Our world is diminished by Doctorow's death. Condolences to his family and friends, as well as his many, many, many readers.
3
I wonder who will be read more one hundred years from know--Doctorow or Updike? I wonder because I will not be here to know.
1
E.L. Doctorow was a professor of mine at NYU. He was vastly knowledgeable as he was disagreeable. He secreted copies of Salmon Rushdie's Satanic Verses for us after the fatwa was issued. It was a heady time.
His advice was pointed but useful. One hint always stuck in my mind:
When you bring a character onstage, give him a life. This was incredibly helpful as you treat those who populate your work as a person, not as a prop. Then you and your reader think differently about who they are. They are fuller, richer characters.
One story:
After class on Wednesday night, the students and the teachers would go to a bar. My teacher at the time Tom Keneally, of Schindler's List fame and one of the world's most gracious and kind people, asked me to go into Doctorow's class and tell them where we were meeting.
I walked into the room and said, "I have an intrusion."
"You are an intrusion," said Doctorow.
"We are all going to XYZ bar after class."
"What does that have to do with literature?"
"More than what's going in here," I said. My friends thought it was funny.
I always thought his best work was Book of Daniel.
His advice was pointed but useful. One hint always stuck in my mind:
When you bring a character onstage, give him a life. This was incredibly helpful as you treat those who populate your work as a person, not as a prop. Then you and your reader think differently about who they are. They are fuller, richer characters.
One story:
After class on Wednesday night, the students and the teachers would go to a bar. My teacher at the time Tom Keneally, of Schindler's List fame and one of the world's most gracious and kind people, asked me to go into Doctorow's class and tell them where we were meeting.
I walked into the room and said, "I have an intrusion."
"You are an intrusion," said Doctorow.
"We are all going to XYZ bar after class."
"What does that have to do with literature?"
"More than what's going in here," I said. My friends thought it was funny.
I always thought his best work was Book of Daniel.
3
Horrific paraphrase and I apologize. But he once said, about writing a novel, it's like driving cross country in the dark, with only your headlights to guide you. But if you keep going you eventually get to where your going. What a line (mauled here).
3
I am an architect now living in California. Edgar Doctorow and his wife, Helen were two of the best clients I had the pleasure of working with. I am so sad to learn of his passing. Does anyone know how to get in touch with his wife, Helen? They are no longer living in the New Rochelle house where we worked on the designing.
In 1973, my history professor invited Doctorow to speak to his class about “The Book of Daniel.” which was part of the syllabus on modern American history. I recall being in the office when Mr. Doctorow arrived, looking every bit the writer. I think the honorarium was about $150. But it was a short drive from New Rochelle to the College and Doctorow seemed happy to meet a class of students who were eager to meet and talk to him.
After "Ragtime" was published, my professor asked me one day during a meeting "so, do you think I can get E.L. Doctorow for $150 NOW?"
After "Ragtime" was published, my professor asked me one day during a meeting "so, do you think I can get E.L. Doctorow for $150 NOW?"
3
Def will have to go back and re-examine the works
Unfortunately, I never had Doctorow as a professor when I was a student at Sarah Lawrence. But I got to know him when I was assistant to his Literary Agent. It was a privilege and honor to get to know him. Being a graduate of Sarah Lawrence he expected I would always have something pithy to say to him. I was always afraid I disappointed him, but he never disappointed me. I never will forgot his kindness to me. My favorite work of his shall always be the short story, "The Writer in the Family," which was included in his book "The Lives of the Poets."
4
I once heard E.L. Doctorow read his wonderful short story “The Writer in the Family.” He introduced it by saying that the title phrase “is said with such love, and such derision.” Years later I saw him out in Sag Harbor at a concert of his daughter Caroline, who’s a wonderful folksinger. What a wonderful career and gentle, interesting man. “The Book of Daniel” in particular is a masterpiece.
2
Some voices should never be stilled; E. L. Doctorow's is one of them. His work is my benchmark for historical fiction and it is with deep sorrow that I have to accept that there will be no more.
8
A really nice memorial to E.L. Doctorow at http://friendsatrest.com/9454/memorials/e-l-doctorow/ He was a master of his craft and will be sadly missed.
