Obviously I missed something here. For a book that was characterized as one of the ten best in the decade, E.L. Doctorow's "Ragtime" was not the best anything for me. It was essentially a series of intertwines characters with a plot I didn't really care about. Even the mingling of stories wasn't that interesting or surprising, as I was able to predict the twists and turns, which were more like gradual slopes.
Maybe it was the writing style that made it for the critics. The limited number of indents must be hard to do. Do other authors fight the urge to indent, but ultimately give in, except for E.L. and thus his greatness?
Also, what a weird name for an author. Not just an author, but a person in general. Did he write Winnie the pooh too? Ugh, it's all so frustrating.
I enjoyed the references and how everything was placed in its proper historical context, but i can't imagine other people liking this book. It doesn't make sense to me that this book came so highly recommended to me by my father and brother.
It was a real chore to finish this book. It's a pain just to write this. I feel like I should add more, as it was such a highly regarded book, but I wasn't impressed.
Now the "Alienist" by Caleb Carr is a fun piece set around the same time period. Teddy Roosevelt is the police chief of NYC and detective methods are undergoing radical transformations. Plus, if i remember correctly there is a pretty interesting story.
DON't READ RAGTIME. You shouldn't feel dumb or stupid or like your brother and father are better than you if you haven't read it. Try the Alienist. DON'T READ RAGTIME!
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