Rating: 
Summary: Probably the best book I've ever read. Just beautiful.
Review: I know it seems odd to refer to a "gangster" novel as "beautiful," but Billy Bathgate is just that. Gorgeous imagery, writing more poetry than prose, with beautiful human touches that stand outside the storyline itself, much like Nabokov's work. It's a great page turner, to boot.
Rating:
Summary: "Billy Bathgate" was suprisingly moving...
Review: I picked up Billy Bathgate expecting your typical gangster novel. Guns, molls, bullets, blood, etc. What I found was a really sweet story about a kid who falls in love with Dutch Schultz's girlfriend and ends up saving her life. That's the spine of the novel. That's it's heart. There's a lot of exciting, wonderful things mixed in there, but that's the story. And it is absolutley beautiful and stirring. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Quality Fiction
Review: I read somewhere that in BILLY BATHGATE Doctorow was writing a myth about capitalism, which seems about right. Doctorow is one of the few historical novelists who has something significant to say about American history and doesn't just appropriate famous historical figures to give their books marketing value (yes, I'm talking about BLONDE, by Joyce Carol Oates.) This book is pretty great. If you haven't read it, you'll enjoy it. If you like a good read -- interesting characters, humour, vivid imagery, and a suspenseful plot -- you'll love it. If you're interested in literary form and ideological engagement (like the capitalism comment above) you'll also enjoy it. This seems to be Doctorow's strength -- combining good old-fashioned narrative with serious literary critique in a way that should make Tom Wolfe jealous. The opening, where the gangster gets his feet cemented, sets a dazzling tone for the rest of the novel, and this is one book that keeps getting better as it goes on. Buy this one and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not Easily Forgotten
Review: I recently finished Billy Bathgate, so the book is still fresh in my mind. I have to say, as a first-time reader of Doctorow, that I was not disappointed, and that I was definitely surprised. The surprise stemmed, probably, from the fact that I rarely read 'modern' authors. I find their work too cookie-cutter, lacking in imagery and effective language,extremely forgettable, and one dimensional. Well, Doctorow is none of these things. Personally, I don't think I will ever forget Billy Bathgate. The title character himself is too engaging to be forgotten, too understandable, human, and too deserving of just the right amounts of sympathy and exasperation. His narrative invokes memories of Holden Caulfield, Nick Carraway, and strangely enough, Dr. Watson. Doctorow peppers his text with delightful run-ons, sentence fragments, and old-fashioned American profanity. I say delightful because all three of these classic no-no's are incorporated perfectly into the words coming out of Billy's mouth and from his memory. Perfect grammar would be undesirable in this case, because Billy thinks in fragments and acts in run-ons. I think we would miss out on half of his personality and being if he didn't come across as a boy made out of the broken pieces of one big, dangling participle. Don't let reviews dissing the grammar deter you from reading this book, I suppose I'm trying to say. The imagery is beautiful, the descriptions (especially of people, but also of places, smells, buildings, scenes,) are sheer perfection. They hit the nail on the head. Sit back and watch the mental movie your mind will unfold for you. This is one of those books that will give you End-Of-Book-Withdrawal.I'm very much looking forward to reading Doctorow's other works.
Rating:
Summary: excellent story
Review: I've only read two of Doctorow's books, this one and _The Book of Daniel_, and this novel is about as far from daniel as you can get (though both are excellent). It's an excellent story about a boy coming of age in the 20s and 30s as a sort of member of Dutch Shultz's gang. He learns lifes lessons from these men. Doctorow's prose is lyrical, a sort of irony when you put the beautiful language Doctorow uses with the violence and moral ambiguity of the characters. This is a great culmination of Doctorow's work.
Rating:
Summary: First Doctorow Experience
Review: In Billy Bathgate, Doctorow writes a coming of age book about a 15-year-old boy from the Bronx. The story is set in the late 20's and early 30's. Billy, for all practical purposes, is an orphan who grows up on the tenement-lined streets. His life changes when he ingratiates himself with a local mobster named Dutch Schultz. Billy, at first, runs simple errands; gathering coffee and donuts and delivering money. Dutch, however, likes the kid and starts to train him for future endvours. Billy likes the money but soon realizes he is in thicker than he wants to be. However, the Mafia is his family and there can be no escape. The book takes Billy through the dangerous and exciting rise and fall of Dutch's empire. Doctorow writes a compelling novel in the sense that Doctorow has done his homework. There is a sense of authenticity when reading the historical and scenic descriptions. Billy's love scenes and the gritty action were described almost poetically. However, what turned me off was the writing itself. Too many run on sentences and often times I found that the scene changed, often radically, without any help to the reader. It was like a page or paragraph was missing. While the characters were colorful and interesting, I didn't have as much sympathy with Billy as I would have hoped. There is some sexual content, so young readers should be cautioned. Otherwise a pretty good story, especially if you like this historical era.
