lordcheez's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible Bildungsroman of early 20th century American life.
dewey_the_composer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Well, there it is. I read this book. For what it's worth, I didn't seek out this book. I found it in an impressive geocache in the mountains that had many books to choose from. And I was excited because it had all these quotes saying how this fits itself into the literary canon... And I guess I see it? And maybe I just don't understand it.
First off, important to get out of the way that this was written in 1930. And I really can't tell if Dos Passes is racist or if he was commenting on the racism of his time, but there was some... gratuitous use of racial slurs in this book. Definitely when he uses a slur to refer to a Chinese restaurant it was unnecessary. Alas...
My biggest complaint is that the plot lines of the book try to come together - and they do - but not in any meaningful way. You follow these characters whose stories are told as a collage against one another along with some fascinating (if not perplexing) snippets of news headlines, stories, biographies, and "camera eyes" depicting a scene. I honestly didn't fully grasp if there was more meaning to this than just to draw a picture of pre-WWI America. And if that was the goal, it was very effective. But the fact that Dos Passos tried to intersect the larger character stories toward the end makes me feel that I should've seen more meaning in the news clippings and scenes he showed.
Then the last story of the book is some random guy who briefly hears about the other characters' lives.... Why?
Like I said, Dos Passos drew a very visceral portrait of America at this time. You could bum along job to job and survive without a job for a few months with the money you earned from the last one? Dang, America, what happened to you? And the political dialog of the time is fascinating as well.
Also, to Dos Passos' credit, his writing style takes a lot of skill. He had a way of writing blatant run-on sentences and still make them pretty easily intelligible. Which made for a compelling narrator. I just wish I felt like I had read something by the time I was done.
First off, important to get out of the way that this was written in 1930. And I really can't tell if Dos Passes is racist or if he was commenting on the racism of his time, but there was some... gratuitous use of racial slurs in this book. Definitely when he uses a slur to refer to a Chinese restaurant it was unnecessary. Alas...
My biggest complaint is that the plot lines of the book try to come together - and they do - but not in any meaningful way. You follow these characters whose stories are told as a collage against one another along with some fascinating (if not perplexing) snippets of news headlines, stories, biographies, and "camera eyes" depicting a scene. I honestly didn't fully grasp if there was more meaning to this than just to draw a picture of pre-WWI America. And if that was the goal, it was very effective. But the fact that Dos Passos tried to intersect the larger character stories toward the end makes me feel that I should've seen more meaning in the news clippings and scenes he showed.
Then the last story of the book is some random guy who briefly hears about the other characters' lives.... Why?
Like I said, Dos Passos drew a very visceral portrait of America at this time. You could bum along job to job and survive without a job for a few months with the money you earned from the last one? Dang, America, what happened to you? And the political dialog of the time is fascinating as well.
Also, to Dos Passos' credit, his writing style takes a lot of skill. He had a way of writing blatant run-on sentences and still make them pretty easily intelligible. Which made for a compelling narrator. I just wish I felt like I had read something by the time I was done.
brockemsockemrobot's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sueann's review against another edition
4.0
Exactly what historical fiction should be. The characters illustrate the conditions so many faced. I'm looking forward to reading the other 2 books in the trilogy.
jupiterjens666's review against another edition
4.0
A sprawling and loose story of various lives from the turn of the century to the US's entry in WW1, telling stories of labor struggles, revolutions, and picaresques of bums on the roads and rails. Interspersed with free verse autobiographical sections and prose poems about important leftist figures of the time (which contain some of the best writing in the book) - experimental, audacious, large. Enjoyed a lot, will read the next one.
sarahrussell's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ghahn3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bookwormbarney's review against another edition
3.75
hallelujah! i finished the damned book in time! it’s actually really good and interesting to study, but god was this draining to read (and sit through lectures on).