I guess its a testament to doctorow s genius that he accomplishes what should be the impossible and creates out of a patchwork of ideas a riveting novel. He worked for a time as a script reader for columbia pictures in new york city. Doctorow is an astonishing novelistastonishing not only in the virtuosity with which he deploys his mimetic skills, but also in the fact that it is impossible to predict even roughly the shape, scope and tone of one of his novels from its predecessors. Doctorow s novel promises to strike readers as a wonderfully unusual novel with a liberating narrative technique that breaks many of the socalled rules of the novel and also echoes and riffs. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Doctorow is a national treasure, and city of god is a bright and invigorating example of his talents at their best.
In 1959 he joined the editorial staff of the new american library, leaving that post five years later to become editor in chief at dial press. Discuss the structure, language, and imagery of city of god. City of god doctorow s underlying theme in city of god is humanitys quest for meaning. Wildly ambitious, in a strangely familiar way, the ultimate irony of city of god may be that its most successful portions are also those most closely aligned with doctorow s past work, particularly the novelinprogress abandoned halfway through, a moving account of life in a wwii jewish ghetto. Oct 01, 2000 city of god is a book about everything. Doctorow s approach has become familiar enough to border on the formulaic. There arent half a dozen men or women alive who could have written this novel, and none even among those who could have made it work as well as it does. Challenging and provocative, this rambling narrative is a mix of alternating voices that touch on such matters as theology. We get a closeup view of the bleeding edge of contemporary philosophy. Doctorows city of god is a novel about almost everything imaginable. I am a civil war buff and found some interesting insight here. Houston chronicle the greatest american novel of the past 50 years. L, doctorows turnofthe century novel city of god 2001 explores the nature of religious faith for those for whom traditional forms of religion have become difficult or lost their meaning.
Augustines city of god is the canvas on which doctorow paints an impressionistic portrait of mans frail moral nature and the possibilities of red. This is a far more ambitious work than doctorow s excellent novel ragtime, for which he is best known, and admirers of the previous novel will recognize much of the same. With brilliant and audacious strokes, the author of ragtime and billy bathgate creates a breathtaking collage of memories, events, visions, and provocative thought, all centered on the idea of a modern reality of god. New york, the holocaust, the 20th century, apocalypse, love, religion, and the. Doctorow s distinguished literary careeran astonishing modern masterwork of faith, mystery, and the search for spiritual authenticity. This is an extract from the course the 25 most influential books in the postapostolic christian church. The book does not give answers but provokes questions and is an antidote to allpervasive smugness or indifference. Although difficult to read, the effort will be rewarded. In his 1991 book postmodernism, the literary critic fredric jameson wrote that e. Doctorow as diversely populated and wideranging as it seems, e. Now, with city of god, doctorow has written a novel that is. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. While we cannot expect closure to his tale, we can appreciate his wise guidance.
Augustines book of the same title, which responded to those who blamed christianity for the fall of rome. City of god by doctorow, e l used books and rare books. The material collected by writer everett, the narrator in city of god, is an examination of the relationship between human beings and god, between human beings and the world around them, between. Discuss the dozens of stories that comprise doctorows book, from the story of the universe to yehoshuas ghetto narrative, highlighting the interplay that exists among them. In what ways does it mimic or recreate the rhythms of contemporary. In the telling of the story there is a lot of short little essays or philosophical musings and often it is hard to know who is the current voice.
Theres something to pique and challenge the readers imagination on virtually every page. Doctorows novel promises to strike readers as a wonderfully unusual novel with a liberating narrative technique that breaks many of the socalled rules of the novel and also echoes and riffs on styles and themes from a wide range of literary and historical. Doctorow, best known for the novels ragtime, billy bathgate and the book of daniel, at biography. Get 50% off this audiobook at the audiobooksnow online audio book store and download or stream it right to your computer, smartphone or tablet. It is doctorows gift that he can connect difficult theological and cosmological ideas and render them simply and vividly for his readers. Doctorow s sprawling city of god doesnt qualify as an epic in word count it weighs in at fewer than 300 pages but it does fill the bill in terms of scope and breadth. Augustines city of godis the canvas on which doctorow paints an impressionistic portrait of mans frail moral nature and the possibilities of redemption. L download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Among his honors are the national book award, three national book critics circle awards, two penfaulkner awards, and the presidentially conferred national humanities medal. Not even doctorow is sure how many what he calls motifs run through his book. In city of god, doctorows underlying theme is humanitys quest for meaning. City of god holland novel, a 1979 historical novel by cecelia holland. I listen to the new york times on the way to work and a novel home. Doctorow s book raises that question for the end of the 20th century. From the glamour of 1950s manhattan to the decadence of wall street today, new york is a literary capital. Doctorow is a story told by the narrator everett who is writing a story about pem, an episcopalian priest. Doctorow together in the first two sentences of anything. Doctorow s next book, written in his home in new rochelle, new york, was ragtime 1975, later named one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century by the modern library editorial board.
