Manhattan Transfer Annotated: Literary Critique with the Original Book

by John Dos Passos, Forever Reads (editor)

Are you a love of literary classics? Then feast your eyes on this one by John Dos Passos and live in the time of its making. Manhattan Transfer follows the fragmented stories of various characters as they strive for love, success, and happiness in New York City in the 1920s. With its experimental, cinematic structure, it captures the energy and anonymity of urban life in modern Manhattan.In this annotated version, you will A summary of the literary classicAn explanation of themes in the workA synopsis of the authorA literary critique of the workDescription of the main charactersThe literary classic itselfI hope you will enjoy this classical experience at its core.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, New York, American, The United States Of America, Novels, Literature

446 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

John Dos Passos was a prominent American novelist, artist, and political thinker best known for his U.S.A. trilogy—The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money—a groundbreaking work of modernist fiction that employed experimental narrative techniques to depict the complexities of early 20th-century American life. Born in Chicago in 1896, he was educated at Harvard and served as an ambulance driver during World War I, experiences that deeply influenced his early literary themes. His first novel, One Man’s Initiation: 1917, and the antiwar Three Soldiers drew on his wartime observations and marked him as a major voice among the Lost Generation.
Dos Passos’s 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer brought him widespread recognition and introduced stylistic innovations that would define his later work. His U.S.A. trilogy fused fiction, biography, newsreel-style reportage, and autobiographical “Camera Eye” sections to explore the impact of capitalism, war, and political disillusionment on the American psyche. Once aligned with leftist politics, Dos Passos grew increasingly disillusioned with Communism, especially after the murder of his friend José Robles during the Spanish Civil War—a turning point that led to a break with Ernest Hemingway and a sharp turn toward conservatism.
Throughout his career, Dos Passos remained politically engaged, writing essays, journalism, and historical studies while also campaigning for right-leaning figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s. He contributed to publications such as American Heritage, National Review, and The Freeman, and published over forty books including biographies and historical reflections. Despite political shifts, his commitment to liberty and skepticism of authoritarianism remained central themes.
Also a visual artist, Dos Passos created cover art and illustrations for many of his own books, exhibiting a style influenced by modernist European art. Though less acclaimed for his painting, he remained artistically active throughout his life. His multidisciplinary approach and innovations in narrative structure influenced numerous writers and filmmakers, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Norman Mailer and Adam Curtis.
Later recognized with the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for literature in 1967, Dos Passos’s legacy endures through his literary innovations and sharp commentary on American identity. He died in 1970, leaving behind a vast and diverse body of work that continues to shape the landscape of American fiction.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manhattan Transfer is a mosaic depicting an epoch… New York City… From the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age…
John Dos Passos’s language is his treasure, which he generously shares with us…

The nurse, holding the basket at arm’s length as if it were a bedpan, opened the door to a big dry hot room with greenish distempered walls where in the air tinctured with smells of alcohol and iodoform hung writhing a faint sourish squalling from other baskets along the wall. As she set her basket down she glanced into it with pursed-up lips. The newborn baby squirmed in the cottonwool feebly like a knot of earthworms.

It’s the beginning… New life appears on earth… Metropolis… Millions of fates… Old city dwellers… Newcomers… Emigrants… Destinies cross and recross… Happiness and wretchedness… Frustration and success… Grownups and children… Everyone pursues one’s own goals… Some lose… Some find… Some get richer… Some struggle to survive… Hopes and despair… Garbage and glamour… The city is a veritable vanity fair…

The jazzband in the restaurant was playing Hindustan. It smelled of chop suey and Chinese sauce. They slipped into a booth. Slickhaired young men and little bobhaired girls were dancing hugged close.

History doesn’t stand still… The war begins and ends… The Jazz Age arrives… New hopes… New disappointments…

Glowworm trains shuttle in the gloaming through the foggy looms of spiderweb bridges, elevators soar and drop in their shafts, harbor lights wink.
Like sap at the first frost at five o’clock men and women begin to drain gradually out of the tall buildings downtown, grayfaced throngs flood subways and tubes, vanish underground.

Time brings many changes but commotion in the city never ceases.

[BlackOxford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopeless Migration

New York City was, perhaps still is, defined not so much geographically as spiritually by the unfulfilled aspirations of the people who migrate to it. And those migrants historically have come as much from the American hinterland as they have from across the ocean.

Manhattan Tranfer was a stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad in Newark, New Jersey before the tunnel under the Hudson connecting the mainline to Manhattan was completed. Once you arrived there, you had nowhere else to go but New York City. Dos Passos begins and ends his novel in this forlorn non-place. It is the entrance, for those already in America, into a world that was unique even within the uniqueness of America.

No one in this world is a native. All come because they are dissatisfied and become more dissatisfied as they acclimate to its brutality. It is a place of power not beauty, of deceit rather than wit, of crowded isolation.

These migrants want what others already have in New York City. They think that means money and opportunity. But more often they find that it’s disappointment and squalid, bare survival.

Immigrants from abroad come with nothing but hope. Migrants coming through Manhattan Transfer come with illusions rather than hope, and leave with less of both.

[MihaElla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book (my very first by this author) that I simply loved from page one to closing page. I wish it was longer as in my mind it’s worthy in all the aspects. And I smile even now upon finishing it because I am reminded myself that the decision to start reading this book – peacefully residing on my private bookshelves from last summer bookfair – was that the author is named “Dos Passos” alongside with John Roderigo–and well, in the last novel I read of Jose Saramago ‘The Stone Raft’ the main protagonists are travelling around Portugal and Spain in an old car named “two horses” and then in a cart by real “two horses”. And I started playing with the combination imaginatively –dos passos –two steps –two horses…Well, indeed, isn’t it a sign?!? 😉 Needless to say, for a weird reason, I have been playing in my mind that lovely song “Mil pasos” by Soha, so very beautiful both texts and music. Thus, there was not doubt that this was to be the next book to appeal to my read status: Dos Passos to lead to ‘Mil pasos’ (thousand steps)😊
Symbolically the novel starts with a scene in a maternity: a new baby girl is born and her father is thinking on how to provide the best for his family, especially that all those very young souls deserve a good start in life. Later on, everything gets complicated and complex in the cobweb of life in the world second biggest metropolis, populated with both Europe-driven immigrants and people coming from inland states to make a good life in New York – the city of all promises to come true.
There were the dark times of searching for work, food and the right politics; then there was the mental hiatus due to wartime (WWI), then there was the post-war world, where ideological conflict grew…There is a true impression, the hopeful revelations that speak to the value of the self and show the worth of a life, there is tensions of modern selfhood and the crises of history, in a way to understand the dark places of being, the lure of extremity, the power of madness, the unusual psychological pressures against which selfhood must be won.
Dos Passos is writing about the violence of being, the absurdity of existence, the state of alienation – plain and brute – a view of the way things just are, a rootless world. But he is also writing about the world of survivors, the world where human beings are dwarfed by the cities they life in, by the scale of their urban masses and their lower depths. It is a distinctive vision of a New York city at the confluence of 19 – 20th centuries, an age of the new metropolis – collecting within the denatured city, the working city, a cultureless city, a city of wounds and destructive fury, the city of grand riches, a world of investors and shrewd notables, a city of the crowded souls, academic prospects and lovers’ apartments, which makes it the second biggest metropolis in the world at that time. It is about the rise and fall of human condition, populated with a lots of characters, so-called heroes, seeking to make it good in a new place, a new life, a new world. Most of them are losers, eventually, not to say all of them…Alongside with a strong males, there is also a strong gallery of heroines, and so there is, powerful, testing, carnal, quite often destructive: one appearing and then displacing another, there seems to be an era of angry women, lawyers and divorce settlements, all happens cruelly. The heroes are men of mind but also men of passions, and in their contradiction they suffer the fate of absurdity to which all are condemned. In a few words, Life in New York city in the early years of the twentieth century is a nasty dirty game!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m going to pull a GJ (Ginnie Jones) here and state:

”Manhattan Transfer is a kaleidoscopic portrait of New York City in the first two decades of the 20th century that follows the changing fortunes of more than a dozen characters as they strive to make sense out of the chaos of modern urban existence.”

Yeah, so that’s really what you need to know if you, you know, want the breakdown. Of course, I need to add my own two cents. ( Of course)

Reading this was an act of love. My husband has tried for almost 20 years to get me to read Dos Passos. I usually give it a few pages and then find some excuse (The library asked for it back, I left it on the bus, I’m menstrual…) to drop it and hope that he’d forget… but yeah…he’s stubborn. I’ve tried The USA Trilogy and those Camera Eyes just got to be too much. Dos Passos is often associated with Joyce and some other writers that I’ve never really had much interest in and it’s always sort of daunted me.. made me feel stupid. I began to resent him just for this reason.

So, I picked up Manhattan Transfer with great reluctance. I counted the pages. I did status updates… I soldiered on. Did I hate it? Not really. Would I consider reading more? Not really. I’m extremely lukewarm here.

First of all, ‘more than a dozen characters’ may sound like an okay thing, but try following plot lines for more (and I stress this) than 12 personalities. Not so easy. It’s like sitting on a park bench at a playground and making up stories for each person there and then going back in two weeks and trying to remember each scenario and continue on… You may only follow them around for a page or two because they, you know, die or disappear (Where’d you go, Emile?) or they may be absent for like oh… 100 pages and you’ve ‘met’ so many new people in between that only the name sounds familiar and you’re either too exhausted to recall or you don’t care enough anyway…

Which… I suppose… isn’t all that unlike living in a city… trying to remember who that person who is smiling at you in the corner market and do you really know them or is it someone that you might have seen at a friend’s apartment and it turns out that they’re actually your neighbor down the hall… Yeah, not unlike that.

