Status Updates From The 42nd Parallel

Mac an uncouth and unprincipled bum. A hard protagonist to warm up to and cheer along. Bill the labor rabble rouser with a sad end another impossible protagonist. The Newsreels and Camera Eye interruptions are increasingly irksome and irrelevant (often Dos Passos' excuse to indulge in doggerel verse). Too early in the three-book saga to contemplate quitting. Committed to completing this opening salvo.

Off to a great start. I wished Dos Passos put a year on the beginning. 1900? There's a ten-year time skip after they arrive in Chicago. The Newsreel interludes are kinda random, but I'm confident at some point they will tie into main narrative. Eager to get back into it!

I was about to give up on this boat, but just read a bunch of great reviews and decided to give in another chance. So far finding it boring and a bit confusing with the “camera lens” and “news reels”. I haven’t found any of the characters particularly likeable. Why so many good reviews? We will see if it gets any better.