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قصههای سرزمین دوستداشتنی
One of America’s premier writers, the bestselling author of Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, The Book of Daniel, and World’s Fair turns his astonishing narrative powers to the short story in five dazzling explorations of who we are as a people and how we live.
Ranging over the American continent from Alaska to Washington, D.C., these superb short works are crafted with all the weight and resonance of the novels for which E. L. Doctorow is famous. You will find yourself set down in a mysterious redbrick townhouse in rural Illinois (“A House on the Plains”), working things out with a baby-kidnapping couple in California (“Baby Wilson”), living on a religious-cult commune in Kansas (“Walter John Harmon”), and sharing the heartrending cross-country journey of a young woman navigating her way through three bad marriages to a kind of bruised but resolute independence (“Jolene: A Life”). And in the stunning “Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden,” you will witness a special agent of the FBI finding himself at a personal crossroads while investigating a grave breach of White House security.
Two of these stories have already won awards as the best fiction of the year published in American periodicals, and two have been chosen for annual best-story anthologies.
Composed in a variety of moods and voices, these remarkable portrayals of the American spiritual landscape show a modern master at the height of his powers.
Ranging over the American continent from Alaska to Washington, D.C., these superb short works are crafted with all the weight and resonance of the novels for which E. L. Doctorow is famous. You will find yourself set down in a mysterious redbrick townhouse in rural Illinois (“A House on the Plains”), working things out with a baby-kidnapping couple in California (“Baby Wilson”), living on a religious-cult commune in Kansas (“Walter John Harmon”), and sharing the heartrending cross-country journey of a young woman navigating her way through three bad marriages to a kind of bruised but resolute independence (“Jolene: A Life”). And in the stunning “Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden,” you will witness a special agent of the FBI finding himself at a personal crossroads while investigating a grave breach of White House security.
Two of these stories have already won awards as the best fiction of the year published in American periodicals, and two have been chosen for annual best-story anthologies.
Composed in a variety of moods and voices, these remarkable portrayals of the American spiritual landscape show a modern master at the height of his powers.
168 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2004
94 people are currently reading
798 people want to read
About the author
E.L. Doctorow
100 books1,150 followersHistory based known novels of American writer Edgar Laurence Doctorow. His works of fiction include Homer & Langley, The March, Billy Bathgate, Ragtime, The Book of Daniel, City of God, Welcome to Hard Times, Loon Lake, World’s Fair, The Waterworks, and All the Time in the World. Among his honors are the National Book Award, three National Book Critics Circle Awards, two PEN Faulkner Awards, The Edith Wharton Citation for Fiction, and the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal. In 2009 he was short listed for the Man Booker International Prize honoring a writer’s lifetime achievement in fiction, and in 2012 he won the PEN Saul Bellow Award given to an author whose “scale of achievement over a sustained career places him in the highest rank of American Literature.” In 2013 the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him the Gold Medal for Fiction.
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June 19, 2018
امتیاز من: 3.5
چهار کتاب از دکتروف خواندهام؛ رگتایم، پیشروی، بیلی بتگیت و همین کتاب. اما اگر بخواهم همهشان را بگذارم کنار هم، برام عجیب است که هر سهشان را یک نفر نوشته. باید خیلی دکتروف باشی که بتوانی جهانهایی خلق کنی که همهشان تو را نزدیکتر کند به ادبیات. بله. دکتروف میتواند یک صفت باشد برای آدمهایی که تمام نمیشوند. آدمهایی که کتابهایشان همیشه تو را جلوتر میبرند. از این نقطهی پاک و پر نور در سرزمین داستانها به نقطهی دیگری که همان اندازه قشنگ است.
قصههای سرزمین دوستداشتنی جدا از آن سه کتاب دیگر خودش چند داستان دارد با تنوع در شخصیت، فضاسازی و قصه. البته که همهی داستانهای این مجموعه، در یک ویژگی مشترکاند و آن هم نشان دادن ماجراهایی است که از دل یک سرزمین دوستداشتنی برخاسته. داستانها حسی از ناامیدیِ بعد از امیدواری به من دادهاند. حسی که میگوید پایان شب سیه هم لزوماً سپید نیست و قرار نیست آخرش همهچیز خیلی خوب و دوستداشتنی و سرخوشانه باشد. یکی مثل شخصیت اصلی داستان «جولین: یک زندگی» خودش را به آب و آتش میزند تا کسی را داشته باشد، کسی که بتواند با او معنی خانواده، معنی زیستن را پیدا کند، کسی بتواند کمی بهش تکیه کند، چنین آدمی همان اندازه تنهاست که راوی «خانهای میان دشت» که مجبور میشود رابطهی خانوادگیاش را کتمان کند و مادرش را عمه صدا بزند. شاید فقط دیوانهای مثل کارن در داستان «بچهویلسن» در عالم دیوانگیاش بتواند خوشحال باشد و راضی و شوهرش فقط وقتی از کشورش بیرون میآید و به کانادا مهاجرت میکند، بالاخره روی آرامش را میبیند.
چهار کتاب از دکتروف خواندهام؛ رگتایم، پیشروی، بیلی بتگیت و همین کتاب. اما اگر بخواهم همهشان را بگذارم کنار هم، برام عجیب است که هر سهشان را یک نفر نوشته. باید خیلی دکتروف باشی که بتوانی جهانهایی خلق کنی که همهشان تو را نزدیکتر کند به ادبیات. بله. دکتروف میتواند یک صفت باشد برای آدمهایی که تمام نمیشوند. آدمهایی که کتابهایشان همیشه تو را جلوتر میبرند. از این نقطهی پاک و پر نور در سرزمین داستانها به نقطهی دیگری که همان اندازه قشنگ است.
قصههای سرزمین دوستداشتنی جدا از آن سه کتاب دیگر خودش چند داستان دارد با تنوع در شخصیت، فضاسازی و قصه. البته که همهی داستانهای این مجموعه، در یک ویژگی مشترکاند و آن هم نشان دادن ماجراهایی است که از دل یک سرزمین دوستداشتنی برخاسته. داستانها حسی از ناامیدیِ بعد از امیدواری به من دادهاند. حسی که میگوید پایان شب سیه هم لزوماً سپید نیست و قرار نیست آخرش همهچیز خیلی خوب و دوستداشتنی و سرخوشانه باشد. یکی مثل شخصیت اصلی داستان «جولین: یک زندگی» خودش را به آب و آتش میزند تا کسی را داشته باشد، کسی که بتواند با او معنی خانواده، معنی زیستن را پیدا کند، کسی بتواند کمی بهش تکیه کند، چنین آدمی همان اندازه تنهاست که راوی «خانهای میان دشت» که مجبور میشود رابطهی خانوادگیاش را کتمان کند و مادرش را عمه صدا بزند. شاید فقط دیوانهای مثل کارن در داستان «بچهویلسن» در عالم دیوانگیاش بتواند خوشحال باشد و راضی و شوهرش فقط وقتی از کشورش بیرون میآید و به کانادا مهاجرت میکند، بالاخره روی آرامش را میبیند.