So, I guess I’d have to say that the main character here IS the city… and how each character deals with it and how their ‘luck’ determines their ‘lot’ in life. This is when unions were being formed and the market was young. This is WWI with a big chunk of immigration. This is not the New York City that I knew… so, again… I wasn’t all that invested in the book. I enjoyed reading each character’s story but I wasn’t attached to any of them (including NYC) and I found that I had to muddle through and fight back some yawns. It took a good third of the book before I found a groove and could resist putting it down. I also felt that none of the characters were particularly fond of New York either and I had to laugh at this phrase:

The terrible thing about having New York go stale on you is that there’s nowhere else to go. It’s the top of the world. All we can do is go round and round in a squirrel cage.

Indeed.

So… I guess I could use the ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ excuse… but I’m not so sure. I feel like I shouldn’t really discount myself on this one. Sometimes I just need more to work with.


And it's really about 2.8 stars... because it was more than OK, but I didn't like it...

[Bram De Vriese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is very caleidoscopic and switches from one storyline to another very rapidly which makes it hard to follow sometimes. In the end all characters seem to flow in and out of each other. Maybe it was meant that way. It does give a very vivid sense of life in New York city in that era.

[Meike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've first read this classic ages ago, and now re-read it for a scientific paper on Arbeit, a city novel that depicts contemporary life in Berlin and was inspired by "Manhattan Transfer". What I love about both novels is that they achieve to show the big city both as a moloch and a melting pot; as a a source of alienation and a place where very different people cross paths; as a shattered place that allows for connection, contention, and social mobility - in both directions. Dos Passos offers four primary characters and eight minor characters, many of them appearing and never re-appearing, thus mirroring the fast, relentless, and sometimes random nature of modern city life. The specific vibe of a city is an emergent phenomenon, driven by the contingent faiths of its inhabitants.

Using the technique of the camera eye, Dos Passos allows the reader to dive into different lives full of dreams and aspirations - only to cut away and cut back, creating a narrative mosaic of New York City from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age. The author was inspired by Ulysses, and "Manhattan Transfer" is a challenging read as well - while the singular stories are easy to follow, the reader needs concentration and dedication when trying to encompass the overall aesthetic concept of this novel. Much like in the case of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (about Paris at the turn of the century) though, tackling this task is well worth it, as it shows a city in a way it hasn't been depicted before.

And I really hope that Arbeit ("Work") will get a translation - its author focuses on the overlooked working class of the night and offers a completely new look at Berlin, a city that has been captured in literature countless times. It's the power of a good city novel that it achieves to show a specific place at a specific time, thus displaying what the people experienced, felt, and wished for. Dos Passos was one of the writers who paved the way. Now on to Berlin Alexanderplatz.

[Stela · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can there be explained the complicated and fascinating relationship between the city and the narrator in all major Modernist works with themes focused on urbanity? Think of James Joyce’s Dublin, dull and suffocating, with its Evelyns forever clued on the shore they dare not leave. Think of Henry Miller’s Paris, with its siren song that entangles the artists to better devour them. Think of Virginia Woolf’s London, collecting thoughts and fates in the glimpse of a park, the rush of a street, the passing of a tram. Think of John Dos Passos’s New York glowing with promises that it never keeps.

For every one of them and many others, the City is much more than a place, a conventional setting of the narrative, it is truly and fully a character, maybe the most important of all, for it determines the fate of the other characters, making them dependent, helpless, tragic. Furthermore, it has a second role, no less important: to embody History, merciless History that feeds on people and events to show that only the masks change, the stage and the plot remain the same. That there is no real progress, no real escape for the fly under the bell jar, only an incessant return to origins, a despondent circle motion where Dublin is forever full of minor epiphanies, London is haunted by suicide thoughts, Paris is incurably diseased and New York is a Hotel California.

However, where Henry Miller used the full stream of consciousness, Virginia Woolf combined it with free indirect speech and Joyce with interior monologue and objective speech, Dos Passos chooses the collage technique with a subtle care for symmetry and a flagrant indifference for timeline. The cinematic quality of his narrative has been often pointed out, for it is made, apparently, of chaotically arranged snapshots and vignettes, with interchangeable or mirrored characters that create a collective hero even when they seem to focus on a single character. I often, during my lecture, felt like looking at a huge fresco swept by a restless spotlight whose conic light temporarily captures a destiny, then leaves it, takes another, to resume with the first choice at another point in time. Some characters, like Helen, are spotted since birth, or, like Bud, for a shorter period, while others are only shadows without names, only a color, a smile, a dress that leaves however a lasting impression on mind even though they are not followed.

The narrative is thus full of red herrings that appear to contradict Chekov’s gun principle – until the reader realizes that this is the point, really, to show the unity in diversity, the tragic condition of humankind, be them rich or poor (Stan and Bud), successful or failures (James and Joe), educated or ignorant (Jimmy and Jake). Actors on a grim stage (all of them, not only Helen), their individual destiny may fleetingly interest some gossip column of a newspaper, but it is not important per se, a mere drop in the whirlpool of history.

Some read Manhattan Transfer as a fervent critique of the American capitalism, for it is known that, at the time of its creation, Doss Passos was a leftist. Maybe the novel can be interpreted like this also, but it is neither tendentious nor “engagé”. The capitalism is only another way of destruction of the humankind, together with war, time and personal emotions.

Above suicides, lost loves, lost jobs, minor thefts and big larcenies, strikes, war, prohibition, the city blankly contemplates the struggle of generations, knowing so well that no one can truly leave. The last image of the novel, with Jimmy Herf, apparently free of love and society, keen to go “pretty far” is maybe the most tragic of all, for what is the river he travelled down by ferry but Styx?

[Φώτης Καραμπεσίνης · Rating 4 out of 5]

1η δημοσίευση, Book Press:
https://bookpress.gr/kritikes/xeni-pe...

Κάθε σύγχρονη Μητρόπολη είναι στη βάση της ένας υπερμεγέθης μηχανισμός, μια πολυδαίδαλη οντότητα, θαρρείς αυτοτελής, η οποία παραπέμπει στις κατασκευές με γρανάζια που λειτουργούν ερήμην του δημιουργού τους, βγαλμένη από δυστοπική ταινία. Η οριοθετημένη επικράτειά της συστεγάζει το έμψυχο και το άψυχο, τα οποία στην αμιγώς καλλιτεχνική σφαίρα αλληλοπεριχωρούνται με τέτοιο τρόπο που η αυτονομία τους αναιρείται και το ένα διαχέεται στο άλλο με εντυπωσιακά αποτελέσματα. Αυτό εννοούμε όταν αποφαινόμαστε ότι σε κάποιο μυθιστόρημα "πρωταγωνιστής είναι η πόλη". Το "Μανχάταν Τράνσφερ" ανήκει σίγουρα στην κατηγορία αυτή, όντας κάτι παραπάνω.

Ο τίτλος του βιβλίου παραπέμπει στον φερώνυμο σταθμό τρένου της Νέας Υόρκης. Τι είναι ένας σταθμός, ποια η λειτουργία του; Τόπος αναμονής, σημείο επιβίβασης, ενδιάμεσος χώρος, ένα μεταξύ εν μέσω προορισμών. Έτσι ακριβώς όπως και οι ζωές των ανθρώπων της πόλης αυτής. Και οι σελίδες του βιβλίου, το καθένα κεφάλαιο, η καθεμιά παράγραφος είναι ένας σταθμός υπερπλήρης με εκείνους που αναμένουν επιβίβαση σε κάποιον συρμό, ένα διαφορετικό βαγόνι που στη φαντασία τους επιγράφεται με πηχυαίους τίτλους: "επιτυχία", "πλούτος", "ευτυχία", "αναγνώριση" κ.ο.κ.

Όλοι ετούτοι οι επιβάτες (είναι αρκετοί οι ήρωες στο βιβλίο) παραμένουν πεισματικά στον σταθμό, ακόμα και όταν γίνεται ξεκάθαρο ότι το δικό τους αποκλειστικό βαγόνι δεν πρόκειται να περάσει. Κάποιοι από αυτούς, θα θελήσουν να εγκαταλείψουν τη θέση τους (ατέλειωτη η ουρά εκείνων που προσμένουν να πληρώσουν το κενό), ενώ άλλοι θα χρησιμοποιήσουν ό,τι μέσο έχουν στη διάθεσή τους για να καταλάβουν με ρεσάλτο το βαγόνι-όνειρο του συνανθρώπου τους. Εις μάτην, τα βαγόνια είναι πάντα λιγότερα και οι φιλόδοξοι επιβάτες παραπάνω από πολλοί.

Και γύρω τους η μητρόπολη. Όχι όμως η απαστράπτουσα συγκαιρινή μας Νέα Υόρκη, ο ομφαλός της Γης, το λίκνο του πολιτισμού. Είμαστε στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα, αρχές του 20ού, όπου η μεγαλούπολη είναι ακόμα εν τω γίγνεσθαι, σε πλήρη εξέλιξη - ένα αδάμαστο άγριο θηρίο, που απλώνει τα άκρα του σε κάθε διαθέσιμο χώρο, ένα σαρκοβόρο που τρέφει το ανεξάντλητο εγώ του με ανθρώπινη σάρκα και αίμα. Κανένα πρόβλημα – το λίπασμα διατίθεται σε πλήρη αφθονία, καθώς καραβιές ανθρώπων καταφτάνουν στο λιμάνι της πόλης (όσοι είναι τυχεροί να περάσουν), διωγμένοι από τον σάπιο Παλιό Κόσμο της μισαλλοδοξίας, του πολέμου και της πείνας, για να αναζητήσουν ένα καλύτερο αύριο.

Στη νέα τους πατρίδα, βέβαια, θα αντιμετωπίσουν άλλους ανθρώπους που από καιρό εγκατεστημένοι εκεί, θα επιχειρήσουν με κάθε τρόπο να διαφυλάξουν τα κεκτημένα προνόμιά τους. Κι ο ακήρυχτος πόλεμος θα ξεκινήσει εκ νέου, όπως συμβαίνει παντού όπου υπάρχουν ανθρώπινες κοινωνίες. Ο αναγνώστης βρίσκεται εν μέσω όλων αυτών, καθώς ο συγγραφέας δεν επιχειρεί να εξηγήσει περαιτέρω το ιστορικό πλαίσιο. Ως γνήσιος καλλιτέχνης, χρησιμοποιεί την άρτια αφηγηματική του τέχνη (θα επανέλθω στη συνέχεια), προκειμένου να συνυφάνει το μυθοπλαστικό με το ιστορικό.

