Customer Reviews

Ragtime: A Novel

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I delayed reading this book for many years, because it sounded sort of hokey. That was a HUGE mistake. It is one of the most beautiful books that I've ever read. It makes me cringe when people describe a book using the "tapestry" metaphor, but it is really fitting here: the reader watches, spellbound, as a city full of individual lives come and go and interact in surprising ways during a fascinating period of American history.

Everyone is here: the Gilded Age millionaires, the upper middle class suburbanites, the newly-arrived immigrants, the writers and singers and musicians, the protesters. Every thread that still makes up a city appears and lives and works together. We see them all, and we see the world as they see it, even if only for a few moments. The book has some funny moments and some poignant moments, but ultimately it will leave you feeling like you've witnessed some very important events.

There's too much happening in this great novel to go into detail, but suffice it to say that if you're even remotely interested in history and/or good writing, this is the book for you. With scenes ranging from hysterical to repulsive (I'm referring to the one with the dead horse) E.L. Doctorow has given us a rollicking good time in the key of turn-of-the-century America, resplendent with all its ills and wonders. I hate to use this phrase, but it applies here: "I couldn't put it down!"

Also recommended: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood"

I first read this book in high school and have since read it again. It's one of my all time favorites. Ragtime captures the essence of the early 1900's in a way that's illuminating without becoming hokey or caricatured. While this portrayal in itself is satisfying, it is only a backdrop for an epic fable of class and love. The weaving together of three seperate tales keeps the reader interested by not lingering too long in any spot. It gets better I've time I read it.

When I first heard of Ragtime, it was in the musical form of the book. The musical interested me so much, that I decided to read the book as well. I highly recommend both. This book is wonderful! It is very historical, and one must applaud Doctorow for being so accurate. Take Henry Ford. Not only does he talk about the relationship of him and J.P. Morgan, but also says something about his anti-semitism (Which is a proven fact). He gives a real person, Evelyn Nesbit, heart when she helps Tateh and The Little Girl. Emma Goldman is an influence in Younger Brother's life. All of the historical characters tie in with the fiction characters perfectly. Father's relationship with Admiral Peary is another example. All of the subplots tie in perfectly as well. Coalhouse and The Famliy, Tateh and Mother, the Younger Brother "saga" are all subplots that are like this. The only "problem" with this book is the Tateh subplot. Doctorow uses him as a metaphor for the immigrant population so it gets a bit confusing somewhat. You don't know if that is all of the immigrants or just him. Also, Tateh is never really part of the story. His character is more of an onlooker, watching other people in his life. However, all in all this book is one of the best I have read. I recommend it for all historical fiction fans and also recommend that if you have read the book, listen to the wonderful musical written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaterery.

This was required reading when I was in college and I wasn't optimistic going in. Then I got past the first two chapters and was hooked! Brilliant story, great and believable characters, and interesting historical facts (just enough to make it even more interesting) was what sold me. By the time I finished I was sorry the book had to end. This is Doctorow's best effort and a must read for anyone. Regardless of what genre you're into, this is a fun book, like Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood, or Brown's Da Vinci Code.

Also recommended: The Da Vinci Code, Bark of the Dogwood, To Kill a Mockingbird

... The first thing I can say about Ragtime, which is a fictionalized story about things that essentially happened in one way or another, is that Doctrow manages to get beyond his clearly socialistic sympathies (evident foremost in the narrative voice) and tell a wonderful and moving story.

Ragtime crisscrosses around east coast America to tell three different interlocking stories about three distinctly American families: Old World white and rich, ambitious immigrant Jews and up-and-coming sophisticated black circa 1902. These three families represent three distinct social classes and, being archetypes to the Nth degree can therefore be used to represent a much larger group of Americans. The story itself, as others readers have stated, is very simply told. Ragtime is quite easy to read and very quickly paced. The urgency of the technological and political advances, the rapid social changes and the human inability to reconcile itself with this too swiftly moving world makes up for the bulk of the narrative, consisting mostly of characters struggling to catch up with the latest play of events. Most of these characters are well-meaning idealistics, constantly disappointed or undermined by the larger, antagonistic world and seeing their great hopes destroyed by the impatience of the world around them. It makes for a wonderful and compelling read, biases be damned!--and, if one can overlook the subtle moralizing of Doctrow, there is a great deal to be learned about the importance of America in the 20th century.

i loved this book. i read it for Engligh, and thankfully, we were learning about this time period in US History at the same time, so i had a great foundation for the novel. and earlier reviewer said that there was a good deal of irish bashing in this book, but that was how Americans saw the Irish at the time, and we not liked at all, so Doctorow was not making his opinions known, but working off American thoughts of the time. i enjoyed the concept of inter-mixing fictional characters with historical, because it says that anybody is able to be directly connected with history. Doctorow is an amazing author, and this book is certainly a great one. there are so many things you can find and analyze. it isn't simply a story, but a mixture of literary techniques and history, so you learn a lot for both subjects, and even if one or the other doesn't interet you, Doctorow does a good job of making it so you can still enjoy the book. this is such a unique book, especially for our time. i would highly reccomend it to anybody, regardless of how much they knew of literature or history.

Never having read any of EL Doctorow's other works, I do not know whether he writes most of his books this way, but this one was incredible. It puts you right at the turn of the century, and I feel like I identify with the incredible changes that occured during that time period better than I ever could with a textbook. The book takes you away from your troubles and puts you in the troubles of a family that is coming to redefine itself, an angry black man who decides that he cannot take injustice anymore, and a small immigrant man and his only relative, his daughter, making their way in America. These plots all intertwine by the end, making this a whirlwind of a creation. I would reccomend it to anyone who feels like they are mature enough to handle some vivid descriptions, or anyone who is taking a class on early-20th century America.

Doctorow's Ragtime is different from any other book I have read. Ragtime tells the story of an unnamed family living in the early 20th Century. But it also gives glimpses into the lives of all the famous people that tangentially touch the lives of the family, from Harry Houdini to Henry Ford to Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.

The intricate interlacing of the story, with digressions that flow from the previous plot, but yet still have a staccato feel to them, mirrors the rags that were popular in music then and from which the book takes its name.

There is not much to the plot. You should read the book for the atmosphere and vignettes about famous people, not because you want to become engrossed in the lives of interesting characters. But it is an interesting story of life a century ago.

This I would have to say is one of the most amazing books I have ever read! I can only define it as "rich". Everytime I opened that book, it seemed like a Bible for the 1900's era. A era exploding with new things. I love each character with a deep understanding a personal connection. I read the book after hearing of the musical. I never put it down! I love everything about this book, the beautiful settings and the fictional characters being perfectly blended with real characters.

This is the first book I have read where I actually enjoyed reading more information about. Unlike other classics, which can often be monotonous, "Ragtime" has many things to look at. The "Crime of the Century", figures like Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbit and Harry Houdini. I found this book not only a door to an Amazing musical, but also a door into American history.

Characters in this story have body, and real heart to them. You want them to be real. You want Mother to be real, you want to see Father travelling, it's just so natural and flawless. Everyone is admirable and everything is wonderful. A definant best for me, I still cannot put it down!!