August 18, 2021
Szeretem az amerikai irodalmat. Részben az ilyen szövegek miatt. Szeretem ezt az epikai hagyományt, aminek origójában a történet (mégpedig egy jó, csavaros történet) áll, aminek a nyelv csak hordozója. Nem csiricsáré, flitteres nagyestélyi ez a nyelv, aminek funkciója, hogy elterelje a figyelmet a cselekmény hiányosságairól, nem is csecse gyöngysor, ami önmagában is gyönyörködtet. Inkább csak semleges közeg, levegő, amiben a szereplők lélegeznek. Nagyon sok munka van ám abban (író és fordító részéről egyaránt), hogy ilyen diszkrét szövegkorpusz jöjjön létre, ami húzza magával az olvasót a történetben és lendületben tartja. Doctorow most nagyon érzi ezt az ívet, etetik magukat ezek a sztorik. Megírhatta volna persze valamennyit hosszabban, az ötletekben ott van a nagyregényi (vagy legalábbis középregényi) potenciál, de jó így is. Sőt, talán pont így jó. Húsz-harminc oldalakba sűrítve egy komplett epikai hagyomány.
August 10, 2023
«زندگی همینطور تغییر میکند.مثل اصابت یک صاعقه؛ و یک لحظه آنچه هست ممکن است دیگر نباشد. به خودت میآیی و میبینی نشستی روی یک سنگ در حاشیهی بیابان و امیدواری اتوبوسی بیاید و دل راننده برایت بسوزد و قبل اینکه جنازهات پیدا شود، سوارت کند.»
January 24, 2024
Doctorow's Sweet Land
I read and enjoyed Doctorow's current historical novel of Sherman's march, "The March," and wanted to read more. Doctorow's "Sweet Land Stories" (2004) lacks the sweep of his Civil War novel. But it excels in its picture of American down-and-outers, loners, losers, grifters, and wanderers. It includes short but unforgettable scenes of a varied and almost timeless America, in rural Illinois, Chicago, Alaska, a religious commune, Las Vegas, and elsewhere.
The book consists of five short stories, four of which appeared initially in the New Yorker while the fifth story, "Child, Dead in the Rose Garden" appeared first in the Virginia Quarterly Review. Each of the stories is faced-paced, draws the reader into the action, and can be read easily in a single sitting. The stories reminded me of Hubert Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and of the novels of Charles Bukowski without their rawness. Doctorow's is the voice of a polished literary artist.
Three of the stories are told in the first person by male narrators. The first story "A House on the Plains" is recounted by Earle and tells of his conniving and murderous mother on a small farm in Illinois. For all the brutality and irony of the story, the characters come alive sympathetically. "Baby Wilson" is told in the voice of a young man with nowhere particular to go whose girlfriend has kidnapped a baby claiming it is the couple's. We are treated to a picturesque ride through dusty roads and small towns as the two loners truly become a couple and parents as well as they struggle to resolve the situation.
"Walter John Harmon" tells the story of its namesake, a former garage mechanic and thief, and current alcoholic and philanderer, who becomes the leader of a religious commune. But the narrator is an attorney who has given up a staid if successful law practice and, with his wife Betty has joined the commune. The tone of the story is set by its first sentence: "When Betty told me she would go that night to Walter John Harmon, I didn't think I reacted." Doctorow shows the credulous, unresolved needs of many people, including highly educated individuals, for belief and spiritual support, as the narrator is cuckolded by Walter John Harmon who runs off with Betty and abandons the commune to its fate.
The story "Jolene:A Life" tells of a young woman with three bad marriages and other affairs who works through a life of trouble and attains a degree of peace at the end. This is a tawdry story with tawdry scenes, tattoo parlors, topless bars, sexual abuse, gangster-style killings, convincingly portrayed. Jolene struggles throughout all this to develop her talent as an artist.
The final story, "Child Dead, in the Rose Garden" seems to me weaker than the others in that it is too overtly political. I had the same problem with Doctorow's "The Book of Daniel" which is a fictionalized account of the Rosenbergs. This story also differs from its companions in that the protagonist is not a down-and-outer but a respectable person in a responsible job. The story is about the adventures of a retired special agent named B.W. Molloy who, over official resistance, solves a mystery about how the body of a dead child was found in the White House Rose Garden and in the process learns a good deal about himself.
Doctorow has made his reputation, and deservedly so, as a writer of American historical fiction. This book is smaller in scope than novels such as "The March" but perhaps digs deeper into the hearts of its characters. This book together with Doctorow's difficult modern novel "City of God" which to me shows the promise of a secular, open America, are thoughtful, spiritual works which I have greatly enjoyed.
Robin Friedman
I read and enjoyed Doctorow's current historical novel of Sherman's march, "The March," and wanted to read more. Doctorow's "Sweet Land Stories" (2004) lacks the sweep of his Civil War novel. But it excels in its picture of American down-and-outers, loners, losers, grifters, and wanderers. It includes short but unforgettable scenes of a varied and almost timeless America, in rural Illinois, Chicago, Alaska, a religious commune, Las Vegas, and elsewhere.
The book consists of five short stories, four of which appeared initially in the New Yorker while the fifth story, "Child, Dead in the Rose Garden" appeared first in the Virginia Quarterly Review. Each of the stories is faced-paced, draws the reader into the action, and can be read easily in a single sitting. The stories reminded me of Hubert Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and of the novels of Charles Bukowski without their rawness. Doctorow's is the voice of a polished literary artist.
Three of the stories are told in the first person by male narrators. The first story "A House on the Plains" is recounted by Earle and tells of his conniving and murderous mother on a small farm in Illinois. For all the brutality and irony of the story, the characters come alive sympathetically. "Baby Wilson" is told in the voice of a young man with nowhere particular to go whose girlfriend has kidnapped a baby claiming it is the couple's. We are treated to a picturesque ride through dusty roads and small towns as the two loners truly become a couple and parents as well as they struggle to resolve the situation.
"Walter John Harmon" tells the story of its namesake, a former garage mechanic and thief, and current alcoholic and philanderer, who becomes the leader of a religious commune. But the narrator is an attorney who has given up a staid if successful law practice and, with his wife Betty has joined the commune. The tone of the story is set by its first sentence: "When Betty told me she would go that night to Walter John Harmon, I didn't think I reacted." Doctorow shows the credulous, unresolved needs of many people, including highly educated individuals, for belief and spiritual support, as the narrator is cuckolded by Walter John Harmon who runs off with Betty and abandons the commune to its fate.
The story "Jolene:A Life" tells of a young woman with three bad marriages and other affairs who works through a life of trouble and attains a degree of peace at the end. This is a tawdry story with tawdry scenes, tattoo parlors, topless bars, sexual abuse, gangster-style killings, convincingly portrayed. Jolene struggles throughout all this to develop her talent as an artist.
The final story, "Child Dead, in the Rose Garden" seems to me weaker than the others in that it is too overtly political. I had the same problem with Doctorow's "The Book of Daniel" which is a fictionalized account of the Rosenbergs. This story also differs from its companions in that the protagonist is not a down-and-outer but a respectable person in a responsible job. The story is about the adventures of a retired special agent named B.W. Molloy who, over official resistance, solves a mystery about how the body of a dead child was found in the White House Rose Garden and in the process learns a good deal about himself.