Μολονότι ο Ντος Πάσος την εποχή που έγραψε το βιβλίο υπήρξε ακραιφνής κομμουνιστής, με ξεκάθαρη πολεμική θέση όσον αφορά το κυρίαρχο πολιτικό σύστημα της εποχής, δεν παρασύρεται από την ιδεολογία του εις βάρος της καλλιτεχνικής υπόστασης του έργου. Αν το έκανε, θα είχαμε στα χέρια μας μια ακόμα καταγγελία (αδιάφορη για τον αναγνώστη), αλλά ένα έλασσον πνευματικό πόνημα. Τούτο δεν σημαίνει ότι έχει λειάνει την αιχμή του ιδεολογικού δόρατός του, αλλά ότι το έχει εντάξει αρμονικά στην αφηγηματική δομή του έργου.

Ας γίνω πιο συγκεκριμένος: οι ήρωές του διαθέτουν απόλυτη συμμετρία, άξια θαυμασμού. Ο επαναστάτης θα εμφανιστεί στη σκηνή τη στιγμή που πρέπει, θα μιλήσει ως όφειλε και θα αποχωρήσει όταν απαιτηθεί δραματουργικά, ώστε να εμφανιστεί ο επόμενος που μπορεί ιδεολογικά να τοποθετείται στο άλλο άκρο. Αλλά κι ο ενδιάμεσος χώρος της πλειονότητας των χαρακτήρων που δεν τοποθετούνται πουθενά, αλλά αναζητούν με κάθε τρόπο την επιτυχία, καταγράφεται με τρόπο που δεν απειλεί τη στατικότητα του κειμένου.

Ο συγγραφέας πιάνει το νήμα των σκέψεων και των ζωών σε περιδίνηση, σε αέναη κίνηση, σε μεταφορά μεταξύ των σταθμών της ζωής τους. Το σημείο εκκίνησης είναι κάποιο γεγονός που ίσως δεν έχει τόσο μεγάλη σημασία για τον αναγνώστη, συνεχίζει ομοίως σε κάποιο επόμενο κεφάλαιο, όχι απαραίτητα από εκεί που σταμάτησε την τελευταία φορά. Εν συνεχεία, ένα άλμα στον χρόνο έχει οδηγήσει τον ήρωα/ ηρωίδα σε μια νέα κατάσταση, και από εκείνον τον σταθμό τούς παραλαμβάνει το τρένο της ανάγνωσης για να τους αφήσει πιο κάτω και στη συνέχεια να παραλάβει άλλους. Ad infinitum.

Ο αναγνώστης είναι επιβάτης περίοπτης θέσης, αν και του έχει αφαιρεθεί το δικαίωμα συνολικής εποπτείας της ζωής των ηρώων – μόνο αποσπασματικά θραύσματα της ύπαρξής τους παρατηρεί, όσο περιμένουν τον επόμενο συρμό. Αυτή η διάσπαση, δυσκολεύει ελαφρά την ταχεία εξέλιξη της ανάγνωσης, αλλά καλλιτεχνικά δημιουργεί ένα ψηφιδωτό, τοιχογραφία ζωής με πολλαπλές επιστρώσεις χρώματος επάνω στον καμβά.

Ο μοντερνισμός του Ντος Πάσος, ο πειραματισμός με νέα μέσα, εμβολίασε τον κατά βάση νατουραλιστικό του τρόπο. Υπήρξαν στιγμές που ένιωσα να ξεπροβάλει το φάντασμα του Ζολά, και συγκεκριμένα του αριστουργήματός του "Νανά", με σημαντικές ομοιότητες και διαφορές. Βασική ομοιότητα ο "μηχανισμός" της πόλης, ο οποίος συνυφαίνεται με τον βιολογικό ντετερμινισμό (βασικό χαρακτηριστικό του κινήματος). Το Παρίσι στον Ζολά, η Νέα Υόρκη στον Ντος Πάσος, περιγράφονται ως χαίνουσες πληγές, με σηπόμενα άκρα χρήζοντα άμεσου ακρωτηριασμού προκειμένου να διασωθεί η όποια ημιζωή (αν αξίζει και τούτη να σωθεί). Οι δύο μεγάλες μητροπόλεις αλέθουν και εξεμούν, ανακυκλώνουν και μεταδίδουν την ασθένειά τους (συστημική πρώτιστα, αλλά και ατομική).

Η βασική διαφορά μεταξύ των δύο έγκειται στο ότι ο μεν Ζολά προσωποποιεί τη διάβρωση του Παλιού Κόσμου μέσω ενός προσώπου κυρίως (η πόρνη Νανά) με τον αντίστοιχο αφηγηματικό τρόπο, ενώ ο μεταγενέστερος Ντος Πάσος περιγράφει την εκ γενετής φθορά του Νέου Κόσμου μέσω της διάχυσης, αλλά και του μοντερνιστικού ύφους του. Όπως έχει χαρακτηριστικά ειπωθεί, ο συγγραφέας χρησιμοποίησε την τεχνική του κινηματογραφικού μοντάζ, το κολάζ, την παρεμβολή αποσπασμάτων ειδήσεων διακόπτοντας (ή συμπληρώνοντας) τη ροή του κειμένου. Η αποσπασματικότητα είναι η λέξη κλειδί στο κείμενο αυτό που αρνείται τη γραμμική καταγραφή και περιγραφή της ζωής των πολυάριθμων ηρώων του. Αντ' αυτού, η κάμερα εισβάλει όλως αιφνιδίως με ένα εντυπωσιακό traveling στο παρόν τους, καταγράφει με ταχύτητα τα δρώμενα της στιγμής, όσο διαρκούν κάποιες παράγραφοι, και εξίσου εκρηκτικά απομακρύνεται από το αντικείμενό της.

Η τεχνική αυτή έχει συγκεκριμένα αποτελέσματα. Αφενός επιτρέπει στον συγγραφέα να επιμερίσει και ταυτόχρονα να συμπεριλάβει ένα ποσοτικά μεγάλο "δείγμα ζωής" των μετακινούμενων στον λαβύρινθο της Μητρόπολης, εστιάζοντας κυρίως στον μηχανισμό και όχι στο υποκειμενικό στοιχείο. Αφετέρου υποχρεώνει τον αναγνώστη να βυθίζεται και να αποτραβιέται εξίσου γρήγορα από τα ατομικά πεπρωμένα, των οποίων κατέχει μόνο θραυσματική εικόνα. Ως εκ τούτου, ο τελευταίος δεν απολαμβάνει την τυπική ολοκληρωμένη ταύτιση με κάποιον συγκεκριμένα, μιας και το πλέγμα που έχει περίτεχνα ξετυλίξει ο Ντ��ς Πάσος αφήνει μεγάλα κενά. Είναι σαν να προτρέπει τον αναγνώστη: "Κοίτα το δίχτυ, όχι τα ψάρια! Είναι ο μηχανισμός, το σύστημα, όχι οι άνθρωποι!" Ο επαναστάτης συγγραφέας δεν επιθυμεί τη συμπόνοια, τη θλίψη, την οργή, εν γένει τα συναισθήματα που εξαντλούνται σε ένα πρώτο επίπεδο. Επιζητά πνευματική εγρήγορση και τα αφηγηματικά του μέσα λειτουργούν άψογα ως προς αυτό.

Κι όμως, την ίδια στιγμή, ο θετικιστικός, επιστημονικός τρόπος θέασης του μυθιστορηματικού κόσμου υποχωρεί και ο προπαγανδιστής (έστω με τον δικό του αφηγηματικό τρόπο) δίνει τη θέση του στον ποιητή και το βιβλίο ισορροπεί απολαυστικά μεταξύ των δύο κόσμων. Ο συγγραφέας παραμερίζει τακτικά τους κολασμένους του μηχανισμού και φορτωμένος το ιμπρεσιονιστικό του καβαλέτο βγαίνει περιχαρής στην ευδία ημέρα. Μαγνητίζεται από το μεγαλείο της ζωής, του φωτός που παιχνιδίζει στις λακκούβες με τα απόνερα, που εισβάλλει στα φτωχόσπιτα, στα ταπεινά μέρη, λούζοντας με φως τους ταπεινούς και καταφρονημένους.
Ταυτόχρονα, ο ιμπρεσιονιστικός καταιγισμός συμπεριλαμβάνει και τους κατέχοντες, τους ληστοβαρώνους της εποχής, αλλά και όλους εκείνους που κινούνται στον ενδιάμεσο χώρο μεταξύ επιτυχίας και αποτυχίας. Η ποιητική διάθεση του συγγραφέα επιχωματώνει τα κενά, νοηματοδοτεί το αφόρητο υπάρχον, "τυλίγει με προσωρινούς επιδέσμους τη μόνιμη πληγή". Δεν είναι τυχαίο που κάθε κεφάλαιο ανοίγει με μια παράγραφο που θα μπορούσε να τοποθετηθεί αυτούσια σε κάποια ποιητική συλλογή.

Το συναμφότερον της τέχνης επικρατεί: Η κραυγή οργής που εκτοξεύεται σαν πέτρα, στην ίδια παράγραφο αχνοσβήνει στη μελαγχολική ηρεμία των αχτίδων του ήλιου το ξημέρωμα. Η μαγική νυχτερινή όψη της πόλης νανουρίζει σε αποπνικτικό εναγκαλισμό τα εκατομμύρια που το συλλογικό τους όνειρο δηλητηριάζει καθημερινά με τις αναθυμιάσεις της. Ο σταθμός μετεπιβίβασης χάνει τότε την βρόμικη, τσιμεντένια του όψη, το αεράκι αποδιώχνει την αποφορά, έστω πρόσκαιρα. Το αδηφάγο σύστημα περιθωριοποιεί και ταυτόχρονα η φλόγα της ζωής αναγεννιέται με κάθε ερωτικό σκίρτημα, η χαρά διαρκώς ματαιώνεται, οι ελπίδες σιγοκαίγονται, αλλά η προοπτική της εξόδου παραμένει ζωντανή. Δεν είναι τυχαίο ότι στις καταληκτικές σελίδες ο κεντρικός ήρωας (δημοσιογράφος-περσόνα του ίδιου του συγγραφέα) αποφασίζει να αφήσει πίσω του τη Μητρόπολη. Το βιβλίο κλείνει εκεί, όλοι μας όμως γνωρίζουμε από την εποχή του Καβάφη και εντεύθεν, πόσο άσκοπη και μάταιη είναι ετούτη κίνηση.

