My final read for the #1930Club is perhaps a bit of a contrast to the others, but tends to reflects some of the trends in literature at the time. Author John Dos Passos is remembered as a modernist writer, and with the first part of his ‘USA’ trilogy, “42nd Parallel”, which was first published in 1930, he was certainly experimenting with style.
I’ve had this book for a looooong time, and why I’ve never read it before is unclear to me… It’s certainly a Big Book (the three works collected together here run to over 1000 pages) but the first part is 340 pages which you would think is manageable. I started it early for our club week, but have only just managed to finish in time – for reasons I’ll talk about later!
“42nd” is set in America in the early part of the 20th century and the structure is a little unusual. Parts of the narrative follow the life stories of the main characters, but these are interspersed with sections called “Newsreel” and “Camera Eye”. The main narrative is relatively straightforward; the other sections fragmented and impressionistic, building up a composite picture of the developing modern world of America at the time. “Newsreel” has fragments from newspapers and song lyrics, capturing specific historical events and grounds the narrative in a time period; “Camera Eye” is particularly stream of consciousness, capturing the thinking of contemporary characters; and interspersed with these varied narratives are potted biographies of notable and relevant people of the age.
The four main characters are themselves a varied and interesting bunch; initially we encounter ‘Mac’ McCreary, firstly as a young boy known as Fainy (from Fenian – his Irish heritage and his left-wing family have led to him being named after the Irish Republican movement) and thereafter as he grows up, makes his way in the world and becomes heavily involved in a variety of working class revolutionary movements. Then there is J. Ward Moorhouse, who again comes from a poor background but takes a different trajectory through life, following his ambitions to become rich and successful. Janey Williams is a young stenographer whose aspirations are independence and to earn her own living – a relatively new ambition for women of the time. And finally, Eleanor Stoddard is a social climber; a cold woman, again from a poor background, she’s determined to make her way into society.
He hated the newspaper office and the inclines and the overcast skies and the breakneck wooden stairs he was always scrambling up and down, and the smell of poverty and cabbage and children and washing in the rattletrap tenements where he was always seeking out Mrs Piretti whose husband had been killed in a rumpus in a saloon on Locust Street or Sam Burkovich who’d been elected president of the Ukrainian singing society, or some woman with sudsy hands whose child had been slashed by a degenerate.
In the sections bearing each character’s name, we watch their lives unfolding; the affairs, the marriages, the ups and down of business and finance, the struggle to make ends meet and the relentless mobility. The men, in particular, move from city to city; and in some cases, other countries. Mac, most notably, spends time in Mexico where he witnesses part of Zapata’s revolution; and other characters travel to Europe as well as all over the United States. They inhabit a world which is changing, where the certainties and stabilities of America’s 19th century are falling away. Each has their own aspirations and their own views of where the country should go, but the impact of the First World War begins to encroach. Towards the end of the book America enters that War and a new character makes his entrance, in the form of Charley Anderson. Charley is another character who starts out with nothing, from a poor and restricedly religious home. Although only the first part of his journey appears in “42nd”, with him enlisting to go and fight, I can see he’ll reappear in later sections of the book.
The only man that gets anything out of capitalism is a crook, an’ he gets to be a millionaire in short order…
“42nd Parallel” turned out to be an absolutely fascinating book; and for all its modernist tropes, very readable! There can be something intimidating about approaching a large work with a reputation, but once I got embedded in the story, I couldn’t put it down. When I approached reading Dos Passos I anticipated something stylistically interesting and perhaps challenging; what I hadn’t expected was such a refreshingly socialist novel! The author certainly nails his colours to the mast and you might regard the book as the novel as social history. The story demonstrates what Dos Passos sees as the pernicious effect of the American Dream; the quest for modernity, possessions and money corrupts some characters and grinds others down.There is a stark contrast between Mac’s viewpoint and that of his wife and her family with their aspirational American dream, which is built on the bones and the work of others. Even the responses to the coming of war vary, from those who see it as a money-making opportunity to those who want to fight for their country. It’s a fascinating reflection of different types of humanity, and that divide between moral viewpoints seems very modern…
The structure of the book itself is fascinating; the individual stories exist in isolation for a good part of the book until they begin to intersect, and it’s fascinating to see one particular character from another character’s viewpoint as the different strands begin to dovetail beautifully. Although some sections are grounded in fact, the separation seems a little nebulous in places, and in fact one biography has a section which is directly attributed elsewhere. The Newsreel and Camera Eye segments act as anchors and signposts, giving the narrative context and background; and the composite structure of the book weaves a rich tapestry, building up a vivid picture of the America of the time.