Doctorow has made his reputation, and deservedly so, as a writer of American historical fiction. This book is smaller in scope than novels such as "The March" but perhaps digs deeper into the hearts of its characters. This book together with Doctorow's difficult modern novel "City of God" which to me shows the promise of a secular, open America, are thoughtful, spiritual works which I have greatly enjoyed.
Robin Friedman
August 25, 2017
دکتروف عالی تر از این حرف هاست....نویسنده فوق العاده ای هست...
هیچ چیز خطرناک تر از یک آدم بدون اعتماد به نفس نیست .
هیچ چیز خطرناک تر از یک آدم بدون اعتماد به نفس نیست .
July 15, 2018
This is an excellent collection of short stories by E. L. Doctorow or Ragtime fame. Most about the human condition, Doctorow never has to say much about each character: he writes that beautifully. We just get it. The story about the character of Jolene really was a tear jerker in that she was such a sad character and we watch as she makes the same mistakes time and again and we just love her. This is what Doctorow accomplishes - one example - and all of these stories will tear at your heartstrings. Flawed characters whom we absolutely forgive and understand. If you like short stories, try this one. Its a short book and the stories are long. There may be about 5 or 6. If you haven't read Ragtime, put it on your list. I'm ready for more E. L. Doctorow. Homer and Langley was another I liked by him. There are not too many writers who are accessible who are better. I know I go out on a limb by saying this but as a former librarian who has read my entire life, I can have a little say in this matter. lol
August 6, 2015
Io non ho ben capito perché si parli di “fallimento del sogno americano” riferendosi a questa raccolta di racconti. A mio modesto avviso, il fallimento che Doctorow ci mostra sta nelle persone in sé, non nel “sogno”. Anche se i personaggi fossero tutti nati e cresciuti a Timbuctù, sarebbe stato lo stesso, sia pur con modalità differenti. Semmai, direi che è un’attenta e riuscita panoramica di quanti insidiosi motivi esistano per sprecare la propria vita e di come sia facile illudersi o consolarsi pensando che così non sia. Il vuoto è interiore e le scelte sbagliate sono le proprie.
Premesso questo, ciascun racconto è dolorosamente compiuto in sé, nel senso che l’autore è ben riuscito a usare e dosare le risorse offerte dal mezzo narrativo scelto, che non è facile da gestire. Personalmente, infatti, preferisco i romanzi rispetto ai racconti, perché di solito riescono a delineare meglio le situazioni e i sentimenti. Ma Doctorow è stato decisamente abile nello scegliere e nel percorrere questi “pezzi di vita”, restituendocene immagini vivide e azzeccate, che non fanno rimpiangere, né desiderare storie di più ampio respiro.
Questo è il mio primo approccio all’autore, che conoscevo solo di nome. Avrei già messo gli occhi su “Homer & Langley”, per approfondire. Vedremo.
Premesso questo, ciascun racconto è dolorosamente compiuto in sé, nel senso che l’autore è ben riuscito a usare e dosare le risorse offerte dal mezzo narrativo scelto, che non è facile da gestire. Personalmente, infatti, preferisco i romanzi rispetto ai racconti, perché di solito riescono a delineare meglio le situazioni e i sentimenti. Ma Doctorow è stato decisamente abile nello scegliere e nel percorrere questi “pezzi di vita”, restituendocene immagini vivide e azzeccate, che non fanno rimpiangere, né desiderare storie di più ampio respiro.
Questo è il mio primo approccio all’autore, che conoscevo solo di nome. Avrei già messo gli occhi su “Homer & Langley”, per approfondire. Vedremo.
October 25, 2018
Sweet Land Stories is a collection about the myth of the American Dream: the people who abuse it, the people who awake from it, the people who continue to believe in it long after it has failed them. Unbound, these are stories one might not think to gather together, but they make a surprising sense together. They resonate in unexpected ways, particularly in the ways each story asks questions about the nature of power, the impossibility of outrunning the past, and the belief that children can help to change the future.
I didn't love love it: the stories are poetic, dark, and occasionally oppressive (not unlike reading Faulkner). But I'm glad I read this, and I think it could teach really well in an intro American Lit class. I also think I might teach the story "Walter John Harmon"in a Politics of Reading class I'm dreaming up.
I didn't love love it: the stories are poetic, dark, and occasionally oppressive (not unlike reading Faulkner). But I'm glad I read this, and I think it could teach really well in an intro American Lit class. I also think I might teach the story "Walter John Harmon"in a Politics of Reading class I'm dreaming up.
March 23, 2018
«- تو کاتولیک هستی آقای مالوی؟
- نه آن قدر که قبلا بودم.
- این جماعت فقیرند. مردم سخت کوشی که فقط روزگذران می کنند. آن ها باکره ی مقدس شان را دوست دارند، اما دارند یاد می گیرند که آمریکایی باشند.»
ص 155
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قصه های سرزمین دوست داشتنی پیش از هر چیز آمریکایی اند، به شدت هم آمریکایی اند. داکترو در 5 داستان کوتاه این مجموعه سعی می کند آمریکایی را که درک کرده روایت کند.
زنی که با پول بیمه عمر شوهرش و پسر نوجوانش از شهر شیکاگو مهاجرت می کند به یک مزرعه در یک شهر کوچک و در آن جا نقشه ها می کشد برای پولدارتر شدن.
دوسدختر شیرین عقل لستر رومانفسکی که نوزادی را از بیمارستان می دزدد و می آورد خانه تا بچه شان باشد.
جولین، دختر موقرمزی که برای فرار از ناپدری و نامادری اش در نوجوانی ازدواج می کند و بدشانسی و سوءاستفاده و بدبختی پشت سر هم همچو سایه ای شوم دست از سرش برنمی دارد.
پیروان یک فرقه ی مذهبی نوبنیاد که والتر جان هارمون رهبرش است.
و مامور اف بی آی داستان «بچه، مرده در رزگاردن» که به دنبال کشف ماجرای پیدا شدن جسد یک کودک در کاخ سفید است...
@@@
دو مضمون اصلی داستان ها برایم قابل ردیابی بود. یکی این سوال که «بالاخره من باید طبق کدام چهارچوب اخلاقی عمل کنم؟»
لستر رومانفسکی داستان دوم نمی دانست که باید برود دوسدخترش را لو بدهد و بچه را پس بدهد یا این که او را در حس مادرانگی همراهی کند و با بچه فرار کنند؟ کارآگاه مالوی داستان آخر نمی دانست که باید طبق دستورات مافوق عمل کند و بی خیال ماجرای پیدا شدن جسد یک کودک در کاخ سفید شود یا این که طبق احساساتش عمل کند و تا ته ماجرا را در بیاورد؟ جیم در داستان والتر جان هارمون نمی دانست که باید ایمان مذهبی داشته باشد و خیانت همسرش بتی در حق خودش را نادیده بگیرد یا این که باید غیرت به خرج بدهد؟ نمی دانست که باید مومن بماند یا اعتراض کند؟ این دوگانگی های اخلاقی در سراسر داستان ها به زیبایی روایت شده بودند و در حقیقت چیزی که باعث شد من خیلی حال کنم با این مجموعه داستان همین دوگانگی های اخلاقی بود.