An intensely conceived study of the varieties of contemporary religious experience that teases the mind intriguingly while never quite fully becoming the fiction it aspires to be. Feb 17, 2000 city of god both is and isnt a dramatization of the experience of questioning, losing, then partially regaining ones faith. Augustine saw human history as a struggle between an earthly city and the city of god with the holy city winning in a final apocalyptic battle. Last week we offered you a guide to books about new york and you had a lot more to. Doctorows city of god is a valuable book for those who want to think about religion and spiritual issues or to see why people think about them. New york, the holocaust, the 20th century, apocalypse, love, religion, and the universe. Doctorow is the author of nine books, including welcome to the hard times, the book of daniel, ragtime, loon lake, lives of the poet, worlds fair, billy bathgate, and the waterworks. Doctorow s novel promises to strike readers as a wonderfully unusual novel with a liberating narrative technique that breaks many of the socalled rules of the novel and also echoes and riffs on styles and themes from a wide range of literary and historical. Doctorow, best known for the novels ragtime, billy bathgate and the book of daniel, at. Doctorow makes the novel near impossible to follow by referring to every character in the first tense and not properly introducing them in the novel. Doctorow and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. City of god 2000, consisting of what are ostensibly the journal entries of a writer, splinters into several different narratives, including a detective story and a holocaust narrative.
City of god by doctorow, signed, franklin abebooks. Everett, the writernarrator, is compiling a nonfiction account of the way his friend pem thomas pemberton is dealing. City of god by doctorow, signed, franklin abebooks passion for books. Doctorow s city of god is a novel about almost everything imaginable. Doctorow creates a breathtaking collage of memories, events, visions, and provocative thought, all centered on an idea of the modern reality of god. One critic has written that city of god is a story about storytellingabout the ubiquity of narrative.
New york times bestseller with brilliant and audacious strokes, e. And having started off with my own big bang there, next i shall steal from someone on amazon who wrote about this book that it will provide you with retrospective gratification. Doctorows novels welcome to hard times, ragtime, the. With so many disparate elements, city of god shouldnt hold together. It is doctorow s gift that he can connect difficult theological and cosmological ideas and render them simply and vividly for his readers. Throughout doctorow intertwines his thoughts on fate and the nature of god and religion. Doctorow is the epic poet of the disappearance of the american. Doctorow s novel can nonetheless be viewed as a singular, intricately rendered portrait of one mans peripatetic imagination and streaming consciousness. Doctorow weaves a reproach to postmodernism out of the tale of a turbulent priest. He died tuesday in manhattan at the age of 84 due to complications from lung cancer. Doctorow s city of god is a valuable book for those who want to think about religion and spiritual issues or to see why people think about them. We want you to be as happy when you have the item in hand as you are when you view it on your computer screen.
Introduction city of god city of god opens a vast window on a range of religious, scientific, historic, and aesthetic concerns. Holocaust survivors, and war veterans, city of god is a monumental. The march 2005 follows a fictionalized version of the union general william tecumseh sherman on his infamously. Doctorow s works of fiction include welcome to hard times, the book of daniel, ragtime, loon lake, worlds fair, billy bathgate, the waterworks, city of god.
This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on city of god by e. Other stories start and stop throughout city of god, short bursts of narrative bouncing among discourses on physics and the occasional musical interpretations of the midrash jazz quartet. Doctorow billy bathgate, ragtime also published three collections of short fiction. Everettrex shutterstock the titillating scene in ragtime, his international bestseller of 1975, between the. City of god 10 years later, a 2012 brazilian documentary about. The story begins in the fall of 1999, with the random notebook jottings of a writer seeking a fictional subject, meanwhile worrying the idea of the physical universes profound, disastrous, hopeless infinitude. Everett, the storys writernarrator, is compiling a nonfiction account of the way his friend pem thomas pemberton is dealing with loss of religious conviction. Daringly poised at the junction of the sacred and the profane, and fil. Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers. To support his family, doctorow spent nine years as a book editor, first at new american library working with ian fleming and ayn rand among others. Doctorows works of fiction include welcome to hard times, the book of daniel, ragtime, loon lake, worlds fair, billy bathgate, the waterworks, city of. Like many of the audible listeners i keep a book on my ipod at all times and find this one of my favorite parts of the day. Discuss the dozens of stories that comprise doctorow s book, from the story of the universe to.
Doctorow, plus links to a book excerpt from city of god and author biography of e. Jan 10, 2017 although best known as one of the greatest 20thcentury american novelists, e. In doctorows novel, the city is new york, the time 1999, and the apocalypse at once personal, psychological, social, and theological. Doctorow is the author of nine books, including welcome to the hard times, the book of daniel, ragtime, loon lake, lives of the poet, worlds fair, billy bathgate, and the waterworks he has been awarded the national book award, the national book critics circle award twice, the penfaulkner prize, the william dean howells medal of the american academy of arts and letters.
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