The 42nd Parallel
1986Fiction, war & militaryFiction, historical, generalUnited states, fictionFiction, generalFiction, historical
3.3
Open LibraryFirst lines
General Miles with his gaudy uniform and spirited charger was the center for all eyes especially as his steed was extremely restless.
About this book
This is the first novel of Dos Passos's trilogy, U.S.A., which covers the years between 1900 to 1914. "The individual episodes and the characterization, the setting and the commentaries, are in themselves less important than the effectiveness of the entire book and the trilogy. Dos Passos employs with skill the modernist techniques that were coming into fashion during the first decades of the century. There is no definite plot; the book flows in a stream of time and is designed to portray the United States rather than to narrate the lives of the various - almost innumerable - individuals who figure in it. The method of narration was a bold innovation. Dos Passos uses systematically the 'News-Reel,' describing the social background; 'Biographies,' profiles of prominent personalities; 'Novels,' which deal with the more ordinary characters of the time; 'the Camera Eye,' by means of which the author himself can supply an impressionistic personal commentary on what is happening. The result is sometimes confusing more often a powerful presentation of a vast panorama of human nature and of history."
Themes & subjects
Fiction, war & militaryFiction, historical, generalUnited states, fictionFiction, generalFiction, historicalFiction
First published 1986Characters & people
Setting
United States1865-1921
About the author
John Dos Passos
1896 – 1970
John Roderigo Dos Passos (January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his *U.S.A.* trilogy. In 1920, his first novel, *One Man's Initiation: 1917,* was published, and in 1925, his novel *Manhattan Transfer* became a commercial success. His *U.S.A.* trilogy, which consists of the novels *The 42nd Parallel* (1930), *1919* (1932), and *The Big Money* (1936), was ranked by the Modern Library in 1998 as 23rd of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Written in experimental, non-linear form, the trilogy blends elements of biography and news reports to paint a landscape of early 20th-century American culture.
Reviews
No reviews yet — be the first to write one from the Log screen.
Quotes
No quotes yet.