Ave
Thanks for all the words and the pleasurable hours spent reveling in them...
Thanks for all the words and the pleasurable hours spent reveling in them...
2
My parents loved the writing of Doctorow and passed along the love to me. I will be rereading various works in future.
2
Bill Moyers interviewed E.L. Doctorow for PBS "A World of Ideas." Having read a number of E.L. Doctorow's novels and found them 'fine,' I was stunned by how the interview captured his erudition, intellect, and grave, yet gentle humanity. The conversation turned to Wilfred Owen's war poems, which a critic suggested had 'failed' to stop escalating modern warfare. Doctorow paused and said simply: "Maybe they weren't good enough." His emphasis lay on the word "enough." He made it clear that he saw the mission of artists to defy the impossible. He implied that someday there would be poems that *were* going to be good enough! A hopeful thought. R.I.P.
7
E. L. Doctorow wrote only one play. "Drinks Before Dinner," writes Mr. Weber, "about a party of urbane New Yorkers that is hijacked by an existentially outraged guest with a gun, was directed by Mike Nichols and starred Christopher Plummer when it was first performed, in 1978 at the Public Theater in Manhattan." I didn't see the original production, but I staged the play as a reading a few times and assigned some of its stunning speeches to my acting students. Though not a born playwright, Doctorow was playwright enough to understand that, in writing for the stage, dialogue requires a built in projectile quality on the page that the live actor can blast off with and detonate for a live audience. Amazing to me that the "end of the world" tone embodied by these sophisticated, super-articulate dinner partiers, resonates more than ever today. I would love to see an HBO production with world-class actors, capable of handling the language. Or. Same cast, on an audio CD. Rest in peace, E.L
5
I was in the audience when Mr. Doctorow answered questions about Drinks Before Dinner. When asked what the next project will be, he answered, "Dinner."
1
As a kid growing up in Detroit in the 60's, it was the Bowery Boys who initially piqued my interest in New York City; in the 70's as an older teenager reluctantly growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, it was books of Doctorow who brought the city to life for me.
3
The Book of Daniel is a masterpiece, and remains the best novel I've ever read.
In my view he was the greatest of our writers.
So long, E.L., and thank you. We'll miss you.
In my view he was the greatest of our writers.
So long, E.L., and thank you. We'll miss you.
5
E.L. Doctorow once responded to an interviewer's question with, 'I write to find out what I am writing about....' He made all muses of creativity happy, no doubt, helped me listen more closely to my own....
3
so long my friend
7
I debated going to the National Book Festival (2014), but as soon as I heard Doctorow was going, the debate was over. I remember waking up at 7 am and arriving at the venue at around 9. Since I was early, I was the only one in the auditorium with the camera crew who'd be taping Doctorow as he accepted the Library of Congress award. Well, I looked up and saw a white-haired gentleman stroll in, smile at me and the empty chairs, stand under a spotlight, bask in it, and walk out the side door. It was Doctorow. It's so great to see one of your favorite writers just enjoy the moment, especially in their later years.
When I finally got that long-awaited signature from Doctorow, that same copy of Ragtime where I decided historical fiction was something I wanted to write, he leaned over to his assistant and said "my hands are cramping." But he rubbed his hands, signed my book, smiled, and gave a polite nod. He kept writing. Rest in peace, E.L. Doctorow.
When I finally got that long-awaited signature from Doctorow, that same copy of Ragtime where I decided historical fiction was something I wanted to write, he leaned over to his assistant and said "my hands are cramping." But he rubbed his hands, signed my book, smiled, and gave a polite nod. He kept writing. Rest in peace, E.L. Doctorow.
11
Literary time traveler? huh? that's nuts. watch your headline writing, I see it becoming more and more cutesy and/or inaccurate. there are other options for the news.
3
Anyone calling Ronald Reagan "too old to be President" was blasted by Peggy Noonan for age discrimination.
But she herself blasted "the aging liberal".
This makes sense, if you're Peggy Noonan.
But she herself blasted "the aging liberal".
This makes sense, if you're Peggy Noonan.
13
Mr. Doctorow's legacy is quite likely to survive Updike's negative opinions. Updike didn't like Faulkner either -- apparently ANY Faulkner.
