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124th out of 535 books
—
552 voters
World's Fair
"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 . . .
From the Pap
...morePaperback, 304 pages
Published
May 1st 1996
by Plume
(first published 1985)
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From the jacket, and true: "World's Fair is better than a time capsule; it's an actual slice of a long-ago world, and we emerge from it as dazed as those visitors standing on the corner of the future." [--Anne Tyler]
Yep... Doctorow's craft is dated (uh, like Tolstoy is dated); to read it is to watch the literary equivalent of a furniture maker who doesn't use nails. The story, which won the National Book Award in 1986, takes you back to the late 1930's and fixes your gaze towards the present. "L...more
Yep... Doctorow's craft is dated (uh, like Tolstoy is dated); to read it is to watch the literary equivalent of a furniture maker who doesn't use nails. The story, which won the National Book Award in 1986, takes you back to the late 1930's and fixes your gaze towards the present. "L...more
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If I were feeling venomous, I'd call this Radio Days without the jokes.
My only other Doctorow so far has been Ragtime, a hugely entertaining, cinematic, plot-driven novel populated by allegorical figures. Nothing could be more unlike the relatively plotless, odors-of-the-shop-with-overtones-of-nostalgia realism here.
Without much in the way of plot or complex characterization, World's Fair stands or falls mainly on the strength of its evocation of a time and place: Bronx in the 1930s. I notice ma...more
My only other Doctorow so far has been Ragtime, a hugely entertaining, cinematic, plot-driven novel populated by allegorical figures. Nothing could be more unlike the relatively plotless, odors-of-the-shop-with-overtones-of-nostalgia realism here.
Without much in the way of plot or complex characterization, World's Fair stands or falls mainly on the strength of its evocation of a time and place: Bronx in the 1930s. I notice ma...more
I’m not sure what you’d call this (memoir? novel? cultural history book?), but whatever it is, it works. Young Edgar, bright and observant, describes Jewish family life as he knew it growing up in the Bronx in the 1930’s. E. L. Doctorow (E for Edgar) presumably didn’t stray far from his own experiences to write this. The boyhood sketches spanned the whole decade, ending the year of New York’s iconic Fair when Edgar was 9. It was told in a voice that combined a kid’s sense of wonder with an adult...more
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This was a good, simple book. The young boy was a believable voice and an interesting observer of his family, neighborhood, and society, and although there was really no plot to speak of it didn't really matter. This reminded me of one of those books everyone reads in school, like
Where The Red Fern Grows
, that is compelling and memorable without being especially innovative or exciting. Inspired by this book, I'm planning on reading Ragtime soon.
This was probably my 2nd favorite by EL Doctorow, after Ragtime. It is about a boy growing up in the Bronx and the summer that the Worlds Fair was in town. It is somewhat of a coming of age story. It has its awkward moments, but so does life when you are 10! It also had a lot of interesting perspectives on the "dawn of the modern age" if you will. Really the transition from the old ways of living to the integration of modern technology into every day life. I thought it was an excellent book and...more
Mixed feelings on World's Fair. I have a minor obsession with world's fairs - I'm not as obsessed as my wife might think, but I do have interest in them. Having read Doctorow in the past (The Waterworks) and enjoying it (to my recollection) I was expecting a novel, with the fair as a focal point. This sort of fits the bill.
However, instead of being a story involving the fair, this turned out to be more of a memoir. Based on expectations alone, I’d give this a 2. At the time I picked this up I re...more
However, instead of being a story involving the fair, this turned out to be more of a memoir. Based on expectations alone, I’d give this a 2. At the time I picked this up I re...more
1985
Really good book. I can even imagine wanting to read it again. The only parts I skipped were where he goes on and on about some comic action hero, things like that.
Good 2011 review of it in The Guardian by Tom Cox,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/serie...
[as you might expect, only 2 of the 10 books Cox reviews are by women...sigh...]
New York 1930s from persp. of kid 4 to 10 yrs old, mostly secular Jewish family, 2nd gen. E Europe. Sold as a novel, but surely it is mostly autobiogr? He calls t...more
Really good book. I can even imagine wanting to read it again. The only parts I skipped were where he goes on and on about some comic action hero, things like that.
Good 2011 review of it in The Guardian by Tom Cox,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/serie...
[as you might expect, only 2 of the 10 books Cox reviews are by women...sigh...]