Initially, I was a little uncertain as to the attitudes displayed towards the female characters, particularly the harshness in the “Mac” sequences which make up the early parts of the book. However, as the narrative developed and Dos Passos introduced female stories, I found his writing of the women reflected the difficulties they faced, the struggle to make a living and the complex negotiations with the demands of the men around them. His women are not ciphers, each an individual coping with different situations in their own way, and I’m going to be interested to see how they move through the rest of the sequence of books.
Because, of course, this is only the first book in a set of three; the whole promises to be an immensely impressive undertaking and I finished “42nd Parallel” very keen to see how events play out over later volumes! This was perhaps an ambitious read for me to launch into during a busy time at work and with a deadline of the end of the #1930Club week looming; particularly as the type is quite small and the pages quite dense, so there’s a *lot* in the book’s 340 pages. Nevertheless, I’m really glad I *finally* picked up my first Dos Passos as it was an absorbing and rewarding read, and a fitting end to a wonderful week of reading books from a really rich year in publishing! 😀
MarinaSofia
Oct 20, 2019 @ 08:25:45
You managed to get so much 1930 reading done, I really don’t know how you did it! I read this a long time ago – you won’t be surprised to hear that it was popular in Romania under socialism.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 20, 2019 @ 08:37:45
LOL. The secret is to start early… I read some of the works in advance but the JDC and this one *were* during the week, so it was quite close to the line. And yes – I can imagine how popular this book would have been under certain regimes… 🤣😱
Jonathan
Oct 20, 2019 @ 10:33:37
I have never got round to reading anything by Passos. U.S.A. and Manhattan Transfer were books I had always intended to read but had almost forgotten about in recent years. When I read Berlin Alexanderplatz earlier this year I did think that this was probably what Passos’s books were like. Have you read BA? If so, are they similar?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 20, 2019 @ 10:57:34
I’ve certainly had both these books knocking around for decades, so I’m glad I eventually took the plunge! I don’t reckon I’d have thought of them if it wasn’t for the Clb. I haven’t read BA, though I have been kind of considering it for German lit month in November. Depends on time really… I seemed to think it focused on one character, so may be a little different to USA.
madamebibilophile
Oct 20, 2019 @ 12:17:50
This sounds a complex read but a very rewarding one. 1000 pages is so intimidating! I can see if I had this on my shelf it would just sit there, fading away under my good intentions 😀 But you’ve definitely made it sound more approachable!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 20, 2019 @ 12:55:23
It has its complexities but it was less scary than I thought! I doubt I would have picked it up at the moment if we hadn’t been having the 1930 club, but I’m very glad I did. And the fact I could stick a post it note in to give me an idea of where the endpoint is helps…. ;D
Simon T
Oct 20, 2019 @ 13:43:25
He’s one of those names I’ve always been scared of, but glad to hear it’s readable. And I was a bit stunned when I saw the size of the book, so I’m glad it was only part of it!
#1930Club: kicking off! – Stuck in a Book
Oct 20, 2019 @ 13:44:30
Liz Dexter
Oct 20, 2019 @ 18:32:27
You’ve got so much done for 1930, both of you – I’m very impressed. I feel like I have read a Dos Passos and this serves to remind me I need to get on with indexing my pre-2007 (blog started) reading journals so I know more of what I’ve read and when!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 21, 2019 @ 08:56:06
It’s been a great reading week and such a wonderful selection of books! I’d be interested to know which Dos Passos you’ve read – and I do wish I’d kept better reading records in the past!
Liz Dexter
Oct 29, 2019 @ 09:56:01
I have decided to work on my reading journal spreadsheet and I find I read “The Big Money” in January 2000. “An odd, poetic and asymmetric novel about 1920s America, with the tales of the main protagonists mixed with newspaper headlines and descriptive people. And the ‘hero’ dies part way through. odd, but interesting and impressive.” Can’t remember a thing about it, though! Now was it you read a Nathaneal West, too?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 29, 2019 @ 09:58:42
Ooooh, interesting. I do wish I’d kept better records of what I’ve read. And no, I’m pretty sure I’ve never read West though he’s vaguely on my radar!
heavenali
Oct 20, 2019 @ 23:16:48
This sounds like a quite complex and involving novel. I think I would be put off by the size of the entire thing, so reading the first volume was a good way into it I imagine. You really did read a lot for the 1930 club. Well done.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 21, 2019 @ 08:54:20
It’s complex, yes, but very satisfying and a wonderful look at a particular timein history. the size *was* vaguely intimidating, but I tend to find if I mark off the books in omnibus collections with post-its, it’s a little less scary… And I’m pleased with what I achieved this week! 😀
Tredynas Days
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:00:31
I too have had this on my shelf for a long time. I’ve started it a few times, and dipped into it subsequently, but never got fully engaged. Maybe I need to try again. My current read is an even bigger novel, also fragmented and non-linear: Anniversaries by U Johnson. There are some similarities in theme and structure with USA and Berlin A.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:12:19
If I’m honest I didn’t engage straight away either – it took me a little while to get completely immersed and I might not have persevered if I hadn’t been reading this for our Club. But I’m glad I did, and it will be interesting to see where the characters go. And thanks for the BA info – it’s just a case of deciding if I want to dive back into something so huge just at the moment… 😱
whatmeread
Oct 21, 2019 @ 22:35:10
I tried to find this one at our library with no luck. Thanks for your review!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 22, 2019 @ 11:26:44
Shame! It really is a fascinating and very involving book!
buriedinprint
Oct 23, 2019 @ 21:07:13
OH! I didn’t know you were trying this one as well. It is fascinating, isn’t it? The structure, the overall intent. (At least, what I’m guessing at – I’ve not read any of the supporting material in the volume I have – a borrowed Everyman’s Edition.) How nice to know that it becomes more compelling. I was approaching it more like a poetry collection, but now I will simply watch for opportunities to mini-binge with it instead. (Obviously, I’ve completely missed the week, which isn’t surprising, I suppose, as my library request just came in the previous Saturday, but I will continue to read all the same. Like you, this has been on my TBR for ages – almost 20 years – so thanks for the encouragement to look harder at 1930’s pub’s.)
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 24, 2019 @ 09:01:25
It is really fascinating – such an intriguing structure, and I love the fact that his viewpoint is not a traditional one. I think it definitely benefits from being split into the three original novels – if I’d tried to read the whole thing I think it would have killed me! And glad you’re going to read on anyway – it really is worth it! 😀
1streading
Oct 25, 2019 @ 19:55:20
Well done for tackling this – it’s interesting how books which feel intimidating can turn out to be more readable than we expected. I’ve never read Dos Passos but you have made me much more keen to do so!
kaggsysbookishramblings
Oct 25, 2019 @ 20:01:10
I was pleasantly surprised, I must admit. I wasn’t quite sure what I was embarking on, but it ended up being exceptionally good. On the basis of one book so far, I can recommend him! 😀
Devious dealings and double lives! #georgebellairs @BL_publishing @medwardsbooks | Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings
Nov 08, 2019 @ 06:14:52