Rating:
Summary: Another book for the misguided youth
Review: Its not easy to grow up without a role model. This book is about the need for a boy, Billy, trying to find himself while growing up in a poor neighborhood in New York. Billy's character was a symbol similar to the character Holden Caulfield in the book Catcher and the Rye but the difference between the two characters was that Billy was a little bit less in control of his destiny and was led on more in this story. The character Billy becomes wrapped up in a gang led by an alcohol smuggler, Dutch Schultz, by doing menial tasks. But also he witnesses something brutal with the execution of one of Dutch's betrayers. Doctorow uses the naivety of Billy to accentuate the emotional scenes in the book and the execution in the beginning is merely one example. Billy is also expressed as an outcast from society trying to find himself a feel like he belongs somewhere. And that is how he gets wrapped up in the gang and never thinks twice about it. He most importantly wants Dutch to like him for its own sake. Other characters in the book are in the gang for ulterior motives from the accountant to the grunts and drivers, that's to be expected. But for Billy, he just wants to be liked. I thought that the scenes were pretty enjoyable. It's similar to the book of "The Catcher and the Rye" and the famous film "The Graduate" starring Dustin Hoffman who I believe is in the movie version of this book. Reading this book will make you think like a teenager and might even bring back some memories you might have of being unsure of yourself or wanting to be accepted within a group. It should take a week to a couple of weeks depending on the time in your reading sessions.
Rating:
Summary: Another book for the misguided youth
Review: Its not easy to grow up without a role model. This book is about the need for a boy, Billy, trying to find himself while growing up in a poor neighborhood in New York. Billy's character was a symbol similar to the character Holden Caulfield in the book Catcher and the Rye but the difference between the two characters was that Billy was a little bit less in control of his destiny and was led on more in this story. The character Billy becomes wrapped up in a gang led by an alcohol smuggler, Dutch Schultz, by doing menial tasks. But also he witnesses something brutal with the execution of one of Dutch's betrayers. Doctorow uses the naivety of Billy to accentuate the emotional scenes in the book and the execution in the beginning is merely one example. Billy is also expressed as an outcast from society trying to find himself a feel like he belongs somewhere. And that is how he gets wrapped up in the gang and never thinks twice about it. He most importantly wants Dutch to like him for its own sake. Other characters in the book are in the gang for ulterior motives from the accountant to the grunts and drivers, that's to be expected. But for Billy, he just wants to be liked. I thought that the scenes were pretty enjoyable. It's similar to the book of "The Catcher and the Rye" and the famous film "The Graduate" starring Dustin Hoffman who I believe is in the movie version of this book. Reading this book will make you think like a teenager and might even bring back some memories you might have of being unsure of yourself or wanting to be accepted within a group. It should take a week to a couple of weeks depending on the time in your reading sessions.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable work of literature that is also a page-turner!
Review: Rarely does an award-winning work of literature read as easily as a Michael Crichton paperback. If you are in the mood for a quick read, you would normally turn to the pop fiction selections on your bookshelf and find something mindless and plot driven. If you are looking for a higher level of quality, such as a Pen/Faulker Award winner, you perhaps consciously prepare yourself for the added effort that reading a meaningful, elaborate, character-driven novel entails. You will almost certainly be rewarded for the effort, but it is an effort nonetheless. But in Billy Bathgate, E.L. Doctorow blends the depth, substance, and beauty of a quality work of literature with the pace, suspense, and rhythm of a mafia thriller. The result is an imminently readable novel that is also an important contribution to 20th century fiction. The plot itself bears much resemblance to countless other mafia stories, filled with shady characters, ruthless hit men, brutal murders, bribing of government officials, and steamy love affairs. The uniqueness lies in the fact that the narrator is a 15-year-old boy, Billy, eager to earn the trust of Dutch Schultz, the mafia kingpin, and his gang. He quickly progresses from simple errand boy, buying cigarettes and coffee, to a position of modest responsibility in this intriguing world of crime. Through Billy's somewhat naïve, innocent eyes, we observe Dutch as he manages his empire, carries out hits against his enemies and disloyal employees, and struggles to evade the attempts of law enforcement to bring him down. The story takes us from New York City to Onondoga, a small town where Dutch's trial eventually takes place. And in the process, we witness the growth of a boy into a young man as he enters a world of big money, intense loyalty, and vindictive violence. Throughout, Doctorow's beautiful prose, gift for understatement, and masterful sense of timing create a remarkable novel that will linger in the reader's mind long after the last page has been read.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable work of literature that is also a page-turner!
Review: Rarely does an award-winning work of literature read as easily as a Michael Crichton paperback. If you are in the mood for a quick read, you would normally turn to the pop fiction selections on your bookshelf and find something mindless and plot driven. If you are looking for a higher level of quality, such as a Pen/Faulker Award winner, you perhaps consciously prepare yourself for the added effort that reading a meaningful, elaborate, character-driven novel entails. You will almost certainly be rewarded for the effort, but it is an effort nonetheless. But in Billy Bathgate, E.L. Doctorow blends the depth, substance, and beauty of a quality work of literature with the pace, suspense, and rhythm of a mafia thriller. The result is an imminently readable novel that is also an important contribution to 20th century fiction. The plot itself bears much resemblance to countless other mafia stories, filled with shady characters, ruthless hit men, brutal murders, bribing of government officials, and steamy love affairs. The uniqueness lies in the fact that the narrator is a 15-year-old boy, Billy, eager to earn the trust of Dutch Schultz, the mafia kingpin, and his gang. He quickly progresses from simple errand boy, buying cigarettes and coffee, to a position of modest responsibility in this intriguing world of crime. Through Billy's somewhat naïve, innocent eyes, we observe Dutch as he manages his empire, carries out hits against his enemies and disloyal employees, and struggles to evade the attempts of law enforcement to bring him down. The story takes us from New York City to Onondoga, a small town where Dutch's trial eventually takes place. And in the process, we witness the growth of a boy into a young man as he enters a world of big money, intense loyalty, and vindictive violence. Throughout, Doctorow's beautiful prose, gift for understatement, and masterful sense of timing create a remarkable novel that will linger in the reader's mind long after the last page has been read.
|
