World's Fair

Author:

Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx in 1931. He grew up there and attended Kenyon College for undergrad and Columbia University for graduate school before he was drafted to serve in the army in 1954 and 1955. After he returned to New York, he worked as an editor in various different positions until he left to pursue his own career in writing. He has published many successful novels and received many awards for his work. He died in Manhattan in 2015 at the age of 84.

Fun fact: He was named after Edgar Allen Poe who happens to be my favorite author.

Learn more about the author below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._L._Doctorow

Three words to describe this read:

Narrative- The story is written mostly from the perspective of Edward, the youngest child of his four-person family, but there are moments when other characters such as his older brother or mother narrate. It feels like whoever is narrating is engaging in a conversation with you throughout the book.

Plotless- This word may be a little too harsh for this story but for the most part, I felt that the book was meant to demonstrate what life was like for this boy and his family. It was driven less by major plot points than it was by the day-to-day occurrences of growing up in the Bronx in the late 30s.

Historical- While the book mostly described ordinary life, because of its historical context, the ordinary becomes much more interesting to us today in 2023. From politics to household appliances, there is much to compare and consider.

Quote:

“He loved the great city of stone-it made him catch his breath and laugh. I understood, studying him, that his mind made a design of it. There was the appearance of it, which I knew, a dazzle of noise and disparate intention, jackhammers punching holes in the street, cars and trucks flowing past obstructions, yellow cabs with their skylights, double-decker buses, the great liners in the harbor blowing their basso horns; but in reality all of it was somehow arranged, it was a place of accommodation for human desire, it supported the diverse intentions of millions of people simultaneously, and he knew that and gave me the confidence to understand it and not be afraid.”

This turned out to be my favorite quote because it reminded me of how much my mom loved the city; Chicago specifically. When she used to take me on day trips downtown, she would quiz me on which direction the lake was from where we were standing to make sure I knew where I was going. This is especially funny because I never knew our direction of travel at home in Central Illinois, but I always knew it when we were downtown. She taught me to walk quickly and with purpose to appear as if I knew where I was going and had people waiting for my arrival, even when I didn’t. To this day it’s difficult for me to walk slowly.