5
I started reading Mr. Doctorow’s novels over 30 years ago--and never stopped. Thus, his writing influenced my professional and intellectual life. What began with a dissertation, eventually led to teaching, but his works always hold a special place. A visit to his office at NYU in 2003, during which he graciously answered my many questions, will remain the highlight of my academic life. Thank you to a great writer and a wonderful person.
7
I admired his novels enormously, but my favorite Doctorow passage was his account of trying -- and failing, after repeated revisions -- to write a note to school for his daughter, excusing her absence the day before. The writer's life and torment in a nutshell.
9
I agree, that passage is wonderful. It tells so much about a writer`s life, about being a writer. And is 100% Doctorow's writing, depth and humour.
3
As much as I admired Loon Lake and The March, it was The Book of Daniel that destroyed me. One of the most moving--and, at the same time, stubbornly unsentimental--novels I have ever read. Mr. Doctorow, you have enriched our lives immeasurably.
5
I have been reading Mr. Doctorow for 30 years, and have learned from each novel new ways of seeing and describing the world. I love both his words and the thought process they revealed. I am sad to know there will be no more Doctorow books.
9
In June 2013 I was on staff at an institution that was honoring Mr. Doctorow with an award. After the ceremonial part there was an intimate cocktail reception in the afternoon with the honorees. Mr. and Mrs. Doctorow stood apart from the main crowd on the perimeter, both observing, both together in a world of their own yet so warm and familiar in conversation. From time-to-time a young person working as a waiter at the caterer reception would bring a paperback edition of one of his novels to him to be autographed. Mr. Doctorow would pivot from our conversation to sign his name and listen to their accolades with respect and attention. In that hour in which I stood with the Doctorows I observed that in physical form we were the same, as we were in manners and friendliness. But what would remain beyond my grasp - the distinction between him and us - was Mr. Doctorow's mind and talent. I never thought I'd meet him, an author whose selection of stories to tell shaped my worldview so very much from high school on. In that hour I didn't want to break the spell that, through osmosis, would impart some of his wisdom and humor to me. In that hour I didn't offer my accolades in fear that he'd pivot from me. I offer them now: his stories focused me on what was important in living this life. Thank you for defining those margins for me.
14
i SANG IN ragtime. It was a masterpiece. may he rest in peace
7
I met Mr. Doctorow a few years ago shortly after I had attended a symposium at the NYPL on the recently released 1940 U.S. census data. When I told him one of the presenters had used Mr. Doctorow's mother as an example of how to look up an individual in the census he expressed a great deal of pleasure hearing about it.
By the way, the screenplay of "Billy Bathgate" was written by Tom Stoppard. Rarely has both a book and the screenplay made from it been associated with such sublime talent.
By the way, the screenplay of "Billy Bathgate" was written by Tom Stoppard. Rarely has both a book and the screenplay made from it been associated with such sublime talent.
5
I wonder how many students who booed Doctorow at Hofstra enlisted and fought in Iraq. I'm sure most were content to let others battle.
25
I loved this obituary. It is only sad that Doctorow could not read it himself.
5
Maybe he helped edit it!
2
"Ragtime" is a masterpiece, one of my favorite books.
7
Ragtime is one of my all-time favorite books. Thanks for sharing your gifts with the world!
5
Nice to see a long discussion about a writer's work. One small point: you played stoop ball on the stoop (Dutch word), the set of steps that led up to the front door of the house. You played street ball in the street.
4
Thank you for this wonderful obituary. The ending of "Homer and Langley" continues to haunt me. And thank you Mr. Doctorow, for the realization that Mr. Bush was storytelling. For the last decade I though he was lying.
14
I read Ragtime when I was a freshman in college (1981). I believe it was around the time the film came out. Ragtime also happens to be my all-time favorite musical. I re-read Doctorow's book shortly before the Broadway revival of the show in 2009.
I always figured he'd win the Nobel. In my heart he did. Rereading Lives of the Poets. The man was a genius. RIP, my friend.
