Customer Reviews

City of God

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Do yourself a favor and commit to reading this book twice. The first time you read it do not bother yourself too much with following the plot, figuring out who is writing what, trying to make sense of the seemingly random progression of ideas. Instead, just enjoy the writing. Doctorow's breakdown of the Big Bang; his flights of fancy about birds; his jarring account of war as told through free verse poetry; his philosophical forays into belief and spirituality; his devastating narrative about the Holocaust, proving that there will never be enough written about this historical horror. Enjoy a man at the top of his game and savor every word and phrase.

Then reread the book. Now enjoy the plot, the mystery, the random intrusions that now you realize are not so random. A cross is stolen from a church only to reappear on the roof of a synagogue. A young Jewish boy survives living in a Polish ghetto during World War II. A struggling author brainstorms a dozen ideas for his new book. These and other threads weave in and out of each other, creating a literary tapestry that comments on religion and belief and, when all is said and done, life.

"City of God" is a five star masterpiece and the crowning achievement of an accomplished author.