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Mark Harris' Criticism Of Doctorow's Book - Paper

Mark Harris' Criticism Of Doctorow's Book



In his criticism, Mark Harris describes a regret; a sorrow, almost,
for this once-great author who has written a book he feels is almost
pitiful in it's lack of clarity and style. He says the book “is a failed
work of a serious man.” In his view, Doctorow, once an excellent author,
has evidently tried to expand his style by almost imitating authors of the
past such as Pynchon and Burroughs, but has succeeded only in clouding his
paper, and confusing the reader with sentances that flow on without style
or punctuation, and scenes which serve only to feed the reader with facts
instead of providing drama for the entire book. He accuses doctorow of
hanging on to the past and retelling the ...

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as if he is trying desperately, (and badly) to search for his own
style, a way to test his own limits as an author. While the language and
flow of the book is hard to grasp in the beginning, it soon becomes
somewhat more clear to the reader and seems to move the pace of the book
along faster than it did before. But although the book seems to move much
faster, it still is not clear enough to read well. One never knows if the
poet Warren Penfield is in the scene, or if it is Joe again, fleeing his
parents in a long walk through the country. The facts shown in the book,
the details in every scene, show no actual drama or emotion, but seem more
like a documentary: “E.L. Doctorow and his quest to the train-car in the
woods!,” a show no Discovery Channel executive would ever want to air. He
spends at least 2 pages describing this train car full of great luxury and
wealth, just because Joe saw it passing the night before, and wanted to get
a glimpse inside. In a large example of ...

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Mark Harris' Criticism Of Doctorow's Book. (2008, May 18). Retrieved March 29, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mark-Harris-Criticism-Of-Doctorows-Book/83862
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"Mark Harris' Criticism Of Doctorow's Book." Essayworld.com. May 18, 2008. Accessed March 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mark-Harris-Criticism-Of-Doctorows-Book/83862.
"Mark Harris' Criticism Of Doctorow's Book." Essayworld.com. May 18, 2008. Accessed March 29, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Mark-Harris-Criticism-Of-Doctorows-Book/83862.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 5/18/2008 08:40:32 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 740
Pages: 3

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