Όμως ο ήρωας είναι πολύ νέος. Κοντολογίς, ακόμα, ελπίζει. Ας μην τον φορτώσουμε πρόωρα με κυνισμό και διαψεύσεις. Ας του ευχηθούμε καλή τύχη κλείνοντας το βιβλίο, γνωρίζοντας ότι όταν επιστρέψουμε θα τον ξαναβρούμε εκεί.

https://fotiskblog.home.blog/2020/12/...

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whole lot of people, from varying financial circumstances, experience life in New York City in the early 20th century. I do not have the patience to read a book slowly, or to take notes as I go, but that is really what is required here. There are so many characters that note taking is definitely called for. However, I just soldiered on and decided that the chaotic nature of the book was meant to reflect life in NYC in the 1920s. The author’s descriptions of people and events were vivid and precise. He must have spent a lot of time observing people. It was particularly striking the way some very tragic events were written without any melodrama and immediately segued into something banal. It felt like a quick slap in the face. I am not the right audience for this book, but I did enjoy it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

It might be difficult to understand this novel if you've never lived in a large city. Dos Passos captures the chaos and disorientation of trying to survive in an urban battlefield, with all its violence, interruptions, temptations, anonymity, stimuli, and speed by writing in a still experimental modern style of cut-ups, fragments, and stream of consciousness. Manhattan Transfer's ferociously exciting to read, not only because it so accurately represents the physical sensations of modernity in just as innovative a manner as Joyce, Woolf, and Faulkner, but because its politics are critical -- if some readers protest against Dos Passos' sketchbook characterizations, keep in mind he's attempting to paint a portrait of a merciless capitalist system here and its effect on people across the social strata. What saves it from being a merely polemic work is that Dos Passos' vision is scopic -- he's concerned not just with the system but with the complex web of life it fosters, which means there's psychology involved along with sociology. I can't imagine that anybody could render New York City from the turn of the 20th Century to the 20's -- with all its hope and despair, its immigrants and string-pullers, its tragedies and illusions -- any better.

[Sepehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

به نیویورک خوش آمدید :

شاید در ذهن شما آسمان خراش‌ها، خیابان‌ها و محله‌ها و زبان مردم باشد که تصویر یک شهر را می‌سازند. اما جان دوس پاسوس بدون این عوامل هم می‌تواند یکی از مهم‌ترین داستان‌های شهری را بنویسد. داستان نیویورک، مهم‌ترین شهر دنیای جدید.
نویسنده با نیویورک در حال شکل گیری شروع می‌کند؛ هجوم مهاجران، رویای آمریکایی که در اذهان رشد می‌کند، شهر آرزوها و امید، امید بسیار. داستان نه با توصیفات چندان زیاد بلکه با دیالوگ‌ها پیش می‌رود. با این وجود یک رمان کاملا تصویری است و سینمایی. از تکنیک‌هایی هم بهره می‌برد که امروزه کاملا سینمایی تلقی می‌شوند. هرچند زمان نگارش این این کتاب به زمانی برمی‌گردد که سینما هنوز جایگاه امروزش را نداشت.
منهتن ترانسفر یک قهرمان مرکزی ندارد، یعنی در قیاس با دیگر آثار بزرگ ادبیات شهری، مانند اولیس یا برلین الکساندر پلاتز، یک قدم هم جلوتر است چرا که حتی درباره نسبت شهر با یک شخص خاص هم نیست بلکه تماما درباره شهر است. نویسنده داستانش را به صورت کلاژ پیش می‌برد. در هر تکه داستان یک یا چند شخصیت را دنبال می‌کنیم اما به صورت کاملا پراکنده. در نهایت از روی سرگذشت و سرانجام شخصیت های متعدد کتاب است که روند شکل گیری و تحول نیویورک را می‌بینیم. آدمهای کتاب هیچگاه در هیئت یک شخصیت ظاهر نمی‌شوند و بیشتر بعنوان تیپ و نماینده‌ای از جامعه ظاهر می‌شوند که اتفاقا در این مورد کاملا درست و بجاست چرا که به شکل‌دهی تصور ما از نیویورک اوایل قرن بیستم کمک شایانی می‌کنند. یعنی ریشه‌های همان آمریکایی را ترسیم می‌کنند که به هالیوود، فساد، قدرت، پول و سیاستش معروف شد.
منهتن ترانسفر جدای از ترسیم شهری‌اش، معرف یک دوران نیز هست. دوران عبور از یک معصومیت ساده‌لوحانه به سوی فساد و سرخوردگی. دوس پاسوس نشان می‌دهد که چگونه شهر بزرگتر می‌شود و آدمها تنهاتر. آدمها به مرور ثروتمند، قدرتمند و تهی می‌شوند اما فارغ از آنها یک ابرشهر تشکیل می‌شود که داستانش از داستان آدم‌هایش مهم‌تر است.
احتمالا اوج هنرنمایی دوس پاسوس استفاده از جامپ کات ها و تسلط بر دیالوگ نویسی باورپذیر اوست. شما در کسری از ثانیه به گفتگوی بین یک دسته به گفتگوی یک دسته دیگر سر می‌خورید و در آنها حل می‌شوید، نسبت میان آدمها و وقایع را کشف می‌کنید و همزمان که به آنها بسیار نزدیک هستید، شاهد تغییرات جامعه از زاویه دور هم هستید و این وجه متمایزکننده کتاب است.
نمی‌توان با این کتاب به عنوان یک اثر معمولی برخورد کرد. تکنیکهای روایی آن شاهکار است و در محتوا هم هیچ خبری از تبلیغ یا حقنه کردن حزبی یا فکری وجود ندارد. فقط یک جنبه رئالیستی از یک ابرشهر با تصاویر و شخصیت‌های زیاد و به صورت ممتد وجود دارد که هر نوع تصمیم گیری را به عهده مخاطب میگذارد. هرچند نمی‌توان منکر دیدگاه تلخ نویسنده شد اما نمیتوان به آن انگ بدبینی چسباند بلکه نگاهی کاملا واقع بینانه داشت.
شخصیت نیویورک در ابتدا کاملا حامی و امیدبخش به نظر می‌رسد که به میهمانانش خوش آمد می‌گوید و به آنها نوید موفقیت و سعادت خانوادگی می‌دهد. هر چه میگذرد جنبه بلعنده و فاسد او پررنگ‌تر میشود. آدمها هرچند شانس این را دارند که موفق شوند اما همزمان می‌توانند ماحصل بیست سال تلاش خود را یک روزه از دست بدهند. مصرف گرایی و فساد سیاسی و دعوا بر سر قدرت تمام شهر را آلوده می‌کند و با ترویج رسانه آرامش و خوشبختی و فکر را از شهر فراری می‌دهد و چیزی جز یک سری دیوانه غمگین شکست خورده باقی نمی‌گذارد.
اگر در سایر کتابهای ادبی نمادپردازی وجود دارد، درباره این کتاب باید گفت که کل این اثر استعاره و نماد است. تمامی دیالوگها، توصیفات، اشارات و ... حاکی از مسئله و تصویر بزرگ تری هستند که چشم اندازی از یک جامعه در حال رشد بیمارگونه به مخاطب می‌دهند که میتواند خوانش این اثر را به یک اتفاق در زندگی‌شان بدل کند.
برای من، یکی از دلچسب ترین تجربه های کتابخوانی، مواجهه با همین اثر بود. حس میکنم علاوه بر داستان فوق العاده آن در تقویت نگاه دوربینی و کل نگری خواننده‌اش تاثیر به سزایی میگذارد. در ضمن برای علاقه مندان به نوشتن نیز یک کلاس کامل داستان نویسی است. ژان پل سارتر در زمان حیاتش معتقد بود که دوس پاسوس بزرگ‌ترین نویسنده زمانش بود. یوسا نیز معتقد است که اگر سه گانه یو. اس. ای دوس پاسوس نبود ( سه گانه ای که بعد از گذار منهتن نوشت و بدل به یکی از مهم ترین آثار ادبی تاریخ آمریکا شد ) سه گانه راه های آزادی سارتر هم نوشته نمی‌شد و ادبیات آمریکا به او مدیون است. همینگوی در جایی از فیلم همینگوی و گلهورن هنگام معرفی دوس پاسوس به مارتا گلهورن میگوید: بهترین نویسنده آمریکا که اسمش همینگوی نیست. فاکنر بارها در مصاحبه هایش از دوس پاسوس به عنوان یکی از بهترین نویسندگان آمریکا در کنار خودش و همینگوی نام میبرد و منتقدان معتقدند که دوس پاسوس آزمایشگرترین نویسنده آمریکا و خلف‌ترین دنباله‌رو جویس بود.
در نهایت میخواهم غایت قدردانی را داشته باشم از مترجم این کتاب جناب آقای کهربائی که به شیوایی تمام این اثر را ترجمه کردند و با پانویس های مفصل امکان درک درست تر این اثر را فراهم کردند. و همچنین اعتراض شدیدی دارم به ناشر برای عدم ویرایش درخورد این کتاب که نثر سلیس مترجم را با غلطهای املایی و نگارش حیف کردند. و همینطور ذکر اینکه برای این شاهکار نامربوط ترین تصویر ممکن را برای طرح روی جلد استفاده کردند که کتاب را بیشتر شبیه یک کتاب ترسناک یا ابزورد میکرد و هیچ پالس درستی از محتوای کتاب منتقل نمی‌کرد.

