Maggie's review
Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow
I would have given Billy Bathgate four stars, but it ended to soon! So, high criticism. It took a few chapters for the book to interest me, but once I was snagged I read the entire thing through, and was only dismayed that it felt prematurely ended- just as the narrative was flourishing, enjoying the benefits of all the hard work before, the story was over. It is so rare for me to feel this way about a book that I can't recall another single time at the moment.
This was the first of E.L. Doctorow I've read, after long hearing about him from other enthusiasts. The flowing, long rambling sentence structure was distracting when I wasn't emotionally engaged, but as soon as I was, it was beautiful, engrossing, and made a ' vivid and continous dream ' of the novel.
The story revolves around a young boy of 15 in NYC, and his apprenticeship into the mob through the leadership of the gangsters. The plot is secondary entirely to the characterizations and the scenery, NYT exerting it'...more
This was the first of E.L. Doctorow I've read, after long hearing about him from other enthusiasts. The flowing, long rambling sentence structure was distracting when I wasn't emotionally engaged, but as soon as I was, it was beautiful, engrossing, and made a ' vivid and continous dream ' of the novel.
The story revolves around a young boy of 15 in NYC, and his apprenticeship into the mob through the leadership of the gangsters. The plot is secondary entirely to the characterizations and the scenery, NYT exerting it'...more
