Scan barcode
A review by frasersimons
Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A polyphonic grouping mostly comprised of immigrants, all trying to find their way in a city that sells them something that doesn’t exist. Moving from something that feels like cinematic plays—or tracking shots—to meat of narratives with each chapter, this 1925 text feels really contemporary sometimes, especially when weaving between perspectives and contextualizing things very cinematically and emotionally.
It doesn’t escape being antiquated though. Lots of characters feel like caricatures. They’re openly racist. I doubt any one character arc will be surprising. Oh, and they ride carriages sometimes, dodging new-fangled cars. The plotting is intricate and comes together nicely to form the themes. But I doubt I’ll even remember a character name in a day or two. I never once felt attached. We are far more than arms length.
More than most this could be a 4 on a day when I’m thinking Fondly about it. Because it does feature great writing and it feels like it might have impacted literature to the degree of perhaps even forging these quintessential stories and this type of fiction. There’s some progressive ideas and the intent of it is explicit enough that the antiquated features are undeniably blind spots. There’s some queer characters and an abortion story, which feels ahead of it’s time, but also of it’s time.
It doesn’t escape being antiquated though. Lots of characters feel like caricatures. They’re openly racist. I doubt any one character arc will be surprising. Oh, and they ride carriages sometimes, dodging new-fangled cars. The plotting is intricate and comes together nicely to form the themes. But I doubt I’ll even remember a character name in a day or two. I never once felt attached. We are far more than arms length.
More than most this could be a 4 on a day when I’m thinking Fondly about it. Because it does feature great writing and it feels like it might have impacted literature to the degree of perhaps even forging these quintessential stories and this type of fiction. There’s some progressive ideas and the intent of it is explicit enough that the antiquated features are undeniably blind spots. There’s some queer characters and an abortion story, which feels ahead of it’s time, but also of it’s time.