مهر ۱۴۰۴

[Makis Dionis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Καπνίζει ευτυχισμένος.
Δεν δείχνει να θυμάται τίποτα, δεν υπάρχει μέλλον, υπάρχει μόνο το τυλιγμένο στην ομίχλη ποτάμι και το πορθμείο, που προβάλλει τεράστιο με τα φώτα του στη σειρά, σαν νέγρικο χαμόγελο.

Πρόζα για το μεγάλο μήλο, και για τον 20ο αιώνα.
Υπέροχη πρόζα για την προσπάθεια της νέας ζωής, του ονείρου και της επερχόμενης εξαϋλωσης, από την τεράστια πυκνότητα της ιδίας προσδοκίας από τόσο πολύ κόσμο. Το αστικό αντίστοιχο ενός κόκκινου γίγαντα που το μέλλον του είναι ένας λευκός νάνος, αν όχι μια προσωπική μαύρη τρύπα.

Τρένα πυγολαμπίδες πηγαινοέρχονται στους αραχνοϊστους που σχηματίζουν οι γέφυρες τυλιγμένες στην ομίχλη
Τραπεζίτες και μετανάστες με μάτια θολωμενα , για τους δικούς τους λόγους, ακούνε τον ολολυγμο των ρυμουλκών, βολεύονται όπως όπως στα πολυτελή αυτοκίνητα ή στα πορθμεία τους, που τους μεταφέρουν ολοταχώς στους Σαράντα Δρόμους, δρόμους που αντηχούν από φώτα λευκά σαν τζιν, κίτρινα σαν ουίσκι, φώτα που αφριζουν σαν μηλίτης

Είναι 5 το πρωί στη Νέα Υόρκη!

Πιασμένοι αλά Μπρατσέτα διέσχισαν λοξά την Περλ Στριτ κάτω από τη δυνατή βροχή. Μπαρ εχασκαν ολόφωτα μπροστά τους στις γωνιές των βρεγμενων δρόμων. Κίτρινες αναλαμπές που αντανακλούσαν από καθρέφτες, μπρούτζινες μπάρες και χρυσές κορνίζες γύρω από πίνακες με ροδαλα κορμιά γυμνών γυναικών παγιδεύονταν και ξεχείλιζαν από ποτήρια ουίσκι που άδειαζαν μονορουφι με ανασηκωμένο το κεφάλι, κυλαγαν χαρούμενα στο αίμα, έβγαιναν αφρίζοντας από αυτιά και μάτια, στάλαζαν από ακροδαχτυλα.

Ρομαντισμός
Ρεαλισμός
Λυρισμός


Το τραγούδι τελείωσε στο φωνόγραφο και η πλάκα γύριζε, γύριζε ατελείωτα...

[Entre Libros (Rocío) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leer esta novela es dejarse arrastrar por la corriente incesante de NY, entre rostros fugaces y sueños que se deshacen al tocarlos. Dos Passos no cuenta una historia: construye un mosaico vivo, hecho de fragmentos, destellos y silencios. Entre el ruido de la calle 42 y el brillo de un escaparate, aparecen momentos que se sienten robados al tiempo, tan frágiles como inolvidables. Es la ciudad y también nosotros, siempre persiguiendo algo que se nos escapa.
📚 Análisis completo en @__entre.libros__

[Dagio_maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tra miseria e nobiltà.

“Volti lungo la ferrovia; volti agli oblò. Sottovento, arrivava odore di marcio dalle navi cisterna all’ancora, un poco inclinate da un lato, con la bandiera gialla della quarantena afflosciata all’albero maestro.
«Darei un milione di dollari», disse il vecchio, appoggiandosi ai remi, «per sapere che cosa vengono a fare.»
«Vengono a dare un’occhiata», rispose il ragazzo seduto al timone. «Questo è il Paese delle opportunità, o no?»
«Io so solo una cosa», disse il vecchio. «Quando ero giovane, in primavera, con i primi banchi di alose arrivavano gli irlandesi... Ora non ci sono più alose, e quella gente là lo sa Dio da dove viene.»
«È il Paese delle opportunità.»”

Pubblicato nel 1925 negli Stati Uniti e nel 1932 in Italia dove appare ben sforbiciato soprattutto dai numerosi riferimenti anarchici nel testo.
New York è maestosa e al tempo stesso misera. Ogni sua contraddizione è portata all’estremo
Un libro non facile poiché manca una struttura narrativa lineare: ogni capitolo è introdotto da un corsivo che coglie una scena; descrive un angolo metropolitano a metà strada tra lo scimmiottare un quadro impressionista e il fraseggio sincopato di una poesia beat precorrendo i tempi di almeno quarant’anni.
Le parole si fanno occhio e orecchio.
I capitoli introducono scene ad ampio raggio per scivolare poi tra le pieghe delle esistenze dei singoli.
E’ un telecamera che zooma infilandosi tra le mura, cogliendo sguardi e raccogliendo frasi nel bel mezzo del loro accadere.
E’ qualcosa di spiazzante e proprio per questo, per me, meraviglioso: l’umanità è colta in tutte le sue sfumature e contraddizioni.
Un romanzo che va letto di un fiato perché fermarsi a raccogliere il bandolo della matassa è assai rischioso (lo dico per esperienza): si potrebbe non ritrovarlo!
Rivoluzionario non solo nella forma. Fu, di fatti, considerato sovversivo per avere tra i personaggi un gruppo si anarchici e dunque sforbiciato dalla censura fascista per affermazioni considerate sobillatrici (oltre alle bestemmie). In questo senso il romanzo rappresenta un momento della pensiero di Dos Passos che anni dopo cambierà completamente idee diventando addirittura maccartista (!!).
“Manhattan Transfer” principalmente, però, rappresenta il passaggio di un’epoca cantando il martellante monito della società statunitense e della sua affannata ricerca di realizzare il suo famigerato Sogno:

”Nel vuoto del suo cervello una parola bifronte tintinnava come una monetina: Successo Sconfitta, Successo Sconfitta.”




Colonna sonora

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acGAl...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d71vt...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFejY...

[Nood-Lesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

«Questo non è forse il paese delle occasioni?»

Per cercare di dare un parametro a chi volesse leggere il libro, scriverò che l’Ulysses di Joyce è, fra i libri che ho letto, quello più simile a Manhattan Transfer, pur con significativi distinguo. I due libri hanno in comune la frammentarietà di una trama assai difficile da seguire, fatta di balzi temporali e narrativi, ma mentre Joyce procede preferibilmente per flusso di coscienza, Dos Passos si affida ad una scrittura molto fisica. New York è uno dei personaggi principali del romanzo, per descriverla lo scrittore ricorre spesso a sensazioni visive, uditive e a sorpresa olfattive. New York sa di terra umida, segatura fresca, grasso riscaldato, vernice calda, caffè, pane abbrustolito, benzina, asfalto, fogliame polveroso, erba pesta, mattoni inzuppati, gesso, pane muffito, salmastro, sonno.. New York è leggendaria

In principio erano Babilonia e Ninive: ed erano costruite in mattoni. Atene era tutta colonne di marmo e oro. Roma posava su grandi archi di tufo. A Costantinopoli i minareti fiammeggiano come grandi ceri intorno al Corno d’Oro… Acciaio, vetro, tegole, cemento saranno i materiali del grattacielo. Stipati sull’isola angusta, gli edifici dalle migliaia di finestre si drizzeranno splendenti, piramidi su piramidi, simili a cime di nuvole bianche al disopra degli uragani.

L’incubazione di questa lettura parte da molto lontano, nasce da un’intervista a Sergio Leone

Che cos’è C’era una volta in America?
E’ un omaggio alle cose che ho sempre amato, e in particolare alla letteratura americana di Chandler, Hammett(*1), Dos Passos, Hemingway, Fitzgerald. Personaggi che, quando li ho conosciuti, erano proibiti in Italia. Li ho letti in clandestinità ai tempi del fascismo, e come tutte le cose proibite hanno assunto un significato anche superiore alla loro importanza effettiva..

Nel libro però non ho riconosciuto l’America del film, molte delle vicende sono precedenti, Dos Passos ambienta dal primo 900 agli anni ’20. Il racconto di Leone ispirato da Harry Grey inizia quando quello di Dos Passos sta per terminare. Non è stata una lettura semplice, il romanzo è post modernista ante litteram, ciò che mi ha spinto ad andare avanti sono stati i passi dedicati a New York, una città che ho snobbato per molti anni e che poi ha finito per ammaliarmi.

«Per me questa è una città piena di gente che desidera cose inconcepibili. Guardatevi intorno…» «Certo, di notte è bellissimo; quando non si può più discernere nulla. Del resto, non un briciolo di senso artistico, non un bel monumento, non atmosfera storica: ecco New York».



All’attrazione che ha esercitato sempre più forte nei miei confronti non è estranea la ferita mortale che le è stata inferta nel 2001, anzi, forse è stato proprio da quel momento che ho iniziato a subirne il fascino. Nell’introduzione alla mia edizione c’è un passaggio che recita:

E oggi che, dopo l’11 settembre, New York, con la sua mastodontica fragilità ma, insieme, con la sua potenza palingenetica sembra assurgere a simbolo di un Occidente sconvolto e aperto alle più dialettiche risoluzioni, rileggere Manhattan Transfer significa non solo recuperare un controverso scrittore, ma anche riscoprire la magia di una città–mondo che da oltre un secolo attrae e respinge, incanta e impaura.

Incanto e paura erano proprio i sentimenti che nutrivo prima di visitarla, adesso mi rimane l’incanto che mi ha dato la spinta decisiva a leggere Manhattan Transfer, che fa dire ad uno dei personaggi, già negli anni venti del secolo scorso

Ciò che c’è di più tremendo a New York è che quando ne avete fin sopra i capelli, non sapete più in quale altro posto andare. È il tetto del mondo. La sola cosa che ci rimane è girare e girare come lo scoiattolo in gabbia.

