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Labour 7: To Capture the Cretan Bull
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Ragtime has finally arrived at the library now I just need to collect it lol
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Book, it reads pretty quickly. You should have no problem. If I wasn't reading 3 books at once I could get it done faster.
Diane wrote: "Book wrote: "Ragtime has finally arrived at the library now I just need to collect it lol"Book, it reads pretty quickly. You should have no problem. If I wasn't reading 3 books at once I could ge..."
Oh thank goodness. I was hoping it would read a lot faster than City of God.
RagtimeRating: 4 Stars
A nostalgic snapshot of life in early 20th century New York prior to WWI. The author weaves historical events and actual iconic people into the story about the lives of a couple of fictional families living during this time. Many themes are explored here, including immigrant and race relations, the role and rights of women, rich vs. poor, and the rapid changes in our country during this time in history.
Doctorow paints a vivid picture of New York life during this dynamic point in its history. There is a lot going on, to the point that it sometimes feels a bit disjointed and often a bit random. We are hit by an awful lot of information, but it is at least interesting information (for the most part).
Ragtime by E L Doctorow
3 stars
Considered to be one of the great American novels I am sad to say this one fell a bit flat for me.
There were things I liked in the narrative but the overall story didn't leave me with any real feeling of satisfaction. I liked the way real people were blended with the fictional but I never really developed an attachment to anyone.
3 stars
Considered to be one of the great American novels I am sad to say this one fell a bit flat for me.
There were things I liked in the narrative but the overall story didn't leave me with any real feeling of satisfaction. I liked the way real people were blended with the fictional but I never really developed an attachment to anyone.
Mod
3/5 stars
My first E.L. Doctorow. He has a very distinctive writing. None of the conversations in this book had quotation marks. It was a little like reading rapid fire conversations.
Ragtime centers around the turn of the century 1906 until the start of World War I. It takes place in New York. The stories deal with the themes of the time period; immigrants, rich vs poor, and racial issues. One of the unique parts of this novel is the insertion of actual figures into a fictional story. Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emiliano Zapata make an appearance in the novel. Several story lines continue throughout the novel. The affluent American family, a jailed Harry K. Thaw and his wayward wife Evelyn Nesbit, the Latvia immigrant Jew Tateh and his daughter (the ones I liked the most ) and finally the most prominent character Coalhouse Walker, an African American musician who is wronged. The stories intersect and all come to conclusion in the end.
I am not sure how I feel about the novel. It has all the makings of a good historical fiction but it fell a little flat for me. I appreciate the different style of writing and why it won accolades but I did not love these stories or characters.
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow - 3 starsI liked the vivid portrayal of a time and place, but up to the middle of the book felt there was nothing really happening. In the end the different strands of the narrative make sense, but the story remains sketchy.
Book wrote: "Ragtime by E L Doctorow3 stars
Considered to be one of the great American novels I am sad to say this one fell a bit flat for me."
By who? My reaction was similar to yours. I don't get why this is on the list and I would certain dispute the assertion that it is "the great American novel." Maybe that was a publisher's blurb?
RAGTIME 4 starsI thoroughly enjoyed E.L.Doctorow reading his own novel on Audible. The distant narration, caused by the characters been given roles rather than names (Father, Mother, little boy, little girl) and the cool tone which seldom explained the emotional responses of the characters, meant that the stories were enjoyable to follow, even if the subject matter was horrific. There were bombings, assassinations, racial and gender victimisation and all sorts, but the narration was consistently upbeat and the skilful weaving of real historical people quite plausibly into the lives of the characters made it all rather amusing. A real feel for how life in New York might have been in the decade between 1902 and 1910 was portrayed. I am looking forward to listening to more Doctorow.
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This was my first encounter with Faulkner, an author which seems to garner polarised views. But I will be sitting on the fence after reading this novel. It depicts the slow and cunning rise to power and ownership of Flem Snopes in a backwater town in remote Mississippi at the turn of the 20th century, through eight vignettes focusing on some of the secondary characters. The constant shift between Deep South lingo and ornate and erudite language, especially in the first two chapters, makes reading arduous and tedious at times. Truly hilarious moments in the middle chapters (about Eula and Isaac Snopes) offer some compensation though. While I didn't dislike the book, I wouldn't be raving about it either.
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Reading 1001
Books mentioned in this topic
Ragtime (other topics)The Hamlet (other topics)
Eurystheus, exasperated by Hercules’ successes, couldn’t bear to have him in sight for too long and decided to send him away for his next task. “Here’s a ticket to Crete and a case of Red Bull”, he told Hercules, “and bring me back the Cretan Bull. Talk to Minos when you get there.”
So, Hercules cruised down the Aegean Sea to Crete, where he was greeted by Minos. Having heard from Hercules the purpose of his mission, Minos proceeded to give some pointers about the bull. It was given to him by Poseidon as a confirmation token for his reign as King of Crete. It was meant to be sacrificed, but Minos thought it was too cute to be slaughtered and swapped it for another steer to be sent to the altar. Hearing of this, Poseidon blew a gasket and sent Aphrodite to muddle Minos’s wife’s brain (Pasiphaë) so that she falls in love with the bull. This proved far more effective than planned: Pasiphaë gave birth to this half-bull, half-man Minotaur, and the Cretan Bull went bonkers, starting to destroy crops, garden gnomes, fences, name it, all around Crete.
Minos offered Hercules a hand in the process, but the latter refused, remembering that it would cost him another task if he accepted. Hercules then chugged down his case of Red Bull, approached the Cretan Bull from behind and applied the five moves of doom to put the beast into submission. After a bit of R & R, Hercules brought back the bull to Eurystheus.
In his usual cowardice, Eurystheus hid in his shed when Hercules presented him the beast. He then asked for the bull to be sacrificed to Hera, but she said that it would yield too many kudos towards Hercules. “Just get rid of it” was her final answer. And Eurystheus following the advice, releasing the bull 42 kilometres away, in a place called Marathon.
The Books
For your seventh Labour, the books chosen are linked by a very tenuous thread to the bovine theme. One refers subliminally to the theme through its title and its author; the other features a main character whose nickname could have been the Cretin Bull. Which book will help you accreting additional points?
Ragtime (E.L. Doctorow) 2 points
The Hamlet (William Faulkner) 3 points
To earn the points associated with either book, you can only read and review the chosen book between 2017-07-01, midnight EST (New York) and 2017-07-31, midnight EST (New York). You should post your reviews below, clearly identifying which book you are reviewing.