8
A teacher I know loved to read Doctorow. During a "drop everything and read" session, where you encourage reading by modeling, she pulled out a hardcover edition of "The March," and said she was reading a new book by her favorite author, who was born in the Bronx. She showed the second graders, all English language learners, the length of the book, its heft, how it consisted of words, not pictures, and that one day, they would be able to read books of this size. She described the Civil War, set up the scene, related the narrator's point of view and read the first paragraph (with a couple of edits). The children were enthralled, and able to taste some great storytelling. Children of any age can be introduced to great literature. And the Common Core is getting rid of fiction and demanding "close reading," without offering young readers context.
Here's to the memory of E.L. Doctorow, and and the magic of storytelling.
Here's to the memory of E.L. Doctorow, and and the magic of storytelling.
21
In the mid-eighties, I met and talked with Mr. Doctorow in Albany, NY. The conversation is as memorable as it was brief. I remember particular scenes from his novels that bring me the mysterious comfort only honest fiction can deliver. I'm glad I met E.L.Doctorow and that he talked with me.
8
One of my favorite authors of all time. I read The Book of Daniel in my 20s and went on to read everything else. We were lucky enough to see him speak at TImesTalks a couple of years ago and talked with him for a second or two at the book signing afterward. An author who truly belongs in the pantheon of 20th/21st century writers.
5
“In 1902 Father built a house at the crest of the Broadview Avenue hill in New Rochelle, New York. It was a three-story brown shingle with dormers, bay windows and a screened porch. Striped awnings shaded the windows. The family took possession of this stout manse on a sunny day in June and it seemed for some years thereafter that all their days would be warm and fair."
At the very start of Ragtime, Doctorow summed up a passing way of life and set the reader up for the change that was to come.
Change is inevitable, but, oh, that lovely vision of the house with the striped awnings and screened porch.
At the very start of Ragtime, Doctorow summed up a passing way of life and set the reader up for the change that was to come.
Change is inevitable, but, oh, that lovely vision of the house with the striped awnings and screened porch.
14
Ragtime is a magnificent book and one of my favorite to teach, especially for introducing students to Emma Goldman who in truth was just as ahead of her time as she was in his fiction.
I also had the pleasure of waiting on Professor Doctorow at an NYU neighborhood restaurant--always polite, cognizant of other's humanity be it an esteemed guest or the busboy serving bread or me, serving his glass of wine and,, best of all, an excellent tipper.
I'm sad he has passed and my condolences to family and friends but what a wonderful life he led!
I also had the pleasure of waiting on Professor Doctorow at an NYU neighborhood restaurant--always polite, cognizant of other's humanity be it an esteemed guest or the busboy serving bread or me, serving his glass of wine and,, best of all, an excellent tipper.
I'm sad he has passed and my condolences to family and friends but what a wonderful life he led!
10
I remember receiving Ragtime as a Christmas gift from my parents. A cocky sophomore in college in 1975, I thought, sure, whatever. I read it over the break, astounded, and went straight for The Book of Daniel soon after. Both novels helped teach me about the possibilities of history imaginatively told through fiction.
16
E.L. Doctorow, Sag Harbor's latest legendary literary loss following John Steinbeck, Betty Friedan and Nelson Algren. Rest in peace, Ed. To the dozen or so other scribes now toiling here, long life and similar success in providing your grateful readers with equal pleasure.
9
I've been listening to the original cast cd of Ragtime and just loved it. I also have his books on my Samsung Nook. This man was awesome. Another great literary agent is gone. Bless him and his family.
1
As usual, Updike is scintillatingly wrong. As Doctorow says in the video interview, a specific historical time can be just as valid a constructive principle for a novel as a sense of place. He and Capote exploded the myth that it was otherwise. Great writer.
14
His most famous book, Ragtime, was an adaptation, identical in the main detail, page by page, of Michael Koolhaas by Kleist.
After I saw a play off it, I rushed home to check, and the book made no mention of Kleist at all.
He probably imagined that nobody would notice....
After I saw a play off it, I rushed home to check, and the book made no mention of Kleist at all.
He probably imagined that nobody would notice....
2
Yes. According to the reviewer that is 'borrowing a plot.' But how do you return it (the plot) when you're finished? The correct word is 'plagiarism'.
A good adaptation is also a work of a competent person..it's for the readers to make the connection.