Colonna sonora
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqS-t...
In My Harem Medley 1913 / Irving Berlin

(*1)
Di questa lista mi rimane da leggere solo lui

[Post Scriptum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manhattan Transfer fu pubblicato nel 1925, quando Dos Passos era ancora dalla parte di Sacco e Vanzetti.

“Ciò che c’è di più tremendo a New York è che quando ne avete fin sopra i capelli, non sapete più in quale altro posto andare. È il tetto del mondo. La sola cosa che ci rimane è girare e girare come lo scoiattolo in gabbia”

In questa New York, madre abietta, spietata eppure splendida e seducente, nel cui ventre pullulano figlie e figli, schegge di vite e storie s’intersecano, si sfiorano e mai si toccano; creature in cerca della loro occasione. E un sogno: farcela.
E NY “It’s the land of opportoonity”.
Con improvvisi cambi d’inquadratura donne e uomini s’affacciano e svaniscono, disegnando sul fondale una storia unica, sociale.
Dos Passos procede senza continuità narrativa, con uno stile cinematografico. Ne risultano immagini più che descrizioni, voci più che parole. Il ritmo è serrato, non concede soste e rende difficile ricordare i singoli personaggi. Rimane il rimpianto di non essere riusciti a trattenerli nella mente. Ma col tempo si affacceranno, nitidi o sfumati, per dire: -Passammo, meteore senza scampo, per dar luce e colore alla città-.
È un canto per New York, impetuoso, irrefrenabile, elettrizzante e tragico.


Qualcosa m’ha infastidito, ma Dos Passos non ha alcuna responsabilità. Sono io ad aver letto la traduzione sbagliata. Qualche esempio:

“I would invite her up here but I’ve been afraid you would be rude to her.” “L’avrei invitata da noi, se non avessi paura che tu fossi scortese con lei.”
---
“If I thought it’d be any good to me”, “Se sapessi che mi servisse a qualcosa”
---
“Of course what you want to do is make every reader feel Johnny on the spot in the center of things.” “Naturalmente, voi vorreste dare a ogni lettrice l’impressione che siano di per sé al corrente della gran vita”
---
“Shuffle, droning saxophone tease, shuffle in time to the drum, trombone, clarinet”, “Strascicare di piedi al ritmo della batteria, del trombone, del clarino”. Ma perché il clarinetto deve diventare un clarino! Non sono la stessa cosa. No! Clarino non è sinonimo di clarinetto! Il clarinetto discende dallo chalumeau, il clarino era una tromba!

[Celeste Corrêa · Rating 4 out of 5]

(editado)

«Manhattan Transfer» ( 1925) de John dos Passos (1896-1970)

Há quem considere «Manhattan Transfer» o «Ulisses» americano. Através da junção de acontecimentos históricos, notícias (nas epígrafes dos capítulos), e episódios das vidas de mais de cem personagens, o autor faz da cidade a protagonista de um livro aparentemente confuso, que emprega recursos da linguagem cinematográfica.

Nas suas páginas, com tamanha galeria de personagens que aparecem, desaparecem, reaparecem, é fácil perdermo-nos e, ao perdermo-nos, sentirmos o fervilhar de uma grande metrópole com um ancoradouro através do qual pessoas de todo o lado desembarcam olhando a Estátua da Liberdade.
Todos os caminhos vão dar a Nova Iorque, e «o que é terrível no facto de Nova Iorque nos começar a cheirar a mofo é que não há mais nada. É o topo do mundo. Resta-nos andar às voltas nesta gaiola de esquilo.»

Nova Iorque é uma moeda de duas faces, fracasso e sucesso: «Se fosse suficientemente romântico, acho que já me tinha suicidado há muito tempo só para pôr as pessoas a falar de mim,», ou ainda «E não te esqueças de uma coisa: ter sucesso em Nova Iorque é ter sucesso a valer.»

Percam-se nesta cidade cujas ruas alguém resolveu verter em números. Percam-se nesse retrato da vida e do espírito dos primórdios do século xx. Percam-se neste ambiente onde tudo acontece. Percam-se neste parágrafo:«Tem uma frase fabulosa sobre um imperador romano qualquer que apanhou Roma feita de tijolo e a deixou feita de mármore. Diz que ele apanhou Nova Iorque feita de tijolo e a vai deixar feita de aço, aço e vidro. Um sonho e tanto.»

Sintam-me mais um no meio da multidão!

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was John Dos Passos first experience in the style of stocatto news bites for his narrative, a technique that he perfected in his USA Trilogy (U.S.A.: The 42nd Parallel / 1919 / The Big Money. It is a kaleidoscopic view of life in Manhattan at the turn of the last century. Cars have just become common, Prohibition comes into effect, Wall Street hasn't crashed yet. Anti-Semitism and racism pop up from time to time. The story mostly revolves around about eight major characters who at some point cross paths, two (arguably three) commit suicide, all are pretty much alcoholic and mostly out of control. It is a rollercoaster ride for the reader constantly shifting perspectives. As for a reading experience, it is refreshing and relatively fast-moving, perhaps less-so than 42 Parallel which I started just after this one. Another quirk of Dos Passos is mashing together subsequent interestingadjectives and occasionally relatedverbs into singlewords. That aspect can be jarring sometimes, but I think it accelerates the read as you feel like the pace of life in New York is so fast that there isn't even time to use the spacebar.
Highly recommended for a view into life in NYC a century ago. An American classic.

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dos Passos' Novel Of New York City

"Manhattan Transfer" (1925) is a difficult, ambitious, modernistic novel set in New York City from the late nineteenth century through the Jazz Age of the early 1920s. The novel lacks a conventional plot. Instead, the stories of its many characters drift in and out through its pages. The lives of some characters figure through the course of the book; many others make only appearances. The chapters in this book consist of brief vignettes with describe an incident in the life of some of the novel's characters. The vignettes often are not immediately related to one another, giving the book a disjointed feel. It is difficult to follow the stories of many of the individuals.

This book is made by its style. It is a mix and melange of people and places. Much of the story is told through dialogue, with Dos Passos capturing the various speech patterns of the diverse residents of New York. The dialogues are combined with lengthy lyrical passages in which the narrator's voice describes people, places, and moods. Each chapter is introduced by a short prose-poem that sets the mood. The tone of the book is more that of a lyric poem than of a novel.

The primary character of "Manhattan Transfer" is New York City itself which Dos Passos captures in its size, brashness, and busyness. New York City is a force and presence which overrides and dominates the lives of its individuals. The book is full of cluttered streets, offices, businesses, shows, ads, fires and disasters, people of all economic and social classes who are all on the make financially and sexually. I often was reminded of film noir with its shadows, modernistic city settings, and portrayals of gritty city life.

The novel is of at least two minds about New York City. On the one hand, it is highly critical of capitalism and materialism and of the pursuit of wealth which drives the lives of its people. The author frequently has an angry, alienated voice as he describes the shallowness of the actions of his characters. There is also a sense of fatalism and determinism as economics and the city itself control the decisions of the many characters. There is a sense of rejection at the end of the book as one of the main characters still left standing leaves the city, not sure of where he will go but wanting a different life.

On the other hand, the book shows a sense of fascination and love for New York in its continued activity, size, and kaleidoscopic variety. With all its impersonality, the city offers the opportunity for hope, growth, and beauty. Most of the time in this novel, the sheer lyricism, presence, and possibility of New York City overshadows the greed and the economics. Almost in spite of itself, the overall tone of the book is one of poetry and possibility in a large ever-changing metropolis.

"Manhattan Transfer" is a sprawling complex book which left me with mixed feelings. I had difficulty following the characters and the individual vignettes although some of the stories eventually became clearer. I loved the portrait of the city and the song -like character of the book which reminded me of people pursuing their dreams and of my own long fascination with New York City even though I have never lived there. I don't think the sharpness of the social critique in this novel is fully integrated with the lyrical expressivist character of the writing and with the portrait of the city.

This is a classic novel but difficult and often frustrating. I am glad I read it. The book reminded me of the place the city has had over many years in my own life and imagination.

Robin Friedman

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I MISERABILI AMERICANI

Uno dei libri più belli e caotici mai scritti... Incredibile come l'unica differenza tra quel libro e new york sia solo la data 1925 - 2022... È come se abbia scritto la new york di oggi con l'unica differenza che le macchine sono più veloci e ci sono i personal computer... Per il resto è uguale, per quel che mi riguarda lo poteva ambientare nel 2025 e avrebbe scritto comunque un romanzo realista.

censurato pesantemente già alla prima traduzione italiana, eravamo ancora nel Ventennio, e badate bene questa versione monca (parti tagliate, bestemmie eliminate, idee politiche pericolose) è durata fino al nostro secolo e solo 10 anni fa abbiamo avuto FINALMENTE il romanzo integrale con tanto di bestemmie (ovviamente dette da personaggi italiani dos passos ha vissuto in italia durante la Grande Guerra).

la città invenzione tipicamente umana prima ti attira con lusinghe e promesse, poi la società (che anima la città) ti stritola ti spreme e sta a te avere la cazzimma di resistere perché i casi sono 2 o ce la fai o altrimenti vieni scaricato come merda da quella stessa società di cui un tempo tu stesso ne facevi parte.

ma tranquillo puoi sempre andartene dove non sai ma sicuramente in un'altra città

ps. per tutti quelli che "è un romanzo caotico non capisco nulla gne gne gne mi eccita solo la fabula" questo è un calendoscopio è un volo di piccione, il piccione vola di là, passa di qui, senza una logica e di conseguenza la narrazione è piccionesca e poi scusate è manhattan l'isola più popolosa e caotica al mondo

[Zaphirenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Τελευταία δεν γράφω κάτι για τα βιβλία που διαβάζω πέρα από μερικές φράσεις για να θυμάμαι στο μέλλον τι μου άρεσε ή δε μου άρεσε και να μπορώ να συγκρατήσω τη γενική εικόνα. Λίγο η κούραση, λίγο η βαρεμάρα, βασίζομαι στις κριτικές ανθρώπων που διαβάζω εδώ και που μου κάνουν τη χάρη να τα γράψουν πολύ καλύτερα από όσο θα μπορούσα ποτέ να τα διατυπώσω εγώ. Να, για αυτό το βιβλίο ας πούμε τα έχει πει όλα ο Φώτης, τι να γράψω εγώ παραπάνω.

