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What Members Thought
Clumsy and clunky writing. The effort to tie the characters into the historical background failed miserably, making the whole story disjointed and resulting in a feeling that the characters aren't even there. The historical characters (Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, Henry Ford, Evelyn Nesbit etc.) didn't seem to have any real relevance in the big picture, and the awkard attempt of a real story didn't take wing at any point, there were just weak beginnings of something undefined. Everything was all
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Doctorow provides an interesting perspective of pre-WWI America by weaving a tale that includes everyone from Harry Houdini to JP Morgan to Emma Goldman. Besides a good story, I really enjoyed Doctorow's writing style. He writes in a crisp and concise manner but packs much into the short sentences that he uses. I actually found this style a nice of pace from the more lyrical writings that I have been reading of late as part of my deep dive into the classics.
Overall, I highly recommend this book ...more
Overall, I highly recommend this book ...more
Apr 30, 2010
Kat (A Journey In Reading)
marked it as to-read
Jan 12, 2011
SarahC
marked it as to-read
Mar 13, 2013
Julie Griffin
added it
Jan 19, 2014
Jen
marked it as wishlist
Dec 11, 2014
Astrid Lim
marked it as wishlist
Sep 02, 2017
Mansir
marked it as to-read
