Customer Reviews
a sublime Jazz era novel - By: Widnes Bob, 19 Jan 2007 
One of the finest American authors I have read; as suggested, this novel uses a 'cut & paste' technique, where you don't follow every step of the major character. The novel follows the interwoven lives of several characters going through the 1920's New York scene. Dos Passos gets you inside the head of the main character, but moves you forward, occasionally leaving the action behind.
A superb novel to read, & then re-read.
Worth persevering with... - By: r.g.stares@swansea.ac.uk, 28 Feb 2002 
Don Passos uses techniques borrowed from the cinema to examine the lives of many different people livingin New York. His aim is clear - this novel is intended to provide a portrait of 1920's New York society as a whole rather than portray the life of individuals. This he does well, but maybe I wasn't paying enough attention when I started to read this book - I quickly became confused with the characters - how they related to each other, & their own stories within the novel.
As a big fan of Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe), & a Human Geographer, I am keen to read anything relating to New York society. But I found this 'hard-going.' I am glad I persevered, as things did become clearer towards the end. Perhaps next time I'll read it more carefully from the beginning!
