A review by bucket
1919 by John Dos Passos, E.L. Doctorow
3.0
My interest waned quite a bit in this second installation. I far preferred the sections from women's perspectives (Eveline, Ann Elizabeth) despite the men continuously causing problems for them. Lack of birth control and the lifelong impact to women (but not men) of accidental pregnancy in this time period is both disturbing and infuriating. It's true to how things were at the time, which only makes it harder to read about.
I still enjoyed the scene-setting done through the Camera Eye and Newsreel sections, though not quite as much as in book one. I suppose the go-nowhere nature of some of these lives is starting to weigh on me, and the celebratory humor of these other elements is disconcerting.
The mini bios of famous people are still just as good. For the most part, they manage to tell the story of a life--a whole life--in just a few pages without being boring. It's impressive!
I still enjoyed the scene-setting done through the Camera Eye and Newsreel sections, though not quite as much as in book one. I suppose the go-nowhere nature of some of these lives is starting to weigh on me, and the celebratory humor of these other elements is disconcerting.
The mini bios of famous people are still just as good. For the most part, they manage to tell the story of a life--a whole life--in just a few pages without being boring. It's impressive!