یک مضمون دیگر هم«فرار» بود... آمریکا سرزمین آزادی، آمریکایی که در آن امکان فرار هست... آدم های داستان زیر بار سوال بالاخره باید طبق کدام چهارچوب اخلاقی عمل کنم له می شدند. درد می کشیدند و راه حل شان برای آسان شدن این درد فرار بود...
لستر رومانفسکی و دوسدخترش آخر داستان به آلاسکا فرار کردند، جولین پی در پی فرار می کرد، کاراگاه داستان آخر هم چاره را در این دید که از شغلش استعفا بدهد... این مضمون هم به زیبایی در این مجموعه داستان درآمده بود.
- نه آن قدر که قبلا بودم.
- این جماعت فقیرند. مردم سخت کوشی که فقط روزگذران می کنند. آن ها باکره ی مقدس شان را دوست دارند، اما دارند یاد می گیرند که آمریکایی باشند.»
ص 155
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قصه های سرزمین دوست داشتنی پیش از هر چیز آمریکایی اند، به شدت هم آمریکایی اند. داکترو در 5 داستان کوتاه این مجموعه سعی می کند آمریکایی را که درک کرده روایت کند.
زنی که با پول بیمه عمر شوهرش و پسر نوجوانش از شهر شیکاگو مهاجرت می کند به یک مزرعه در یک شهر کوچک و در آن جا نقشه ها می کشد برای پولدارتر شدن.
دوسدختر شیرین عقل لستر رومانفسکی که نوزادی را از بیمارستان می دزدد و می آورد خانه تا بچه شان باشد.
جولین، دختر موقرمزی که برای فرار از ناپدری و نامادری اش در نوجوانی ازدواج می کند و بدشانسی و سوءاستفاده و بدبختی پشت سر هم همچو سایه ای شوم دست از سرش برنمی دارد.
پیروان یک فرقه ی مذهبی نوبنیاد که والتر جان هارمون رهبرش است.
و مامور اف بی آی داستان «بچه، مرده در رزگاردن» که به دنبال کشف ماجرای پیدا شدن جسد یک کودک در کاخ سفید است...
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دو مضمون اصلی داستان ها برایم قابل ردیابی بود. یکی این سوال که «بالاخره من باید طبق کدام چهارچوب اخلاقی عمل کنم؟»
لستر رومانفسکی داستان دوم نمی دانست که باید برود دوسدخترش را لو بدهد و بچه را پس بدهد یا این که او را در حس مادرانگی همراهی کند و با بچه فرار کنند؟ کارآگاه مالوی داستان آخر نمی دانست که باید طبق دستورات مافوق عمل کند و بی خیال ماجرای پیدا شدن جسد یک کودک در کاخ سفید شود یا این که طبق احساساتش عمل کند و تا ته ماجرا را در بیاورد؟ جیم در داستان والتر جان هارمون نمی دانست که باید ایمان مذهبی داشته باشد و خیانت همسرش بتی در حق خودش را نادیده بگیرد یا این که باید غیرت به خرج بدهد؟ نمی دانست که باید مومن بماند یا اعتراض کند؟ این دوگانگی های اخلاقی در سراسر داستان ها به زیبایی روایت شده بودند و در حقیقت چیزی که باعث شد من خیلی حال کنم با این مجموعه داستان همین دوگانگی های اخلاقی بود.
یک مضمون دیگر هم«فرار» بود... آمریکا سرزمین آزادی، آمریکایی که در آن امکان فرار هست... آدم های داستان زیر بار سوال بالاخره باید طبق کدام چهارچوب اخلاقی عمل کنم له می شدند. درد می کشیدند و راه حل شان برای آسان شدن این درد فرار بود...
لستر رومانفسکی و دوسدخترش آخر داستان به آلاسکا فرار کردند، جولین پی در پی فرار می کرد، کاراگاه داستان آخر هم چاره را در این دید که از شغلش استعفا بدهد... این مضمون هم به زیبایی در این مجموعه داستان درآمده بود.
Want to read
January 21, 2016قصههای سرزمینِ دوستداشتنی / ادگار لارنس داکترو / تهران: چشمه، چاپِ اول 1393
داستانهای امریکایی – قرن 20م
«علیرضا کیوانینژاد»، در «مقدمهی مترجم» با اشاره به نقلِ قولی از «فرناندو پِسو»، نویسندهی پرتغالی، که: «نمیتوان روشنفکر بود اما چون مشغولِ تهیهی کاتالوگِ یک موزهایم از اظهارِ نظر دربارهی اتفاقی اجتماعی طفره رفت»، «داکترو» را روشنفکری میداند که خاطراتِ شبِ گذشتهاش را به داستانی آبکی تبدیل نمیکند و از اظهارِنظر دربارهی حوادث جامعهاش نیز طفره نمیرود. [7] او بخشی از تاریخِ شفاهی «امریکا» را مکتوب کرده و به نقدِ پدیدههای روزِ آن توجه دارد. [8]
دوستداشتنی؟
شاید؛ چون درون-مایههای تکاندهندهی آن گاه بسیار «تأملبرانگیز» است.
دوستداشتنیهای اول:
بیوهای به چندین مردِ قابلِ اطمینان با پولِ نقد برای مشارکت در یک مزرعهی درجهیک پیشنهادِ همکاری میدهد. و شیکاگو که جای خود دارد، حتا در دورافتادهترین نقاطِ حومهای هم، ما در یک اجتماع زندگی میکنیم.
اجتماعی با سادهترین راهها برای رسیدن به رؤیایی بهشتیتر و یافتنِ شریکِ جرمهایی ماتمزدهتر.
دوستداشتنیهای دوم:
او گُلفروشِ عاشقپیشهای بود. میگفت: «صبر کن تا نهرهای کوچک، از سرچشمههایشان جاری شوند. آنگاه خوب چشمهایت را باز کن تا معجزهی نابِ بیابان را ببینی.» و دستش را بهطرفم دراز کرد، گذاشته بودش لای پتو: «خسو»، نوزادی که قرار بود روزی شبیه من شود: عبوس و مو-سیاه، با کفلهایی لاغر-مردنی.
گفتم نمیخواهم. گفت: «اُه، چه مردِ احمقی. تصاحب و نگهداشتنِ چنین نوزادِ شیرینی، کارِ چندان سختی نیست.»
فکر کردم نباید به یک زن در چنین موقعیتِ ذهنی خطرناکی که احساسِ خوشبختی میکند شوک وارد کنم. بنابر این برگشتم و دوباره تلاش کردم.
دوستداشتنیهای سوم:
او فقط هفده-سال داشت اما طوری لباس میپوشید که کسی نفهمد درونِ این زن، با آن شلوارِ خاص و کفشِ پاشنه-بلند، یک دختربچهی ترسیده پنهان شده است. یک غریبه در غربت. اما او هربار برای اینکه کاری بهدست آورد مجبور بود به سنِ قانونیاش برگردد.
و چرخِ دنیا میگشت بدون اینکه به کسی نیاز داشته باشد. و او نیز وقتی در تمامِ دنیا کاری جز وقتگذرانی نداشت، همه را بهخاطر میآورد.
