing with our various struggles and fascinations. What is more impressive is how he tells this using an ensemble cast that combines real life and historical figures.

The best, and perhaps spiritual heart, is the Coalhouse Walker story. He encapsulates all that he wants to say--especially with his encounters with racism, class conscious boundary crossing, ventures into crime, and encounters with real life people.

If there's one knock, it is that that story doesn't pick up until the middle of the book. I also think the two families could've been given equal care. But that is a minor complaint. He balances all the fictional characters well, in addition to giving cool moments for people like Harry Houdini and Booker T. Washington.

Highly recommended. ( )

When, in the future, I am world-famous (famous, of course, for exceptional goodreads reviews), I will not very much appreciate being ventriloquized in this fashion, which Doctorow employs on Houdini-Goldman. Our author appears to misapprehend Michael Kohlhaas, the attraction of which is not, "righteous revenge fairy tale," but rather, "spontaneous legal imbroglio," the climax of which, rather than the execution scene, is that episode in which Master Himboldt, who has just been introduced at the beginning of the sentence, forbids his servant from untying the knacker's horses. ( )