Book Review - World's Fair by E.L. Doctorow

Synopsis:  "Something close to magic." The Los Angeles Times

The astonishing novel of a young boy's life in the New York City of the 1930s, a stunning recreation of the sights, sounds, aromas and emotions of a time when the streets were safe, families stuck together through thick and thin, and all the promises of a generation culminate in a single great World's Fair . . .

First Line:  "I was born on Clinton Street in the Lower East Side."

Random Quote:  "But I was coming to rely on my brother in some way that my parents' vehemently intense life together did not allow me to rely on them.  Donald was steadfast.  He lived his earnest life as one human being, not as half of two."

Review:  This is a novel about growing up in the Bronx in the 1930's as seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy.  The storytelling is flawless, the story is rich and nuanced, the voices are sure and individual.  Many people have tried to write this book and many more have tried to make the movie this book would be if it was a movie.  Doctorow manages to be successful and makes it look and feel effortless.

Image by wallyg via Flickr

It's no accident that the story of Edgar (the narrator) and the story of the author are so close.  This is the story of Doctorow's boyhood.  Or is it?  At a time when debate has raged over what makes a memoir fiction, reading this reminds you that memory is often fiction.  Doctorow rejects the conventional notion that memory is somehow pure and truthful and instead writes something that is pure and truthful and memory and not-memory.

Read this book.

Reading Challenges:  Battle of the Prizes - American Version, Book Awards Reading Challenge 2010, Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge