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Jenny's Reviews > U.S.A.
U.S.A.
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by
Jenny's review
bookshelves: own-it, 100-best-of-20th-century, guardian-1000-state-of-the-nation
Apr 20, 2020
bookshelves: own-it, 100-best-of-20th-century, guardian-1000-state-of-the-nation
I wavered between 2 and 3 stars for this one. *edit* Initially I decided upon 2 stars but after rethinking I’m adding another. I’ve always known what I liked about the trilogy so I’m not revising my “on the plus side.� It’s been harder for me to grasp what I disliked so I’m altering that final paragraph.
On the plus side- Dos Passos uses some pretty innovative writing techniques. I especially liked the Newsreel segments of the novels which gave fragments of headlines, newspaper stories, and popular songs from the 19 teens and 20s. These really gave a flavor of the National mindset during this time.
However, on the negative side is a crushing cynicism about the American dream and efforts to improve life for the have nots. 1500 pages of cynicism over the course of the trilogy is a LOT of cynicism. *edit* The narrative sections of the novels follow characters who live in the moment, show a slice of American society, leave a taste of extravagance and wastefulness. Rather than feeling the massive sweep that other readers seem to feel, I came to feel that we were offered the same moment, same slice, same drunken wastefulness repetitively. I never felt the successive books of the trilogy were building upon each other or building toward a deeper understanding. Possibly, I’m just not able to enjoy a story where I can’t conceive a trajectory. Mary French was the only character who felt different, felt more relatable, and it is in one of her narratives, late in the third book that I found one quote which hinted at the tissue holding all this together.
It’ll all end in blindness and sudden death. But who cares? Who in hell cares....? Who on the bloody louseinfested globe gives one small microscopic vestigial hoot?
On the plus side- Dos Passos uses some pretty innovative writing techniques. I especially liked the Newsreel segments of the novels which gave fragments of headlines, newspaper stories, and popular songs from the 19 teens and 20s. These really gave a flavor of the National mindset during this time.
However, on the negative side is a crushing cynicism about the American dream and efforts to improve life for the have nots. 1500 pages of cynicism over the course of the trilogy is a LOT of cynicism. *edit* The narrative sections of the novels follow characters who live in the moment, show a slice of American society, leave a taste of extravagance and wastefulness. Rather than feeling the massive sweep that other readers seem to feel, I came to feel that we were offered the same moment, same slice, same drunken wastefulness repetitively. I never felt the successive books of the trilogy were building upon each other or building toward a deeper understanding. Possibly, I’m just not able to enjoy a story where I can’t conceive a trajectory. Mary French was the only character who felt different, felt more relatable, and it is in one of her narratives, late in the third book that I found one quote which hinted at the tissue holding all this together.
It’ll all end in blindness and sudden death. But who cares? Who in hell cares....? Who on the bloody louseinfested globe gives one small microscopic vestigial hoot?
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Reading Progress
November 16, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 16, 2018
– Shelved
November 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
own-it
March 14, 2019
– Shelved as:
100-best-of-20th-century
November 13, 2019
– Shelved as:
guardian-1000-state-of-the-nation
January 3, 2020
–
Started Reading
April 20, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
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Dos Passos is more than justified in much of his cynicism over business interests overriding the interests of workers and society as a whole. Until reading this book I’d never heard of the economic theories of Thorstein Veblen, arguing that engineers should run businesses in a technocracy focused on innovation instead of profit. I spent much of the trilogy, though, wondering why someone who seemed to support a socialist viewpoint voiced such disgust not only for American society but for the very groups who were fighting to improve conditions. It wasn’t until well into the third book that I finally began thinking about a passionate, idealistic revolutionary who experiences defeat after defeat, not only caused by big business and gov’t pressure but by various weaknesses from within. The crushing of that idealism would breed an abiding cynicism in human nature and hopelessness in the future.
If I’d seen that earlier it might have been easier to keep going. As it was, the characters seemed to all lead the same repetitive, pointless, drunken lives. The initial idealism didn’t come through. Just the disgust and utter wastefulness.
So I guess I’d say that I get that the cynicism is entirely justified but is there anything else Dos Passos was trying to express? 1500 pages of despair for the sake of despair is difficult to trudge through. Should I be seeing more? I never felt like the successive books were building up to anything or that a broader understanding was being gained by continuing.
How did you feel about the books?
I would have to go back as I remember a few heroes and a few victories. But absent those flashes of light, which may only be tricks of memoryDos Passos was arguing for something better. The idea was we can do great things or we can beat ourselves down..
Being determined to emphasis we are not where we promised ourselves to be means you have to be hard.
I do not remember it being all one way , I do remember being challenged that there was a lot to over come if we were to be what we promised to be.
"disgust not only for American society but for the very groups who were fighting to improve conditions"
. disgust may be justified, I simple do not remember it being applied that hard on everybody.
For example Joe Hill, a man he clearly liked.
I think there were others who didnot disgust him.
Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset at the moment and needed something more positive and lightweight! I was reading with a group who happened to be all female. Of course there were a variety of ratings and opinions but it didn’t seem like anyone was completely taken with it. At the risk of blaming my opinion on being female- Is it possible that Dos Passos, like Hemingway, is a more “masculine� author and has fewer female proponents? Hope I don’t get in trouble for that last comment but it seems like a valid possibility. There’d be no reason for you to necessarily have any answer however.
Thanks for your feedback and taking the time to chat about it!
Given the times and blah blah blah I suspect his was a very masculine POV. Likely he would have denied, resented or jus gone blank face. But this reads like a great topic for a grad paper.It may be that this is so much of its time it is hard to place yourself in it.
At the time I read it, ok both times the sweep and creativity blew me away, Such a huge canvass.
Absent a major background in history It is more than believable that any reader M or F might even resent it.
It is easy to see people doing a DNF just because it has any politics NM auch lefty politics.
It is definitely a book very much of its own time. I had to do quite a bit of googling to figure out the references for many of the Newsreel bits but I found that enjoyable. For some reason they drew me into the period more than the narratives. I’m also not a fan of politics in general, unusual for someone interested in history. For the very reason, so well portrayed here, that propaganda, lobbying and double speak too often win out over ideals and true usefulness for the people represented.
I may continue to mull it over and round up to a 3 after all. Discussion usually helps me sharpen my opinion.
Does it matter that he was writing of an America going into a depression. None of the liberation movements of the last 40 odd years insight. The Union battles were still going down. Women as professionals not a regular thing, and so forth?
I am not sure things as basic as the weekend, 40 hour work week or paid retirement were established.