همهی آن ده-سالِ زجر-آوری را که ما با دختری تنها اما زیبا همراه شدیم تا برخی از پُرترههایش را تماشا کنیم: پُرترههایی از یتیمهای طوفانزده.
داستانهای امریکایی – قرن 20م
«علیرضا کیوانینژاد»، در «مقدمهی مترجم» با اشاره به نقلِ قولی از «فرناندو پِسو»، نویسندهی پرتغالی، که: «نمیتوان روشنفکر بود اما چون مشغولِ تهیهی کاتالوگِ یک موزهایم از اظهارِ نظر دربارهی اتفاقی اجتماعی طفره رفت»، «داکترو» را روشنفکری میداند که خاطراتِ شبِ گذشتهاش را به داستانی آبکی تبدیل نمیکند و از اظهارِنظر دربارهی حوادث جامعهاش نیز طفره نمیرود. [7] او بخشی از تاریخِ شفاهی «امریکا» را مکتوب کرده و به نقدِ پدیدههای روزِ آن توجه دارد. [8]
دوستداشتنی؟
شاید؛ چون درون-مایههای تکاندهندهی آن گاه بسیار «تأملبرانگیز» است.
دوستداشتنیهای اول:
بیوهای به چندین مردِ قابلِ اطمینان با پولِ نقد برای مشارکت در یک مزرعهی درجهیک پیشنهادِ همکاری میدهد. و شیکاگو که جای خود دارد، حتا در دورافتادهترین نقاطِ حومهای هم، ما در یک اجتماع زندگی میکنیم.
اجتماعی با سادهترین راهها برای رسیدن به رؤیایی بهشتیتر و یافتنِ شریکِ جرمهایی ماتمزدهتر.
دوستداشتنیهای دوم:
او گُلفروشِ عاشقپیشهای بود. میگفت: «صبر کن تا نهرهای کوچک، از سرچشمههایشان جاری شوند. آنگاه خوب چشمهایت را باز کن تا معجزهی نابِ بیابان را ببینی.» و دستش را بهطرفم دراز کرد، گذاشته بودش لای پتو: «خسو»، نوزادی که قرار بود روزی شبیه من شود: عبوس و مو-سیاه، با کفلهایی لاغر-مردنی.
گفتم نمیخواهم. گفت: «اُه، چه مردِ احمقی. تصاحب و نگهداشتنِ چنین نوزادِ شیرینی، کارِ چندان سختی نیست.»
فکر کردم نباید به یک زن در چنین موقعیتِ ذهنی خطرناکی که احساسِ خوشبختی میکند شوک وارد کنم. بنابر این برگشتم و دوباره تلاش کردم.
دوستداشتنیهای سوم:
او فقط هفده-سال داشت اما طوری لباس میپوشید که کسی نفهمد درونِ این زن، با آن شلوارِ خاص و کفشِ پاشنه-بلند، یک دختربچهی ترسیده پنهان شده است. یک غریبه در غربت. اما او هربار برای اینکه کاری بهدست آورد مجبور بود به سنِ قانونیاش برگردد.
و چرخِ دنیا میگشت بدون اینکه به کسی نیاز داشته باشد. و او نیز وقتی در تمامِ دنیا کاری جز وقتگذرانی نداشت، همه را بهخاطر میآورد.
همهی آن ده-سالِ زجر-آوری را که ما با دختری تنها اما زیبا همراه شدیم تا برخی از پُرترههایش را تماشا کنیم: پُرترههایی از یتیمهای طوفانزده.
September 11, 2017
For some reason, E.L. Doctor always makes me think it's going to be some stuffy old person book. I don't know how I got that impression, I don't know where I got that impression, and I don't know how many of his books I've read before and so should be able to shake that impression, but it persists. It's a weird mental tic because Doctorow is deeply weird, wild, surreal, and funny all in one go while writing about our not-so-recent past and years preceding. This collection of four short to long stories straddle time periods and are as perverse and enjoyable as anything else of his I've read. Perhaps before the year is out, I will tackle a lot more titles by this singular American voice and see if I can't exorcise this strange notion of mine.
May 12, 2018
This book of stories took me a while to read because I found myself needing to take in each story. The longest break was needed after Baby Wilson, the second story in the book that really shook what writing could be for me.
E.L. Doctorow knew how to write about people, illness, and the nuances that are found in life. I admire that a great deal about his work. The way he diverts expectations and makes subtleties known in his work is truly beautiful and something that I hope my writing can scratch the surface of some day.
E.L. Doctorow knew how to write about people, illness, and the nuances that are found in life. I admire that a great deal about his work. The way he diverts expectations and makes subtleties known in his work is truly beautiful and something that I hope my writing can scratch the surface of some day.
March 8, 2021
A nice little collection of short stories that delve into the darker side of humanity. I like Doctorow's style. I enjoyed most the first and last stories: one about a conniving, organized black-widow killer and her son as they set up shop in the countryside after escaping Chicago, and the other about a mysterious body of a young boy discovered on the grounds of the White House after a public event.
June 22, 2023
Het was ontzettend lang geleden dat ik nog eens een verhalenbundel ter hand nam (een verwaaide Tsjechov of Poe niet te na gesproken), maar voor een korte trip is het goed leesvoer. "The Book of Daniel" las ik in mijn studententijd en ik was er ondersteboven van. Verhalen van Doctorow waren dus beloftevol en die komt hij ruimschoots na. De 5 verhalen (elk zo'n 40 bladzijden) zijn allemaal niet verschrikkelijk origineel, maar de monkelende schrijfstijl en de mildheid waarmee hij zijn tragische of treurige, meelijwekkende, naïeve of ronduit misdadige personages neerzet, maken deze verhalen erg onderhoudend en de gebeurtenissen denderen met een rotvaart doorheen het boek. Elk verhaal zou een film van Tarantino kunnen zijn. In 40 bladzijden vertelt Doctorow waar Lize Spit 500 bladzijden voor nodig is (al is dat een vileine vergelijking...).
En laat het nu geen 40 jaar meer duren voor ik nog eens een verhalenbundel lees.
En laat het nu geen 40 jaar meer duren voor ik nog eens een verhalenbundel lees.
July 27, 2021
I had to remind myself that I was an envoy from the future....p100
from Cult Life
This from probably my favourite story in this short collection of longish stories, that I would not have guessed the author if I didnt check. A melancholic, old-fashioned whiff pervades all the stories and I confess I felt a bit mean-spirited when I found myself sniggering at the morbid humour that ELD splices into the most wretched scenes. Oh Jolene.
So I am not as rapturous about this one compared to his others.
I found myself feeling a bit deflated low rather than uplifted by the insights.
I believe that children have a sense that enables them to know something even when they can't say what it is...but of course it leaves you as you grow up. It may be a trait that children are given so that they will survive long enough to grow up. p36
from A House on the Plains
April 10, 2023
I am a big E.L. Doctorow fan and was excited to read some of his shorter fiction.
There are five stories here and all were equally good in my mind. They are each a snapshot of American life across different eras and a criminal element is prominent in each.
A House on the Plains was my favorite - it is about a serial killing mother and son. Pretty close to 5 stars.