2
Ragtime is one of my favorite books, well worth reading. The black man seeking revenge in this novel is called Coalhouse Walker. His story is based on the novella Michael Kohlhass by Heinrich von Kleist.
2
I loved his sentences and interesting sensibility. Billy Bathgate and The Waterworks are my two favorite. A real pleasure to read and re-read his books.
3
I don't have perfect recall of the books I read in the 70's, but from where I sit this morning I can look up at six Doctorow novels on the shelf and feel the aura of pleasure they gave my young self. Thank you, sir, and RIP.
13
Ragtime remains one of my favorite novels, closely followed by Loon Lake, Billy Bathgate and Water Works. I agree with BkkBos, He used his time well.
3
As for Doctorow being called "Fast Eddie", I suggest that the source for that was far older. Remember Paul Newman as "Fast Eddie" Felsen in "The Hustler", 1961, drawn from a 1959 novel......
I remember the enchantment I felt reading Ragtime - it was magical and musical. And Billy Bathgate - what a great read. I'll read The Book of Daniel this summer, I think. Condolences to Mr. Doctorow's family.
3
'The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like.'
With a slight twist, a history professor of mine told our university class, 'If you want to know the facts, read history. If you want to know the truth, read fiction.'
Regard's
http://jaggy.in
With a slight twist, a history professor of mine told our university class, 'If you want to know the facts, read history. If you want to know the truth, read fiction.'
Regard's
http://jaggy.in
32
Great quotes. Perfect.
1
A brilliant novelist. Additionally, from the NYTimes of April 28, 2012:
'Unexceptionalism: A Primer.'
'Unexceptionalism: A Primer.'
2
E. L. Doctorow was superlative as a writer and as a teacher. American literature has lost a great one. Rest in peace.
21
I saw Drinks Before Dinner. I knew nothing about Doctorow except that he was suppose to be a brilliant writer. His left wing politics is all that I remember from the play. Also that it was boring and stupid, although I have seen worse. I did like the film Billy Bathgate, but that was mostly because of Dustin Hoffman.
3
Some of my most treasured friends are the Doctorow books in my library.
34
I like to think that New York was the great recurring character in this great writer's novels. He was my favorite American novelist of our times. For me it started with the opening paragraph of Ragtime and two unforgettable sentences buried in that long lede: "This was the time in our history when Winslow Homer was doing his painting. A certain light was still available along the Eastern Seaboard. Homer painted that light." It seemed to express the viewpoint of a Bronx boy just beginning to see the rest of the world. Even The March, his Civil War novel, carried the sensibility of a New Yorker of his and my generation, a special type of romance with the American past. Rest in peace.
15
Check out "City of God."
1
"The Book of Daniel" punched me in the face during my sophomore year of college with its darkness and unrelenting ambition. His is a genius I read thoroughly and did not bother to spark-note. A profound loss.
9
I always loved teaching The Book of Daniel, such a wise, brilliantly written, inventive, nuanced, and necessary book, and I remain greatly indebted to all of my students who took this novel seriously and taught me so much about it over the years. E.L. Doctorow’s wisdom also consistently shines through in his variegated nonfiction pieces, where (unlike most of his peers) he forthrightly addresses, inter alia, the overarching problem of his time--nuclear weapons--that he boldly dramatizes and so incisively historicizes in The Book of Daniel.
I have always found Doctorow to be far more fair-minded and sophisticated than his various detractors who, as is so often the case, appear not to have read him very carefully and certainly not sympathetically, if at all.
Truly an American treasure whose unique voice will be sorely missed by all who cherish great literature and trenchant, thoughtful commentary on concerns that should matter to all of us!
I have always found Doctorow to be far more fair-minded and sophisticated than his various detractors who, as is so often the case, appear not to have read him very carefully and certainly not sympathetically, if at all.
Truly an American treasure whose unique voice will be sorely missed by all who cherish great literature and trenchant, thoughtful commentary on concerns that should matter to all of us!
19
I am glad that the article gave a nod to Kleist as the source of the central plot of "Ragtime". It was astounding how many reviews of both the the book and movie either ignored or were not aware of this connection.
