Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Doctorow, E. L. - Marvin J. LaHood (review date Winter 1987)

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Marvin J. LaHood (review date Winter 1987)

SOURCE: A review of World's Fair, in World Literature Today, Vol. 61, No. 1, Winter, 1987, p. 101.

[The following review provides a brief report of the contents and concerns of World's Fair.]

Novels that are truly evocative of childhood are rare. It takes a special kind of talent to remember what the world looks and feels like through the sensibilities of a child. When it is done well, the remembrance resonates through the reader's own being in a way that is both pleasant and painful. World's Fair is one of the finest novels of this kind published in recent memory. It is a nostalgic and beautifully modulated look at New York City in the thirties through the eyes of a boy growing up there. Centered in the Bronx, it tells with poignancy the story of a Jewish family of four and their extended family, which includes scores of interesting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Wirt Williams (review date 25 September 1960)
   2. Gwendolyn Brooks (review date 10 July 1966)
   3. Stanley Kauffman (review date 5 June 1971)
   4. Joseph Catinella (review date 17 July 1971)
   5. Patrick Parrinder (review date 4 April 1985)
   6. Richard D. Beards (review date Summer 1985)
   7. Marvin J. LaHood (review date Winter 1987)
   8. Michelle M. Tokarczyk (essay date Fall 1987)
   9. John G. Parks (essay date Winter 1991)
   10. Derek Wright (essay date 1993)
   11. Stephen Matterson (essay date Winter 1993)
   12. Stephen Cooper (essay date May 1993)
   13. Ann V. Miller (essay date Summer 1993)
   14. Stephen Fender (review date 27 May 1994)
   15. John Whitworth (review date 28 May 1994)
   16. Jonathan Franzen (review date 19 June 1994)
   17. Simon Schama (review date 19 June 1994)
   18. Mark Shechner (review date 10 July 1994)
   19. Andrew Delbanco (review date 18 July 1994)
   20. William Hutchings (review date Winter 1995)
   21. E. L. Doctorow with Michelle M. Tokarczyk (interview date Winter 1995)
   22. Michael Wutz (review date Spring 1995)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright

1. E. L. Doctorow