Ragtime – E L Doctrow: Book review

I was told that E L Doctrow was one of the greatest classicists of our time. I was also told that Ragtime was his best book. As always, my curiosity got the better of me, and I went out to investigate. I'll tell you some thoughts that went through my mind as I read the book, and perhaps add another to the sea of opinions about Ragtime.

The book was written in a very interesting fashion. The narrator had a distinctly distant voice and seemed to paint a story by painting a selection of scenes that wove together into a tapestry that told an entire tale. It was a very original telling and what little dialogue there was was skillfully crafted into the prose, allowing for no distraction in the painting. To begin with, the lack of dialogue irked me. It became clear at the end that the story would not have worked the same effect with dialogue present. Still, I am a fan of dialogue driven character development, and Ragtime didn't have any of that.

The story was set in a beautifully painted late nineteenth / early twentieth century during the time of Harry Houdini and J P Morgan and Ford when the automobile had just started being mass-produced. The story was themed around the issue of prejudice that was present in the United States at that time. The feminist movement, the racist issues, the class differences.

I'd have to define the story itself as a world building story more than anything as the plot itself is not grounded in one story but in many all sharing one characteristic: the society and world in which they take place. Despite this, Doctrow forces the reader to care for and at the same time despise many of the characters in the book, demanding a high level of emotional investment.

I enjoyed the book largely, although I found it rather slow at times. The writing is beautiful and he portrays society masterfully. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but if you like Steinbeck and F Scott Fitzgerald, perhaps buy the book.

Enjoy!