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Adult Edgar Altschuler is looking back on his 1930s childhood with the wonder and fears of a young boy. The story is full of the sights and sounds during the Great Depression in New York City. In the background in their Jewish household radio reports tell about Hitler's advances. This is not a book with a lot of action, but it's a good character study of a boy growing up in that era. Although it is fiction, E.L. Doctorow incorporates events from his own childhood into the story.
Two visits to the ...more
Two visits to the ...more
This was a wonderful story of a boy growing up in the 1930s. He happens to be in the Bronx, but except for not climbing trees, he could have been almost anywhere in the US. He has an imagination. He reads and the characters in his book become part of his playing. He has adventures, mostly of his imagination, but a few real ones. Over the course of the novel, he grows from a pre-schooler to a boy in the fifth grade.
In the "olden days" you waited until the baby was born to find out whether a boy o ...more
In the "olden days" you waited until the baby was born to find out whether a boy o ...more
hmmm...this is going to sound lame-ass, but when a book is titled 'world's fair' and the fair in nyc is noted on the jacket copy...you kind of expect the world's fair to be an anchor in the story. it's not. not until nearly the very end of the book. so that was a bit weird for me.
but...E.L. DOCTOROW! there. i feel better getting that out of my system.
the man is awesome-sauce. in reading this autobiographical story, i loved the interesting blend of memoir-type remembrances, (doctorow's first name ...more
but...E.L. DOCTOROW! there. i feel better getting that out of my system.
the man is awesome-sauce. in reading this autobiographical story, i loved the interesting blend of memoir-type remembrances, (doctorow's first name ...more
A period novel of a family living in the Bronx during the Depression told mostly by the youngest son. I enjoyed much of the detail--the neighborhood butcher shop, the vendors with horse drawn carts, the water truck/snow plows, the evolution of the refrigerator told as details of everyday life. I did get a little impatient with detailed walking routes through the city.
It is also the story of a child growing up, exploring the world and understanding relationships.
It also portrays an extended fam ...more
It is also the story of a child growing up, exploring the world and understanding relationships.
It also portrays an extended fam ...more
Jul 01, 2010
Deedee
marked it as to-read
Jul 26, 2012
Carla
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Nov 28, 2012
Debbie Hoffman
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Jul 23, 2013
Allison
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Dec 30, 2014
Susan
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Dec 07, 2016
Ev
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Jul 16, 2017
Sally
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Feb 09, 2018
Valerie Brown
marked it as to-read
Jun 24, 2021
Kate
marked it as to-read
