Since I'm up here in Portland, it seems only fair to direct you to the Oregonian's review of E.L. Doctorow's short story collection.
Doctorow has always been one of the most political of modern novelists, one who's unafraid to point out that the American dream doesn't work without money. "Sweet Land Stories" might better have been titled "Welcome to Hard Times," except Doctorow already used that for his first novel. What's surprising isn't that Doctorow writes so often about those whose choices are limited by birth and economic circumstance but that others don't see what's so obviously in front of them. "Welcome Back to Hard Times, " maybe. They never really went away.
We've always liked Doctorow - Ragtime is probably our favorite, although we really dig The Book of Daniel, too. We even liked The Waterworks more than most folks.
Comments