4
Nice catch, Milliband, and I agree completely. At this point in time I can't fault Doctorow for "re-purposing" Kleist's magnificent tale "Michael Kohlhaas"..., Kleist himself is known to have taken the story from apparently historical accounts. What matters is the perpetual laziness and ignorance of reviewers who heap praise on the "originality" of works they clearly do not understand in full, if at all. Again, I'm not slating Doctorow, who cited Kleist as inspiration, just the critics who time and again prove themselves incapable of handling the basics of their job.
3
Waterworks may be the most hopelessly honest historical portrayal I’ve ever read. Unapologetic and chilling in its malevolence, stoic, yet rich in texture. Sad for his loss. A great voice is rare. A strong argument for the Arts. Thank you Mr. Doctorow.
12
Edgar Doctorow was my professor & neighbor.
NYU's English department occupied a couple of floors of a stuffy old building on University Avenue. A guard stationed in the cramped vestibule of the building made visitors sign in, tho he often waved professors through.
One evening Doctorow & I arrived at about the same time. I assumed that he, especially because he was the building's most famous visitor, would not be subjected to the sign-in. I was wrong. The guard made Doctorow wait in line along with a dozen other people. Doctorow was clearly annoyed at the delay. When he got to the front of the line, he signed in hurriedly & made a beeline for the elevator.
As I signed in, I whispered to the guard, "That guy who was ahead of me in line -- that's E. L. Doctorow. He teaches here. And he's a famous writer." My intent was to clue him in so he wouldn't make Doctorow wait in line again.
Instead, the guard looked a me with alarmed incredulity. "Whaddaya mean, famous writer?" he asked, looking at me as if I might be one of those security risks NYU was worried about. Then he pointed to the sign-up sheet, where Doctorow had scrawled his name, now just above mine. "Look at that," he said. "That man can't write."
The next time I saw Doctorow, I told him about my exchange with the guard. He was highly amused. It's in the eye of the beholder, baby.
The Constant Weader @http://www.RealityChex.com
NYU's English department occupied a couple of floors of a stuffy old building on University Avenue. A guard stationed in the cramped vestibule of the building made visitors sign in, tho he often waved professors through.
One evening Doctorow & I arrived at about the same time. I assumed that he, especially because he was the building's most famous visitor, would not be subjected to the sign-in. I was wrong. The guard made Doctorow wait in line along with a dozen other people. Doctorow was clearly annoyed at the delay. When he got to the front of the line, he signed in hurriedly & made a beeline for the elevator.
As I signed in, I whispered to the guard, "That guy who was ahead of me in line -- that's E. L. Doctorow. He teaches here. And he's a famous writer." My intent was to clue him in so he wouldn't make Doctorow wait in line again.
Instead, the guard looked a me with alarmed incredulity. "Whaddaya mean, famous writer?" he asked, looking at me as if I might be one of those security risks NYU was worried about. Then he pointed to the sign-up sheet, where Doctorow had scrawled his name, now just above mine. "Look at that," he said. "That man can't write."
The next time I saw Doctorow, I told him about my exchange with the guard. He was highly amused. It's in the eye of the beholder, baby.
The Constant Weader @http://www.RealityChex.com
49
Back in the '40's in Hollywood, my father observed a tall gentleman with an accent getting rousted by an NBC guard. "He's okay," my father said, "he's with me." Which is how a comedy writer came to rescue Thomas Mann. It made for a very quiet elevator ride.
3
I saw E.L. Doctorow do a reading of Ragtime when I was in graduate school and I will never forget what I learned from it--you could make things up! I was stunned and inspired. Whatever I had learned from other authors, such as Dickens or George Eliot, it was Doctorow who brought it into focus and made it relevant to my own aspirations. I was sitting in the back of the theater, and I remember trembling as he read the section about Freud and Jung in the tunnel of love, and then the section about Houdini hanging from the bottom of an airplane. It was a revelation. Thank you, Mr. Doctorow.
59
Ms. Smiley: Why am I not surprised that you, one of my favorite American writers, are a fan of Mr. Doctorow, that most American and inventive of writers? He cannot be replaced, but we can remember and honor him by being bold and original in our writing and reading.
6
Bravo for his calling out Bush on his shameless lies and clueless delusions.
69
John Le Carré was also very good at this. He liked to include Tony Blair into the bargain.
