Book 16: Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

This is a weird book: how's that for a comment of insight and profundity?

The story revolves around a family in New Rochelle, New York at the turn of the twentieth century. Yet the family members remain unnamed: they are called Father, Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, Grandfather, and the Little Boy or the Boy. I was reminded of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca in which narrator, the second Mrs. DeWinter, is unnamed, representing how she is overshadowed by her husband's first wife Rebecca. I suppose Doctorow's unnamed characters are overshadowed by the changes at the turn of the century and the famous people they encounter including Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbit, and Admiral Robert Peary.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, although I thought Younger Brother's adventures with Francisco Villa and Emilio Zapata seemed a bit much to  me. 

Edited to add 6/23/22: The New York Times listed Ragtime as number 18 of "The 25 Most Significant New York City Novels of the Past 100 Years."