Doctorow is well-known for evocative portraits of bygone eras in America in books such as Ragtime and Billy Bathgate - feeding off popular and sometimes nostalgic attitudes without sentimentality. In World's Fair, he does a masterful job evoking the vanished New York of the 1930s as seen through the eyes of the child protagonist, Edgar. The childish world view in the narrative rings true, and the metaphor of the 1939 World's Fair hovers over the novel and provides its climax. It's a loving portrait of a city and an era by a masterful writer. Very enjoyable.
For a review of the novel from The Guardian, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/15/worlds-fair-el-doctorow
For a review of the novel from The Guardian, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/15/worlds-fair-el-doctorow
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