2
I never read a book by Mr. Doctorow. I FELL into his entire opus after reading World's Fair. Of modern American authors, he and Mr. Tom Wolfe are the ones who resonate the most with me. Poe and Twain (for me as reader) are their forebears (apologies to Mssrs Fitzgerald and Hemingway although Steinbeck should be included).
Did he capture an era? Yes. But even more so. His imagery.... his mastery...
We lost a great writer and are less now...
Others of his caliber are few.
Did he capture an era? Yes. But even more so. His imagery.... his mastery...
We lost a great writer and are less now...
Others of his caliber are few.
10
Bruce Weber's obit is simply brilliant. As a Doctorow novel, one savory every carefully crafted sentence.
9
Some years ago, I struck up an acquaintance with him. He graciously read some of what I had written. He described me as a "fellow inconsolable." (Those who know The Book of Daniel will get the reference.) In The Waterworks, there is a character named Edmund Donne, which I think I influenced.
5
The most fascinating and unforgettable talk I ever heard about Einstein was the one Doctorow gave in Aspen in 2005 at the celebration for 100 years of relativity. He was of the opinion that Einstein worked like a novelist, and his two great papers on special and general relativity were written like novels. Not in the sense of being fiction, but in the sense of being conceived and published as completed works in their totality, not as small separate papers spread around in diverse journals as is the norm in science. Doctorow told us that Einstein was the last scientist who was able to do his research like a novelist writes a novel. You see some people in science get held back in their research now because they try to do it like a novelist, figure the entire thing out from start to finish on their own. And you really can't do that anymore. You have to collaborate, write small articles, figure things out in tiny pieces, like the proverbial blind men and the elephant. Doctorow was right. Einstein was the last one who was able to make the novelistic approach to science work. And that was the special thing about Doctorow. He understood how different kinds of people worked.
44
I had the privilege of taking a writing class with Mr. Doctorow. It was an outstanding experience.
His passing is a profound loss.
His passing is a profound loss.
7
Doctorow's ability to see life metaphorically and then convey that sense to his reader was uncanny. He wrote many memorable words and created many memorable scenes of tumultous times that will live on as his epitagh and legacy. His outlook was optimistic and it was predicated on moving ahead even in the dark.
I have always taken to heart his classic words on producing a novel. You no doubt remember that he compared writing to driving a car at night and being able to only see as far as your headlights could shine. His perfect metaphor instructed us that writing a book and leading our daily lives was a lot like that car making its way late at night. Slow going perhaps but he assured us we could make the whole trip that way. Looking at Doctorow's body of work, he followed his own advice.
I have always taken to heart his classic words on producing a novel. You no doubt remember that he compared writing to driving a car at night and being able to only see as far as your headlights could shine. His perfect metaphor instructed us that writing a book and leading our daily lives was a lot like that car making its way late at night. Slow going perhaps but he assured us we could make the whole trip that way. Looking at Doctorow's body of work, he followed his own advice.
27
He seemed here in this string of youtube videos to be soft spoken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEs7g2Bm0Uo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEs7g2Bm0Uo
2
I had the pleasure of meeting him several times at literary events in Europe and NYC and he was always gracious and patient with me. He answered my questions and encouraged me to ask more. He will be sorely missed.
9
Gone. And the world will never be the same.
12
Ragtime remains one of my fondest reading experiences. I also loved his Sweet Land Stories (which was surprisingly not mentioned in the obit). Now I must read The March, which has long been on my list. But I am also now curious to read The March because it compelled Updike's tardy induction into the Doctorow fold.
Thank you E.L. Doctorow. RIP.
Thank you E.L. Doctorow. RIP.
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The March is the best book I have ever read.
2
I remember reading "Ragtime" for the first time. The book was enchanting and
I literally could not put it down, staying up all night and into the early morning to finish it. "World Fair" was also enchanting. It was so easy to be drawn into Doctorow's world of characters. He will be missed.
I literally could not put it down, staying up all night and into the early morning to finish it. "World Fair" was also enchanting. It was so easy to be drawn into Doctorow's world of characters. He will be missed.
