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A review by bookish_barista
Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
4.0
This was a really enjoyable read. It kinda has the same energy as sitting at a nice cafe bar and spending the afternoon people watching. The author's words, descriptors, imagery - chef's kiss. It's definitely a book that has a poetic aspect without being pretentious. He just captures city life so so well. I especially like how he blends hustle and bustle of NYC with quite peaceful descriptions of the sun and trees. The only reason I'm marking it as 4 stars is that it can be quite hard to follow sometimes because there are so many characters and storylines. Also, bear in mind it was written in the 20s, so whilst the language is generally quite modern there are some very dated phrases used occasionally.
Some of my fav quotes:
"The trees spread branches of brittle purple into a dove-coloured sky; the large-windowed houses opposite glowed pink, nonchalant, prosperous."
"An elevated train shattered the barred sunlight overhead. He could see Ruth's mouth forming words."
"He wanted to break down the door after her. He dropped on his knees and kissed the step where she had stood. The fog swirled and flickered with colours in confetti about him. Then the trumpet feeling ebbed and he was falling through a black manhole. He stood stockstill."
Some of my fav quotes:
"The trees spread branches of brittle purple into a dove-coloured sky; the large-windowed houses opposite glowed pink, nonchalant, prosperous."
"An elevated train shattered the barred sunlight overhead. He could see Ruth's mouth forming words."
"He wanted to break down the door after her. He dropped on his knees and kissed the step where she had stood. The fog swirled and flickered with colours in confetti about him. Then the trumpet feeling ebbed and he was falling through a black manhole. He stood stockstill."