A Child Dead in the Rose Garden was the weirdest. It is about a dead child found on the grounds of the White House.
4 stars. Doctorow is a marvelous short story writer
There are five stories here and all were equally good in my mind. They are each a snapshot of American life across different eras and a criminal element is prominent in each.
A House on the Plains was my favorite - it is about a serial killing mother and son. Pretty close to 5 stars.
A Child Dead in the Rose Garden was the weirdest. It is about a dead child found on the grounds of the White House.
4 stars. Doctorow is a marvelous short story writer
July 27, 2022
A collection of five short stories that were all interesting and fast-paced. They each hooked you in and they each had some twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. Nothing really stands out to me in this collection, but a quick and easy read.
August 12, 2025
Genuine question. Does a short story have to be depressing to be literary?
March 5, 2013
Originally published on my blog here in July 2007.
Sweet Land Stories is a collection of five short(ish) stories, all but the last published in the New Yorker in the first few years of this decade. In order, A House on the Plains describes a young man's discovery that his mother is a serial killer, enticing men to a midwest farm to kill and rob them; Baby Wilson is told from the point of view of the boyfriend of a young woman who steals a child from a hospital; Jolene: A Life describes the disastrous relationships of a young woman who initially marries at fifteen to escape a foster home; Walter John Harmon is the story of a cult whose founder is a garage mechanic who was caught up in a seeming miracle; and, finally, Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden is about the choices made by an FBI agent initially called in to investigate the discovery of a boy's body in the White House grounds but later instructed to be part of a cover up.
The first four stories share many themes; the fifth one is a bit different (and is the one not from the New Yorker). This can be seen in the setting; while Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden takes place mainly in Washington DC with an episode in Texas, the others are all set mainly in the midwest. Like most (if not all) of Doctorow's work, they look at America from the points of view of the little people, the outsiders in US society: those who remain the poor and downtrodden, despite the inscription below the Statue of Liberty. A House on the Plains and Baby Wilson go so far as to use a secondary part in the drama as a narrator; the main character is even denied a voice in their own story. Again, the final story is a little different, but achieves a similar result by making the dead boy the outsider, a victim of political machinations, while the investigator can do little but look on and wrestle with his moral dilemma: it subverts one of the normal rules of the crime genre, which is that the story is about the mental battle between criminal and investigator. All the stories make a point which is critical of American society (even if the stories are set in the past, which is at least apparently the case with the first three), with the final tale being overt political satire, with the boy a symbol of those without a voice in modern US politics.
The title of Sweet Land Stories comes from the US patriotic song, My Country, 'tis of Thee, which describes the country as the "sweet land of liberty". Liberty and sweetness are clearly in short supply in these stories, but Doctorow is not the first to use the sweet land quotation ironically - there is a film of the same name, about the struggles of a German girl who travels to Minnesota during the war to marry a farmer there. The use of lyrics from a patriotic song as the title suggests a link to Steinbeck, specifically to The Grapes of Wrath. Though less downbeat, there is something about the stories which is also reminiscent of Steinbeck, which is only partly thematic.
The cover of Sweet Land Stories describes the book as "by the author of The March". This seems an odd choice from Doctorow's past to me, unless the assumption is that readers of literary fiction only remember the author's most recent other work. There are other Doctorow novels which are far more like this collection, such as Ragtime. A more personal objection: why is it that from such a distinguished career, full of novels I enjoyed immensely, why pick the one I found unreadable as a comparison?
Sweet Land Stories is a collection of five short(ish) stories, all but the last published in the New Yorker in the first few years of this decade. In order, A House on the Plains describes a young man's discovery that his mother is a serial killer, enticing men to a midwest farm to kill and rob them; Baby Wilson is told from the point of view of the boyfriend of a young woman who steals a child from a hospital; Jolene: A Life describes the disastrous relationships of a young woman who initially marries at fifteen to escape a foster home; Walter John Harmon is the story of a cult whose founder is a garage mechanic who was caught up in a seeming miracle; and, finally, Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden is about the choices made by an FBI agent initially called in to investigate the discovery of a boy's body in the White House grounds but later instructed to be part of a cover up.
The first four stories share many themes; the fifth one is a bit different (and is the one not from the New Yorker). This can be seen in the setting; while Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden takes place mainly in Washington DC with an episode in Texas, the others are all set mainly in the midwest. Like most (if not all) of Doctorow's work, they look at America from the points of view of the little people, the outsiders in US society: those who remain the poor and downtrodden, despite the inscription below the Statue of Liberty. A House on the Plains and Baby Wilson go so far as to use a secondary part in the drama as a narrator; the main character is even denied a voice in their own story. Again, the final story is a little different, but achieves a similar result by making the dead boy the outsider, a victim of political machinations, while the investigator can do little but look on and wrestle with his moral dilemma: it subverts one of the normal rules of the crime genre, which is that the story is about the mental battle between criminal and investigator. All the stories make a point which is critical of American society (even if the stories are set in the past, which is at least apparently the case with the first three), with the final tale being overt political satire, with the boy a symbol of those without a voice in modern US politics.
The title of Sweet Land Stories comes from the US patriotic song, My Country, 'tis of Thee, which describes the country as the "sweet land of liberty". Liberty and sweetness are clearly in short supply in these stories, but Doctorow is not the first to use the sweet land quotation ironically - there is a film of the same name, about the struggles of a German girl who travels to Minnesota during the war to marry a farmer there. The use of lyrics from a patriotic song as the title suggests a link to Steinbeck, specifically to The Grapes of Wrath. Though less downbeat, there is something about the stories which is also reminiscent of Steinbeck, which is only partly thematic.
The cover of Sweet Land Stories describes the book as "by the author of The March". This seems an odd choice from Doctorow's past to me, unless the assumption is that readers of literary fiction only remember the author's most recent other work. There are other Doctorow novels which are far more like this collection, such as Ragtime. A more personal objection: why is it that from such a distinguished career, full of novels I enjoyed immensely, why pick the one I found unreadable as a comparison?
Read
October 2, 2021[- تو کاتولیک هستی آقای مالوی؟
- نه آن قدر که قبلا بودم.
- این جماعت فقیرند. مردم سخت کوشی که فقط روزگذران می کنند. آن ها باکره ی مقدس شان را دوست دارند،اما دارند یاد می گیرند که آمریکایی باشند.]
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این کتاب شامل پنج داستان میشه
[خانه ای میان دشت/نوزاد ویلسن/جولین:یک زندگی/والتر جان هارمون./بچه،مُرده در رُزگاردن.
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داستان اول
مربوط به زندگی مادر و پسریه که زن همسرش رو از دست داده و به بچهش یعنی همون پسرش میگه که او را عمه خطاب کنه. زن با هزینه بیمه عمر شوهرش،با پسرش به شیکاگو میرن و...
داستان دوم
دختر و پسری در لس آنجلس زندگی میکنند روز اولی که داستان شروع میشه و پسر (لستر) به خونه می آد میبینه دختر، بچه ای را بغل گرفته و میگه این بچه خودشونه و از بیمارستان بچه را دزدیده و...