10
I read Ragtime for the 1st time as a young teenager with immature reading tastes. I did comply with my high school reading list but reading the classics and its old language bored me to tears. Doctorow's novel was smartly written, concise and well-paced, I became cognizant that there are books and then, there is literature. Ushered me into reading well-written contemporary books.
12
E.L Doctorow will read long after Peggy Noonan is forgotten.
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Who?
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Who is Peggy Noonan?
2
He was also responsible, pseudonymously, for REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN, a chillingly accurate parody of a US govt report on the US dedication to perpetual war, a great work that would never appear in today's repressive corporate-controlled publishing world. A fine author who'll be much missed.
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The Iron Mountain group would be just a bunch of guys sitting around and opining like "The Sports Reporters" on ESPN. Whether a hoax or not this group didn't make policy or pass legislation any more than the Warren Report or the Simpson-Bowles Commission Report. However, it seems like it's just a good bit of political satire by Doctorow.
One of the four or five most important, appreciated and influential writers in my long reading life. Thank you, E. L. Doctorow.
"The writer isn't made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century." E. L. Doctorow
"The writer isn't made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century." E. L. Doctorow
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Such a distinct voice, a true writer's writer. He will be missed by many and fondly remembered in his lovely work.
12
Ironically, he died on Hemingway's birth, another giant of the american literature. Shame on The Nobel Prize by not awarding Doctorow because he was from the USA. Their loss...
12
I've read and enjoyed many of his books (ironically, I'm finishing The March [not one of the great ones] tonight), but none gripped me like Ragtime. I don't know how I found out about it in '75 (didn't read much fiction in those days), but I started it before work one morning, and willed myself invisible in the "bullpen" at Ch. 5 in Boston so that I could read it cover-to-cover in one day! Apologies to my former boss ...
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Noooo, The March is wonderful. Crazy, sad war.
Sorry he left New Rochelle after decades; he called his home here his "muse".
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An excellent obit--since we have to have one--but it says too little about "The Book of Daniel," to me his most powerful and historically most resonant novel.
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Goodness. More was written about The Book of Daniel than any other work. Are you sure that you have read the article?
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Oh I agree. A truly masterful piece of writing. It was the last book I read and it will be the first I read again.
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Indeed I did read the article--but have you? "The Book of Daniel" is mentioned six times but it isn't analyzed or discussed at any length. Compare that with Mr. Weber's treatment of "Ragtime" (perhaps an easier novel to like) or "The March."
1
I loved "Ragtime." One of the best romances I ever had began on the beach in front of the St. Charles and the Breakers hotels, opposite Garden Pier, just upwind a bit from Steel Pier and its diving horse, on Atlantic City's boardwalk. Both hotels were favorites of New York's Jewish vacationers since their restaurants were kosher. On the beach there was where the father, Tateh, if I recall correctly, was compiling his cartoon sketches that later became animated films in Hollywood. The same neighborhood was the locale for many scenes in the film "Atlantic City."
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"Book of Daniel," "Ragtime," and "World's Fair" are his three novels will always be a permanent part of my book collection. He was such a great writer and artist; he will be sorely missed. Definitely gone before his time.
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No; not before his time. He was, after all, in his eighties.
He had his time and he used it well.
He had his time and he used it well.
4
A giant!
Sadly gone.
Sadly gone.
27
Sat next to him once on a flight, was an erudite and friendly man who made for a memorable seat mate. Had enjoyed his writing before meeting him, words brought to life after talking with the author. RIP.
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How I envy you that experience. God rest his soul.
11
Sag Harbor will miss him. What a great legacy he's left, both in his work and in his wonderful family.
26
I worked at a bookstore in the '90s which was loaded with Doctorow books though I met his prose with a shrug until someone gave me an old paperback of Loon Lake. I loved it. Now I see his name and it reminds me that shrugs sometimes don't last, even into the next year.
33
Yes, yes, yes. Loon Lake. Exactly what I was thinking.
4
Loon Lake yes what a great book and Billy Bathgate and Water Works. Billy Bathgate the only book I have ever read twice
3
I absolutely loved reading his works. His "World's Fair" let me travel to the New York of my father's childhood. And hearing him speak . . . What a voice, what beautiful reasoning. What a terrible loss. RIP, Mr. Doctorow.
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