New York 1930s from persp. of kid 4 to 10 yrs old, mostly secular Jewish family, 2nd gen. E Europe. Sold as a novel, but surely it is mostly autobiogr? He calls t...more
3.75/5
While this book was enjoyable overall, certain aspects yielded mixed feelings. My only other Doctorow novel prior to this was Ragtime, which easily secured a place among my favorite books of all time—intricate and gorgeously written. It was through this novel that I discovered Doctorow’s dazzling flair for historical fiction, for reimagining vivid panoramas of the past and immersing one in the sight, sounds, and smells of a bygone era. I can’t sing enough praises for that novel. So, when I...more
While this book was enjoyable overall, certain aspects yielded mixed feelings. My only other Doctorow novel prior to this was Ragtime, which easily secured a place among my favorite books of all time—intricate and gorgeously written. It was through this novel that I discovered Doctorow’s dazzling flair for historical fiction, for reimagining vivid panoramas of the past and immersing one in the sight, sounds, and smells of a bygone era. I can’t sing enough praises for that novel. So, when I...more
This autobiographical novel is very evocative of New York in the 1930s. Compared to Doctorow's other novels like 'Ragtime' it could be considered small-scale, but it is so rich in detail and atmosphere that the scale hardly matters. The narrative is delivered by a grown man reflecting back on his childhood in a Jewish section of the Bronx in the 1930s. He captures both personal and political events with a child's sense of awe and half-understanding. There's certainly a lot going on, with the Dep...more
It was only recently that I gave myself permission to stop reading a book when I wasn't enjoying it. I didn't find "World's Fair" Mr. Doctorow's "most accomplished work to date" (NYT), "something close to magic" (LA Times), "immediately a classic" (Publishers Weekly)...
His novel "Ragtime" which I read last year was fantastic - scintillating and sharp and racing. "World's Fair" was meticulously detailed, wide eyed and full of wonder, and inside the mind and heart of a small boy in early 20th cen...more
His novel "Ragtime" which I read last year was fantastic - scintillating and sharp and racing. "World's Fair" was meticulously detailed, wide eyed and full of wonder, and inside the mind and heart of a small boy in early 20th cen...more
Meh. What's to like? Maybe the chapters at the end about the kid's actual visit to the fair with his young girlfriend, although I found it creepy that he watches the girl's mother do an erotic act with a mechanical octopus. Other than that bit of bluster, nothing much happens. I was puzzled by some of "young Edgar's" vocabulary; I had to read some sentences twice and still wasn't sure what Doctorow was getting at. And they don't teach about comma splices in the Bronx? Also, the sections narrated...more
Many thanks to Steve, who picked up this book at the 2009 Printer's Row Book Fair in Chicago. If not for his enthusiastic suggestion that I read it, I would have missed this simple but powerfully truthful story of a young Jewish kid growing up in the Bronx during the Depression. World's Fair is structured as a series of memories mostly recounted by Edgar, whom we first meet as a pre-schooler and last see as a fifth-grader who's sorted out some of life's questions and seems ready to take on a few...more
I always enjoy Doctorow's writing. His descriptions are breathtaking and I love following his storyline. I liked the characters. I realize it wasn't exciting but it was well written and that's the most important thing for me.
The story is good. It held things I always love when they're well done, NYC as a character, convoluted families, ethnic families, coming of age and a retell from a child's pov. This had it all. In fact, I read later that it has a lot of E.L.'s biography in it.
I like a ficti...more
The story is good. It held things I always love when they're well done, NYC as a character, convoluted families, ethnic families, coming of age and a retell from a child's pov. This had it all. In fact, I read later that it has a lot of E.L.'s biography in it.
I like a ficti...more
The novel seems to be Doctorow's most autobiographical one. The narrator, a boy named Edgar (!), born about 1930, is member of a Russian-Jewish origine family. There are a lot of descriptions of their family life and various historical events are only noted in the margin: The rise of nationalsocialism, the War, the crash of the zeppelin Hindenburg, and first of all the World's Fair in 1939/1940. Primarily it's a coming-of-age novel.
The character of Edgars's father is - maybe to compare with the...more
The character of Edgars's father is - maybe to compare with the...more
World’s Fair is a marvelous and heartwarming novel of a young boy’s coming of age. Taking place in Doctorow’s home of New York City before the Second World War, the book fulfills a quest of memory through the recollections of the young protagonist, simply referred to as Edgar. The novel brings loveliness and compassion to the happenings of everyday life as Doctorow captures the time period in all its momentousness. The story bursts with energy and lyricism as Edgar gains valuable lessons that he...more
Some readers have been frustrated by this book's lack of a strong plot or storyline along the lines of Billy Bathgate or Ragtime but what it lacks in this regard it makes up in other ways. The characters are to me more realistic than in his other more conventional novels. The family members' personalities and characteristics are captured vividly as are childhood memories, concerns, anxieties, fears, excitements, and play. The protagonist is a bright and engaging young boy and the narration is bo...more
A really great portrayal of 1930's America culminating with the New York World's Fair in 1939. Not much happens in the way of plot, but the attention to detail gives a very tangible sense of time and place.
What a fantastic read! You get into this book from page one. It's about a Jewish boy growing up in the Bronx in the 1930s, but anyone can relate to his experiences. A vivid family portrait.
This is a novel about a 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.
It's no accident that the story of Edgar (the narrator) and the story of the author are so close. T...more
It's no accident that the story of Edgar (the narrator) and the story of the author are so close. T...more
This is the sort of book that has you narrating your life in your head after you finish reading a chapter. Doctorow has great descriptive language. He tells the story of a young boy growing up in the 30's, admist the Great Depression and the looming World War. I love how he describes the day to day life, how rich he can make a day in the life of a 9-year-old sound. However, if you are looking for action, this is not the book you want. Nothing very pivotal happens, although since it is a coming o...more
Although written as a child's description of family life growing up in the Bronx (NYC) in 1939, I found its "Bronx" references, geographical and otherwise, somewhat a contemporary reenforcement of my early childhood. As a child of a returning veteran of WW2, growing up in the Bronx, the book brought me to the sudden realization that not much had really changed in the years between 1939 and 1952. Doctorow's wonderful book captures in many ways the innocence of early childhood in those years, and...more
Great book about little boys growing up during the year of the World's Fair. A classic, in my opinion.