داستان سوم
جولین موقرمز، بعد از سه بار ازدواج به هالیوود برمیگرده.حضانت فرزندش به دست شوهرِ قدرتمندش رسیده.اون می آد تا شاید بتونه فرزندش رو ببینه، بدبختی پشت بدبختی.و...
داستان چهارم
با حاشیهی درهی سرسبزی روبرو میشیم که والتر جان هارمون رهبر فرقهی مذهبی که تازه پا گرفته اون رو هدایت میکنه پیروان ساده لوحی که طرفدارشن طرفدارِ یه آدمِ به درد نخور و...
داستان آخر
جسد بچه ای توی رزگاردن پیدا میشه و اونایی که صاحب قدرت و نفوذن طوری داستان رو به نفع خودشون پیش میبرن و لا پوشونی میکنن قضیه رو که میگی چقدر آشناست این اتفاق...
شخصیت سازی و فضاها و همچنین موضوع در هر داستانی متفاوته اما همشون توی سرزمینی که خیلی هم دوست داشتنی به نظر نمیرسه اتفاق میفته.و تنها داستانی که تقریبا پایان خوشی داشت همون بچه ویلسن بود و توی بقیه داستان ها نا امیدی و آوارگی بیداد میکرد...
January 1, 2012
This is a collection of 5 short stories that at first seem to have been written by 5 different people, the author managing to inhabit the world of his characters to an extraordinary degree. The first two are narrated in a very informal US vernacular which appear to date from the mid-1900s and it's a shock to realise how recently they were first published (early 2000s). They are creepy and the characters are marginal (let's be honest - criminal) and they are completely astonishing. The next, about Joelene and her three disastrous marriages, is a mini-saga that's moving and tragic. 'Walter John Harmon', the fourth story, about an Amish-like cult and its reclusive and whacko leader and deluded congregation, is balanced somewhere between tragedy and comedy, while the fifth is about the mysterious death of a child in the grounds of the White House during a big public event. I think this writer loves to shock and he does it very successfully. He also loves confused, marginal characters and puts them in remote or seemingly benign settings that bring about surprising and frightening results. I want to read more.
January 1, 2012
A collection of short stories by E. L. Doctorow. The most memorable one is Child, Dead in the Rose Garden. It is about an 8-year-old child who is found dead in the Rose Garden after a ceremony. An FBI agent tries to find out how the child got there, who he was and what killed him. The trail eventually leads back to one of the President's big contributors in Texas. The child belonged to one of his gardeners. The whole thing is hushed up and covered up by White House political operatives who don't want the public to know about it. Another story, called Baby Wilson, is about a couple where the girlfriend steals a baby from a maternity ward in a hospital in LA. On the run, the couple travel through the west. They finally realize that the need to return the baby and do so through a Catholic church in Nevada.
May 8, 2012
Doctorow is one of America’s great storytellers and in this collection of short stories he takes us from Washington D.C. to Alaska on a whirlwind tour of life in the cracks of America. His characters are flawed, even at times seemingly unlovable, but Doctorow brings up a richness and density that exists within the imperfection of life. We meet mother and son con-artists, a baby-stealing couple, the lives on a fundamentalist religious commune, an FBI agent deciphering an abandoned body in the Rose Garden and the unforgettable journey of a young woman navigating her way through life through relationships with damaged men. It is an absorbing read with tremendous variety and depth, with characters you will want to know more about even though their story has ended.
March 27, 2016
I think it is always difficult to review books of short stories because each and every story is so different. This collection seems to give a sweeping snapshot of aspects of the USA, including political cover-ups, religious cultism, bigamy, teenage decline and crime. It was a really interesting in that each story was written in such a succinct, matter-of-fact way, as if it were all normal and all unremarkable. To the extent that none of the stories raised the kind of ire you would have thought they should have.
October 24, 2018
I'm not sure what to think about this collection of short stories. They are certainly dramatic and engaging, but they are also very disturbing. Many of the tales seem to present a rather negative view of humanity.
July 5, 2019
Excellent!
These stories are five little gems - each different and each compelling. I haven't read stories this well written for a long time.
These stories are five little gems - each different and each compelling. I haven't read stories this well written for a long time.
January 25, 2022
Sketches of American life: hypnotic, surprising, pessimistic, a little soulless.
The collection comprises five stories. Most feature individuals looking for love or spiritual support who make poor choices and fall victim to the stronger, richer, or more charismatic around them. This Darwinian view of US society could be viewed as a pessimistic take on contemporary American life, except that Doctorow has the same theme in his opening short story, set in the early 1900s, suggesting that he sees this as a perennial American trait.
The short stories feature individuals on the fringes of American life: the ramblers and gamblers, drug dealers and strippers, uneducated and deranged. This is my introduction to Doctorow, and I found some resonances with the work of Denis Johnson (e.g. the wonderful Jesus's Son). However, Johnson seems to inhabit the lives of his characters, presenting them as flawed but with some ability to take decisions that affect their lives. Doctorow, by contrast, seems to set up his characters to fail, giving them insufficient power to face up to a hostile world. And, in the one story where the protagonist rises above her travails (Jolene: A Life), the transition from the lowest tiers of society to a paid artist's job living in a studio apartment near the farmers' market seems more of a yuppie dream than a plausible outcome.
I was tempted to assign a four-star rating to Sweet Land Stories but settled on a three. The collection is absorbing, offers an unusual perspective on America, and the plots are masterly in shifting the ground under the reader's feet, taking us where we had not expected. At the same time, I was not enamored with the inherent pessimism of Doctorow's vision. His characters are typically victims and the focus is less on their inner life than on the inherent cruelty of society. Having just read Tess of the d'Urbervilles, I found the same crushing impact of society on the weak and innocent. But Hardy lets us live through the minds and emotions of his characters, while Doctorow looks at them from a distance. The last story (Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden) is the weakest in the collection: it offers a jaded, dystopian view of the US political and business elite and is more like a creative political rant than literature. I will try one of Doctorow's highly-regarded full-length novels before definitively classifying him as not-to-my-taste.
The collection comprises five stories. Most feature individuals looking for love or spiritual support who make poor choices and fall victim to the stronger, richer, or more charismatic around them. This Darwinian view of US society could be viewed as a pessimistic take on contemporary American life, except that Doctorow has the same theme in his opening short story, set in the early 1900s, suggesting that he sees this as a perennial American trait.
The short stories feature individuals on the fringes of American life: the ramblers and gamblers, drug dealers and strippers, uneducated and deranged. This is my introduction to Doctorow, and I found some resonances with the work of Denis Johnson (e.g. the wonderful Jesus's Son). However, Johnson seems to inhabit the lives of his characters, presenting them as flawed but with some ability to take decisions that affect their lives. Doctorow, by contrast, seems to set up his characters to fail, giving them insufficient power to face up to a hostile world. And, in the one story where the protagonist rises above her travails (Jolene: A Life), the transition from the lowest tiers of society to a paid artist's job living in a studio apartment near the farmers' market seems more of a yuppie dream than a plausible outcome.
