The book discussion group on Ragtime

Currently reading:
The 47th Samurai
by Stephen Hunter
Genre: Thriller
Reason: Judged by its cover.
Waiting: Pale Horse Coming
by Stephen Hunter

My discussion group met this morning to discuss Ragtime which I enjoyed. It got mixed reviews. Some found it disjointed and hard to follow, the sex put some off, and others couldn't say exactly why they didn't like it, they just didn't.

It is an unusual book in that Doctorow makes no use of quotation marks throughout the book. Dialog is made clear contextually, and for me it worked. I am a forgiving reader, if the story grabs my interest I seem to get inside the story and enter without my critical reader tools. As long as the author does not ask me to suspend belief for an impossibly implausible turn of events I am willing to work with him or her to get to the end of the story.

Next, we are reading St. Agnes' Stand by Tom Eidson which the publisher daringly compared to Larry McMurtry and which looks from its cover like it might have shades of Two Mules for Sister Sara (Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood) in it. Following St. Agnes' Stand we will be reading In Cold Blood then Kite Runner.

As we wrapped up the gathering, I distributed a list titled: The 112 Best of the American Novelists, Novels. We used the list to discuss possible titles for the next series of books we will discuss.

What I liked about the list was that it wasn't compiled by scholars or literary critics who usually head their list with Ulysses by James Joyce which everyone agrees they haven't read. At the time I Googled for the list I did not pay much attention to the source of the list, I was more interested in what was on the list as far as being fair and representative and not especially leaning towards the scholarly. I will stand by the list for breadth and inclusiveness and hope I don't take too bad a licking when you see where it did come from.