The book kept my interest, but I thought it would include more comparisons or contrasts of the way Edgar's and his mother's memories of events differed. I think the comparison might have been improved if Edgar's memories had been given in language and thoughts better fitting those of a young boy. Edgar didn't become an adult in the book, but his vocabulary and perceptions often seemed to be those of an adult.
According to a review of the book on amazon.com, the novel is meant to be taken as au...more
According to a review of the book on amazon.com, the novel is meant to be taken as au...more
I was utterly enchanted by this book. It's really a story about a particular time and place, the Bronx during the Depression. It's not very heavy on character, and there's little plot at all. The main character is too young for it to really be a coming of age story. Instead, it's a book of pitch-perfect descriptions of everything from the local shopping street to a radio program to the experience of being a child. Doctorow can seriously write -- that's what propels the entire book -- but doesn't...more
Here's a lesson from Doctorow: it is much harder to write a relatively simple book that subtly hints at conflict, transgression, and the incapacity to control life than to write a book that hits all of those issues (and more) on the head repeatedly. And, it is even harder to do this through the voice of a boy. But, here we have it. A relatively benign plot turned into compelling reading without sacrificing voice or traditional story-telling. Not a page turner at all. You simple find yourself at...more
I picked up this book because the blurb on the inside flap stated it was the story of a boy in 1939 New York City. My husband is from New York and mom was born in 1939, so I was immediately attracted to this book because I wanted to learn more about both. I especially wanted to read about the year 1939 to get a feel for what life was like, at least in one part of the U.S. All I knew before about that year was that the world was very close to WWII and that both Gone With the Wind and The Wizard o...more
Esta es la historia de un niño, Edgar, y de una ciudad, Nueva York. ‘La feria del mundo’ transcurre en los años 30 en una Norteamérica azotada por la Gran Depresión, y la vivimos a través de la mirada de Edgar. Pero lejos de parecer un relato infantil, Doctorow nos regala una extraordinaria novela, con ciertos tintes autobiográficos, en la que resalta la calidad estilística del autor, su sencillez a la hora de narrar, y, sobre todo, ese mundo visto a través de los inocentes ojos de Edgar.
Con lib...more
Con lib...more
"World's Fair" grew out of one of E.L. Doctorow's short stories, "The Writer in The Family," contained in the anthology "Lives of the Poets."
To say that it's biographically based is to state the obvious, a fact Doctorow has acknowledged in several interviews. The young narrator's name, even, is his own: Edgar. As much as many of the story's events are based in fact, though, he is not writing a biography, but a fictional history/memoir of life and growing up during the Depression, a long, affecti...more
To say that it's biographically based is to state the obvious, a fact Doctorow has acknowledged in several interviews. The young narrator's name, even, is his own: Edgar. As much as many of the story's events are based in fact, though, he is not writing a biography, but a fictional history/memoir of life and growing up during the Depression, a long, affecti...more
E.L. Doctorow's 'World's Fair' is amazing. It's easily one of the most evocative expressions of childhood that I've read.
The story - largely autobiographical - takes place in the 1930s, at war's brink. The World's Fair is taking place in NYC, and young Edgar, a Jewish kid, is desperate to attend. What unfolds between the start of the book and the inevitable trip to the Fair is nothing short of brilliant.
Keenly-felt explanations of what it meant to be a youth in the 30s (and a Jew) are offered w...more
The story - largely autobiographical - takes place in the 1930s, at war's brink. The World's Fair is taking place in NYC, and young Edgar, a Jewish kid, is desperate to attend. What unfolds between the start of the book and the inevitable trip to the Fair is nothing short of brilliant.
Keenly-felt explanations of what it meant to be a youth in the 30s (and a Jew) are offered w...more
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Famous American Jewish writer, Edgar Laurence Doctorow is the author of several critically acclaimed novels that blend history and social criticism. Although he had written books for years, it was not until the publication of The Book of Daniel in 1971 that he obtained acclaim. His next book, Ragtime, was a commercial and critical success. As of 2006, he held the Glucksman Chair in American Letter...more
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“I knew he was unreliable, but he was fun to be with. He was a child’s ideal companion, full of surprises and happy animal energy. He enjoyed food and drink. He liked to try new things. He brought home coconuts, papayas, mangoes, and urged them on our reluctant conservative selves. On Sundays he liked to discover new places, take us on endless bus or trolley rides to some new park or beach he knew about. He always counseled daring, in whatever situation, the courage to test the unknown, an instruction that was thematically in opposition to my mother’s.”
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“The Shadow had no imagination. He neither looked at naked women nor thought of ridding the world of dictators like Hitler or Mussolini.”
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