I was tempted to assign a four-star rating to Sweet Land Stories but settled on a three. The collection is absorbing, offers an unusual perspective on America, and the plots are masterly in shifting the ground under the reader's feet, taking us where we had not expected. At the same time, I was not enamored with the inherent pessimism of Doctorow's vision. His characters are typically victims and the focus is less on their inner life than on the inherent cruelty of society. Having just read Tess of the d'Urbervilles, I found the same crushing impact of society on the weak and innocent. But Hardy lets us live through the minds and emotions of his characters, while Doctorow looks at them from a distance. The last story (Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden) is the weakest in the collection: it offers a jaded, dystopian view of the US political and business elite and is more like a creative political rant than literature. I will try one of Doctorow's highly-regarded full-length novels before definitively classifying him as not-to-my-taste.
January 15, 2020
This is a short book of five very tightly plotted stories by the iconic E. L. Doctorow. They all work to some degree, with some coming together more satisfyingly than others, as is often the way with short story collections.
In "A House on the Plains" a young man narrates the story of his life with his elegant mother, who is "the widow of several insured husbands." There is comedy here, but you have to look for it and it is pitch black. Next, in "Baby Wilson," a not-too-bright guy finds himself with a truly insane girlfriend and a stolen infant. The story that works best for me, "Jolene," is narrated by a young woman whose life and circumstances never really gave her a chance for anything better than what she's getting.
The last two stories bring things to quite a crescendo. In "The Community," we find a gentleman who has given up his outside life for one in a cult (but don't you dare call it that), which calls for the divestment of all of his funds and, eventually, most everything else that matters to him in the real world.
Finally, there is "Child, Dead in the Rose Garden," about a toddler that is found just where the title says after a White House gathering. This, I'm sure, was meant to be the masterpiece of the collectioin, but I found it less satisfying than some of the others. I understand that what we get out of these stories depends heavily on what experiences we bring to them, and perhaps I've encountered too much in the way of underhanded/shady dealings to find them entertaining; at least, I didn't find reading about them entertaining in this context.
Doctorow is always worth the effort, because he's Doctorow. These were a great look into his mind as a creator of short stories, and I wish he were still around to give us more of them.
In "A House on the Plains" a young man narrates the story of his life with his elegant mother, who is "the widow of several insured husbands." There is comedy here, but you have to look for it and it is pitch black. Next, in "Baby Wilson," a not-too-bright guy finds himself with a truly insane girlfriend and a stolen infant. The story that works best for me, "Jolene," is narrated by a young woman whose life and circumstances never really gave her a chance for anything better than what she's getting.
The last two stories bring things to quite a crescendo. In "The Community," we find a gentleman who has given up his outside life for one in a cult (but don't you dare call it that), which calls for the divestment of all of his funds and, eventually, most everything else that matters to him in the real world.
Finally, there is "Child, Dead in the Rose Garden," about a toddler that is found just where the title says after a White House gathering. This, I'm sure, was meant to be the masterpiece of the collectioin, but I found it less satisfying than some of the others. I understand that what we get out of these stories depends heavily on what experiences we bring to them, and perhaps I've encountered too much in the way of underhanded/shady dealings to find them entertaining; at least, I didn't find reading about them entertaining in this context.
Doctorow is always worth the effort, because he's Doctorow. These were a great look into his mind as a creator of short stories, and I wish he were still around to give us more of them.
November 11, 2019
This collection of short stories (well, some of them are not very short!) caught my eye because I've always been a fan of E. L. Doctorow. Now, I think I'm going to have to go back to my bookshelf and get down Billy Bathgate again to see if I still like it as well as I did the first time I read it. And this is because while this collection contains very fine writing, and two stories ("A House on the Plains" and "Walter John Harmon") that are masterful, the other stories felt like so much well-written filler material.
This sounds harsh, and I don't really mean it to be. Doctorow is of course a great writer. But since "A House on the Plains" is the first story I was very excited to read on. This first story is suspenseful, perfectly paced, and tonally nuanced. But the next two, "Baby Wilson" and "Jolene: A Life" fell flat, "Baby Wilson" because I just didn't believe the main character's actions were plausible and "Jolene" because I was distracted through the entire story by the fact that the story is completely unaware of the song by the same name. What reader old enough to be reading this book doesn't know Dolly Parton? "Jolene" also goes on far too long and ends up pretty much nowhere.
That said, "Walter John Harmon" is a pitch-perfect story about a cult, and I would recommend it, along with "A House on the Plains," to any reader of fiction. Doctorow still has it--I just wish he had used it through this entire collection. https://sarahkennedybooks.com
This sounds harsh, and I don't really mean it to be. Doctorow is of course a great writer. But since "A House on the Plains" is the first story I was very excited to read on. This first story is suspenseful, perfectly paced, and tonally nuanced. But the next two, "Baby Wilson" and "Jolene: A Life" fell flat, "Baby Wilson" because I just didn't believe the main character's actions were plausible and "Jolene" because I was distracted through the entire story by the fact that the story is completely unaware of the song by the same name. What reader old enough to be reading this book doesn't know Dolly Parton? "Jolene" also goes on far too long and ends up pretty much nowhere.
That said, "Walter John Harmon" is a pitch-perfect story about a cult, and I would recommend it, along with "A House on the Plains," to any reader of fiction. Doctorow still has it--I just wish he had used it through this entire collection. https://sarahkennedybooks.com
November 21, 2023
This collection contains five of Doctorow's stories that are sort of thematically linked - but can really be read in any order.
The five stories are:
A House on the Plains
Baby Wilson
Jolene: A Life
Walter John Harmon
Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden
The first two stories in this collection are knockouts. A House on the Plains, especially, in which a mother and son serial killer duo prey on unsuspecting victims while avoiding the law, is incredible. Baby Wilson, where a woman steals a baby, feels like a precursor to longer works like "Gone Baby Gone" and ends on a perfect, melancholic note after a ride full of surprising twists and turns.
After this, the collection takes a slight dip in quality. I don't know exactly what thought went into the order of the stories, but placing "Jolene: A Life" and "Walter John Harmon" next to one another feels like a mistake. They're so similar in style and tone that I found it impossible to appreciate WJH after Jolene.
The final story, Child, Dead, is very good - but doesn't quite reach the heights of the first two stories. Or, perhaps, reading a collection of Doctorow stories straight is just too much of a good thing. The collection ends on a strong note. It's just not the strongest note.
The five stories are:
A House on the Plains
Baby Wilson
Jolene: A Life
Walter John Harmon
Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden
The first two stories in this collection are knockouts. A House on the Plains, especially, in which a mother and son serial killer duo prey on unsuspecting victims while avoiding the law, is incredible. Baby Wilson, where a woman steals a baby, feels like a precursor to longer works like "Gone Baby Gone" and ends on a perfect, melancholic note after a ride full of surprising twists and turns.
After this, the collection takes a slight dip in quality. I don't know exactly what thought went into the order of the stories, but placing "Jolene: A Life" and "Walter John Harmon" next to one another feels like a mistake. They're so similar in style and tone that I found it impossible to appreciate WJH after Jolene.
The final story, Child, Dead, is very good - but doesn't quite reach the heights of the first two stories. Or, perhaps, reading a collection of Doctorow stories straight is just too much of a good thing. The collection ends on a strong note. It's just not the strongest note.
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