Θα πω μόνο ότι ξαφνιάστηκα πολύ ευχάριστα. Περίμενα ένα πολύ δύσκολο βιβλίο, με αναδρομές και περίπλοκη δομή, που θέλει μεγάλη συγκέντρωση για να το διαβάσει κανείς (συγκέντρωση που σε αυτή τη φάση της ζωής μου δεν έχω ούτε λίγο). Και ενώ όλα αυτά είναι ακριβώς έτσι, το Manhattan Transfer κύλησε τόσο φυσικά και εύκολα που δεν το κατάλαβα πότε τελείωσε, παρότι μου πήρε αρκετό καιρό να το ολοκληρώσω λόγω έλλειψης χρόνου. Κάθε φορά που το έπιανα δεν μπορούσα να το αφήσω γιατί με βύθιζε αμέσως στον κόσμο του, στη Νέα Υόρκη των αρχών του 20ού αιώνα. Απίστευτο βιβλίο, πολύ μου άρεσε.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Se tem curiosidade de saber como é Nova Iorque, a que cheira... então este é o livro indicado para si."
— New York Herald Tribune

Pois... não tenho nariz para tanto...

A narrativa é composta quase exclusivamente por diálogos entre as personagens que aparecem e desaparecem, em vários momentos das suas vidas. São mais de meia centena, que me pareceram mortos-vivos; excepto uma que morreu logo no início.
Suponho que o objectivo é dar a conhecer Nova Iorque, no início do Século XX; a riqueza, a pobreza, a política, a guerra, os sindicatos, a bolsa, a lei seca. E as pessoas; revoltadas, solitárias, mal amadas, infelizes...

[David Carrasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay libros que se leen con la misma sensación que produce mirar por la ventana del metro en marcha: todo pasa rápido, borroso, fragmentado, como si la vida fuera una sucesión de escenas mal conectadas que uno intenta juntar con un poco de celo y un mucho de resignación.

Pues Manhattan Transfer es justo eso, pero elevado a la categoría de arte. Leer esta novela es como vivir dentro del ruido de Nueva York, atrapado en una sinfonía disonante de humo, cemento y ambición, donde los personajes van y vienen como si el narrador los hubiese encontrado por accidente en una esquina de la Quinta Avenida y los hubiese seguido un par de pasos antes de abandonarlos por otro rostro más interesante. Si buscas una novela con protagonista claro, redención o moraleja, huye. Pero si te interesa asomarte a la maquinaria desnuda del capitalismo, con su mezcla de esplendor y podredumbre, esta es tu parada.

Porque si algo define Manhattan Transfer más allá de su caos estilizado, es precisamente su negativa a encajar en un argumento clásico. No hay un argumento tradicional que pueda resumirse sin traicionar el espíritu del libro, pero te diré esto: Manhattan Transfer es un fresco coral de Nueva York entre finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, digamos entre 1890 y 1925. Una ciudad en ebullición, convertida en personaje principal, en monstruo que se lo traga todo: aspiraciones, amores, cadáveres, humo de fábricas y sueños rotos. La narración sigue, de forma intermitente, a una serie de personajes —Ellen Thatcher, Jimmy Herf, George Baldwin, entre otros— cuyas trayectorias se entrecruzan, colisionan o simplemente se ignoran en medio del caos urbano. No hay centro ni jerarquía. Es una novela sin brújula, como la propia ciudad.

¿Y qué tipo de estructura podría contener semejante caos? Exacto: ninguna. La estructura es su primer golpe de efecto. Dos Passos no escribe para que te acomodes. No hay transiciones suaves ni capítulos que te abracen. El texto avanza a saltos, con escenas breves, fragmentarias, a menudo sin introducción ni cierre. A veces son flashes de diálogo, otras veces descripciones fugaces, recortes de periódico, anuncios publicitarios, canciones o pensamientos internos. Y todo eso armado con una prosa que recuerda a un noticiero leído con prisas, pero que, si uno se detiene, revela una musicalidad amarga, una precisión brutal. No es bonito. No pretende serlo. Es lenguaje como ladrillo: golpea.

Y en este punto, seguramente que otra obra maestra de la literatura te viene a la cabeza, ¿verdad?Exacto. Si has leído Berlin Alexanderplatz , de Alfred Döblin, te resultará inevitable pensar en ella. Ambas comparten un espíritu formal y temático que las convierte casi en hermanas bastardas literarias de la modernidad urbana. Berlin Alexanderplatz fue publicada apenas cuatro años después, y está construida con los mismos materiales de desecho urbano —frases sueltas, titulares de prensa, anuncios, canciones populares—. También está obsesionada con el destino del individuo atrapado en la gran ciudad. Ambas novelas entienden que la modernidad no se puede narrar con un solo hilo: hay que cortar, pegar, repetir, superponer voces. Nueva York y Berlín aparecen como espacios equivalentes en su capacidad de triturar biografías y escupir existencias sin sentido. La diferencia está en el punto de vista: donde Döblin se sumerge en el delirio subjetivo de Franz Biberkopf, Dos Passos mantiene una distancia casi entomológica. Uno es el grito desde dentro; el otro, el diagnóstico desde fuera. Y juntos construyen un mapa del siglo XX que sigue oliendo a humo y a desesperanza.

Esa distancia de Dos Passos se refleja en su narrador omnisciente, que se comporta como un flâneur desencantado: lo ve todo, lo muestra sin explicar nada y no se encariña con nadie. Y esto es importante, porque en la literatura estadounidense de la época —piensa en Dreiser, en Lewis— aún había cierto pudor narrativo, cierta preocupación por el lector. Dos Passos se salta eso con la misma elegancia con la que alguien arroja una colilla al suelo. Lo suyo es más cinematográfico, más fragmentario, más vanguardista. Y ahí se nota la influencia de Joyce, sí, pero también anticipa lo que luego haría el propio Dos Passos en su trilogía USA o lo que vendría con Faulkner y su narrativa rota, emocionalmente desguazada.

Y esta mirada fría, casi microscópica, se refleja también en los personajes. Lo fascinante —y también desolador— es cómo no evolucionan tanto como se desgastan. No aprenden, no se transforman: se erosionan. Ellen, por ejemplo, es la actriz que asciende en la escala social pero se vacía por dentro. Jimmy, el periodista, encarna la figura del desencantado, ese que ve demasiado y ya no sabe cómo vivir. Y luego están los secundarios, esos que entran en la novela como entramos nosotros en un vagón de metro: sin saber a dónde van, ni si vamos a volver a verlos. Es todo tan moderno que cuesta creer que se publicó en 1925. Más de uno, si se lo das sin portada, pensaría que lo escribió Don DeLillo o incluso Ben Lerner en uno de sus días más lúcidos y menos narcisistas.

Hablando de multitudes y estructuras corales, la comparación con La colmena de Cela es inevitable. Pero mientras Cela observa la ciudad desde dentro del café, desde esa calidez caótica de las conversaciones, Manhattan Transfer lo hace desde las azoteas, desde el humo de las fábricas, desde las alcantarillas. Hay algo kafkiano en cómo los personajes son engullidos por sistemas que no comprenden: la política, el mercado, la fama, el amor... todos engranajes de una maquinaria sin propósito claro. Y aquí hay que decirlo: Dos Passos fue, antes de desengañarse, un escritor de izquierdas. Y eso se nota en cómo retrata la desigualdad, no como denuncia panfletaria, sino como un mal sistémico que se cuela hasta en el aliento de los personajes.

Pero más allá de la desigualdad, los temas orbitan en torno a un núcleo mucho más oscuro: la deshumanización. La ciudad convierte a las personas en funciones, en espectros de sí mismas. Hay una angustia existencial que anticipa el vacío del siglo XX. Un vacío vestido de éxito, como una carcasa vacía de oro falso. La novela plantea preguntas incómodas sin responder ninguna. ¿Quién eres cuando nadie tiene tiempo para conocerte? ¿Qué significa triunfar en una ciudad que solo recuerda al que grita más fuerte? ¿Y qué queda de uno cuando el éxito se convierte en otra forma de anonimato?

En esa misma línea de corrosión y desencanto, es imposible no pensar en El gran Gatsby , que se publicó el mismo año. Si Fitzgerald nos mostraba la decadencia de las clases altas, Dos Passos nos arrastra hasta la agonía del proletariado. Manhattan Transfer aborda la vida urbana de forma coral, siguiendo a inmigrantes, trabajadores, gente común, artistas y personajes marginales, todos atrapados en la maquinaria implacable de la ciudad y el capitalismo. Su mirada es más amplia y cruda, con un fuerte componente social y crítico que expone sin filtros la lucha y la erosión de las clases populares. Pero mientras Fitzgerald pinta la decadencia con purpurina, Dos Passos te lanza la botella vacía a la cara. Es menos romántico, más devastador. Donde uno aún cree en el amor como redención, el otro solo ve ruido, alcohol y rutinas que no llevan a ninguna parte. La ciudad no es el escenario: es el verdugo.

Y aquí está lo trágico y fascinante: pocas novelas te hacen sentir tan dentro de un lugar y a la vez tan fuera de ti mismo. Porque Nueva York no es ni postal ni promesa. Es trauma colectivo. Jaula de neón. El sitio donde todo pasa y nada permanece. Una ciudad que, como diría Baudelaire de París, te deja solo incluso cuando estás rodeado de millones de personas.

Manhattan Transfer no se lee para disfrutar. Se lee para despertar. Es una bofetada literaria, un espejo roto donde cada fragmento refleja una cara distinta del fracaso. Y si hay algo que esta novela deja claro es que la ciudad moderna no es el paraíso prometido, sino la versión más sofisticada del infierno: uno con ascensores, anuncios y rascacielos.

