...
Show More
ohn Dos Passos used to be a highly esteemed, well known American novelist in his day, but is largely forgotten now. An early pioneer of modernist techniques, Dos Passos was compared to such masters as Joyce for his use of multiple narratives involving complex webs of keenly observed characters along with excerpts from newsreels and other contemporary sources to give a kaleidoscopic, hopefully comprehensive picture of life in American society post WWI. His most famous work is the USA Trilogy.
The three works in this compilation precede the trilogy and are plainly early efforts where Dos Passos was attempting to find his voice. Of the three, I read Manhattan Transfer all the way through and found it the most satisfying. Dos Passos drew heavily on detail from his own personal life and builds up a series of interesting character studies ranging from a French gangster with a heart of gold to a Wall Street lawyer who always ends up serving himself despite periodic protestations of idealism. The protagonist is obviously a thinly veiled portrait of Dos Passos. He gets locked in a doomed romance with a young actress who's an appealing character until she decides to marry for money and security, dumping the protagonist.
Three Soldiers is based on Dos Passos's WWI experience and is even more heavily autobiographical than Transfer. I found the first part of the novel quite interesting. Dos Passos did a good job conveying the miserable dullness and degradation of life as enlisted scum in the US Army. The novel goes on for far too long, however, with an interminable focus on the protagonist's romance with a young French woman he meets after the Armistice is declared. Like a lot of beginning writers, Dos Passos puts in way too much material in this work. A severe overhaul by an editor like Maxwell Perkins would definitely have helped. I quit reading Three Soldiers about two thirds of the way through.
People interested in reading Dos Passos should probably try the USA Trilogy first before these works although Manhattan Transfer is a decent, stand alone read.
The three works in this compilation precede the trilogy and are plainly early efforts where Dos Passos was attempting to find his voice. Of the three, I read Manhattan Transfer all the way through and found it the most satisfying. Dos Passos drew heavily on detail from his own personal life and builds up a series of interesting character studies ranging from a French gangster with a heart of gold to a Wall Street lawyer who always ends up serving himself despite periodic protestations of idealism. The protagonist is obviously a thinly veiled portrait of Dos Passos. He gets locked in a doomed romance with a young actress who's an appealing character until she decides to marry for money and security, dumping the protagonist.
Three Soldiers is based on Dos Passos's WWI experience and is even more heavily autobiographical than Transfer. I found the first part of the novel quite interesting. Dos Passos did a good job conveying the miserable dullness and degradation of life as enlisted scum in the US Army. The novel goes on for far too long, however, with an interminable focus on the protagonist's romance with a young French woman he meets after the Armistice is declared. Like a lot of beginning writers, Dos Passos puts in way too much material in this work. A severe overhaul by an editor like Maxwell Perkins would definitely have helped. I quit reading Three Soldiers about two thirds of the way through.
People interested in reading Dos Passos should probably try the USA Trilogy first before these works although Manhattan Transfer is a decent, stand alone read.