¿Recomendarla? Totalmente. Pero ojo, solo si te gusta la literatura que no te mima. Solo si estás dispuesto a que te miren a los ojos y te digan, sin pestañear: “Esto es América. Esto eres tú. Esto es lo que queda”. Porque al final, lo que permanece de Manhattan Transfer no son sus personajes ni sus historias, sino esa sensación de haber estado dentro de un mecanismo que no te necesitaba para seguir girando. Y lo peor: que tú tampoco sabías muy bien por qué estabas ahí. Como ese momento en el metro en que te das cuenta de que has pasado tu parada. Entonces miras por la ventana, con el rostro reflejado en el cristal sucio, viendo pasar la ciudad a toda velocidad, y piensas: “Mierda.”

[Chrissie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos may be highly acclaimed, but I do not like it. It pulsates the down-side and only the down-side of New York City. It draws the lifestyle of the “the Roaring Twenties” and the disillusionment characteristic of authors of the Lost Generation. I dislike the book's excessive fragmentation and the multitude of characters that flash by in a blur.

The characters are a large group of people, from struggling immigrants to the well-established and secure, inhabitants of Manhattan at the turn of the 20th century. The time period covered is two to three decades, from the Gilded Age to the Jazz Age, so through the First World War. The setting remains fixed to the city. The city itself is a character—in fact the prime character. The pulse of the city is felt throughout. Life in the city is chaotic and haphazard.

The focus is on the city rather than the story’s characters or even what they do. The characters are each one of a multitude and none do you come to know intimately. You observe from a distance the whirlwind of their lives. Do you care when something bad happens to them? No! They are a part of a group, each is simply an individual of the mass, the people of the city.

The telling is fragmented and disjointed. One shifts rapidly and abruptly from scene to scene. Events are presented as snapshots that zip by in a blur. A reader must fill in for themselves what has happened between snapshots. The hubbub and dirt of the city is hammered in repetitively. Time with characters is spent predominantly in bars and, as a consequence, conversations are shallow and empty.

Dos Passos has drawn a universe where absurdity, tragedy and fatalism reign. His focus is not on individuals. The city is a downward spiraling force bigger than the people in it.

Joe Barrett narrates the audiobook. On top of not liking the book, neither do I like Barrett’s narration. He over dramatizes. His pronunciation of words is unclear. Words are slurred. This is done for effect, an example being when the person speaking is tipsy or drunk. The tempo is fine, but I dislike how the volume at which the words are spoken varies significantly. Some words are yelled, others are whispered. No, I do not like the narration, so I am giving it one star. As usual I rate the book and the narration separately.

I dislike the fragmented style of the writing and the blur of the characters. They are superficial, just as Dos Passos intended them to be.

*****************

One Man's Initiation: 1917 4 stars
Manhattan Transfer 1 star
Three Soldiers maybe

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα μοντέρνο (και στην εποχή του -1925- εξαιρετικά μοντέρνο) χρονικό της πόλης των πόλεων, της μοναδικής Νέας Υόρκης. Φτωχοί μετανάστες, πλούσιοι χρηματιστές, πατροκτόνοι, dime chasers, δικηγόροι που κυνηγάνε τις αποζημιώσεις από ατυχήματα, μοδίστρες, κομμουνιστές συνδικαλιστές, κουτσοί ναύτες γαλλικής καταγωγής, όλοι χωράνε σε αυτή την πόλη και κινούνται στους ρυθμούς της.

Ο Πρώτος Παγκόσμιος πόλεμος αναταράσσει ελάχιστα τους ρυθμούς της πόλης, καθώς γάμοι και διαζύγια, τα καθημερινά δράματα των κατοίκων της, ό,τι συμβαίνει εντός της, δείχνουν να έχουν μεγαλύτερη βαρύτητα από όσα κι αν συμβαίνουν στην Ευρώπη. Άλλωστε, η Πόλη έχει τη δική της βαρύτητα, που δείχνει να ξεπερνά αυτή του κόσμου ολόκληρου.

Στα αυτιά του αναγνώστη φτάνουν οι φωνές της Wall Street, το τρίξιμο από τις ράγες του υπόγειου σιδηρόδρομου, οι θεατρινισμοί των ηθοποιών, τα μουγκρητά των μεθυσμένων αλκοολικών, οι φωνές των εραστών που αλλάζουν κρεββάτια με την ίδια ευκολία που δίνει στα πάντα αυτή η μεγάλη, υπέροχη, σκληρή πόλη, που το χρήμα αλλάζει χέρια με φρενήρεις ρυθμούς ενώ άλλοι ανεβαίνουν κοινωνικά κι άλλοι, μην αντέχοντας την πίεση, ή από κακή εκτίμηση, ή μην έχοντας απλώς "αυτό που χρειάζεται" βυθίζονται και καταστρέφονται.

Παρά την πληθώρα των ζωντανών χαρακτήρων, πρωταγωνιστής είναι η ίδια η πόλη, με τις μοναδικές της ιδιατερότητες και το σταθμό Mahattan Transfer, σημείο μετεπιβίβασης, ένα αέναο "αναμεταξύ" διαδρομών, σχέσεων, περιουσιών, καταστάσεων, ένα σημειακό αποτύπωμα της υπόστασης της πόλης. Ένας σταθμός, όπου ο καθένας περιμένει το δικό του τρένο, το δικό του βαγόνι, κυριολεκτικά και μεταφορικά, έτοιμοι να προσπαθήσουν να ανταποκριθούν στις απαιτήσεις της ζούγκλας-πόλης, που τους καταβροχθίζει και τους εξεμεί, άλλους ψηλότερα από εκεί που ξεκίνησαν, άλλους στο ίδιο ακριβώς σημείο και άλλους τους εξαφανίζει στα σπλάχνα της.

Το βιβλίο είναι γεμάτο κίνηση και δράση, άνοδο και κάθοδο, περιστροφές και καλειδοσκοπικές πρόσκαιρες ματιές στις ζωές των αθυρμάτων της πόλης, των ανθρώπων. Γιατί, είπαμε, πρωταγωνιστής, είναι η ίδια η πόλη.

[roz_anthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Μεγάλο βιβλίο, όσο ολάκερη η ζωή, όσο κι η ίδια η Νέα Υόρκη.

Περισσότερα ελπίζω σύντομα.

[Lisa Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had avoided Dos Passos novels for fear that they would be deadeningly political. Was I ever wrong? This book is wonderfully enjoyable. Told in impressionistic vignettes the book moves quickly as stars on the Manhattan stage rise and fall. Dos Passos indictment of the materialism and soulessness of turn of the century New York is told with neither sentiment nor heartlessness, but falls in a middle ground-dispassionate.

The time frames can be confusing. For instance, in the beginning the book,the child Ellen is born, and the novel carries her to a school- age. However,in the same section, the time lapse for Max, a wanderer hoping to find a job in the city, is only a few days.

Some characters are followed from childhood to adulthood, the two most promnient are Jimmy Herf and Ellen. Others appear briefly and then are never heard from again leaving a tantalizing void.

On a peculiar note, I have never read a book where color is used in such an effective way. At times it seems as if colors shine dimly on the story, rather like gels have been but in can lights. And the color green is forever popping up. I have no idea if it was intentional. Very odd and intriguing.

Really a fantastic book, and I am now going to search out more of dos Passos's books.

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was incredibly bored from beginning to end.

I found this to be far too fragmented for my liking. It didn’t have a consistent storyline to follow, and it bothered me. As I studied this for university I get why it was fragmented and what themes and form of story it was trying to convey. As a reader? It didn’t work for me.

It focuses a lot on the city and the American dream. How it works for some, how it is false. A bit on what it’s like to be poor in NYC, or what it is like to be an immigrant there. It talks a lot about classism, and brushes over but touches on The Great Depression and first world war.

I don’t really have much to say because nothing interested me…

Content Warnings: murder, house fire, body gore, car crash, suicidal thoughts, suicide, xenophobia, cheating, bullying, anti-Semitism, grief, death, racism, violence, poverty, homophobia, alcoholism, sexism, mentions of WW1, abortion

[Steven Godin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. I was not expecting this. The pace here is so frenetic; the narrative so kaleidoscopically disquieted; shifting here there and everywhere between characters, that on the one hand I admired it for its anarchic structure, but on the other I just found it just too messy and too busy to suck it all up - maybe just the wrong book at the wrong time for me at the moment, so I'm not going to be too hard. It felt like I was dancing out of tune to its rhythm. But hey, these things happen. I think of novels written in the 1920s depicting New New and the extravagance of Scottie Fitzgerald flashing through my mind, but this is more like a politically left-leaning 1920s Hubert Selby Jr in a chaotic state, infused with, say, the experimental modernism of Virginia Woolf. It could well be a masterpiece, and I'm willing to have another crack at it some day.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's easy to see why this is considered a masterpiece. Dos Passos has painted a picture of New York City from the Gilded Age to the 20's. The actual plot wasn't that fascinating, but the writing style was exceptional. Using short prose-poems to begin each chapter, vignettes of people's lives, quotations from popular songs of the day, overheard conversations, newspaper headlines and more, we get a powerful portrait of the city.

It's a portrait that could be considered anti-establishment. I know that Dos Passos was a leftist at the time he wrote this, and there are certainly some anti-capitalist passages in the book, but it didn't seem like a political book to me. Rather than rhetoric, the author mostly showed his views through the lives of his characters. Baldwin runs for office as a reform candidate. We see plenty of poverty, unemployment, and the illusive appeal of Wall Street. World War I ("a great little war while it lasted") takes place offstage and is shown through its effects on the characters. Prohibition-era crime occurs and Reds are deported.

There's a lot of bleakness in Manahattan Transfer as relationships fail, people sink into poverty, and suicides take place. However, it ends on a hopeful note as Jimmy leaves the city and plans to go "pretty far." Written in 1925, it really captured the spirit of the post-war world.

I may have to read this again to really absorb it all.