City of God by E.L. DoctorowMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
When E.L. Doctorow passed away recently, I heard much about him and his books, and thought I should I give one of them a try. Initially, I wanted Ragtime, but they had this book available at the Library, so City of God it was.
The plot, which is very secondary to the purpose of the book, involves the theft of a cross from an Episcopal Church in New York that later appears on top of the roof a synagogue elsewhere in the City. The book, which contains seemingly random digressions into cosmology and metaphysics, religion and ethics, it at times both intriguing and confusing, thought-provoking and frustrating. The primary frustration is how many large sections of the book are only tenuously related to the main plot; and that those sections it can be difficult to identify the narrator or the source material.
Perhaps, in the sense that this book explores faith, religion, and meaning in the modern world (I think), the meandering, somewhat purposeless journey the book takes from beginning to end is metaphor for the dilemma of modern spirituality. But if so, for me, it too continually derails any pace and direction of the book; too often, it feels like I was reading a collection of thoughts and stories, but not necessarily one story. (Again, possible metaphor - and a clever one at that - but just too abstract for me when reading it).
Putting those qualms aside for the moment, the book contains moments that can make it worthwhile. There is a story being related throughout about a holocaust survivor that is riveting and powerful. There are other stories that speak to the complexity and beauty of life, and particularly of humanity. The book does, in its haphazard way, presents the pain and confusion that can be present in finding meaning in an ever evolving world of decreasing mystery and faith. Ultimately, whether those moments make the book worthwhile is a subjective choice; for me, the presentation too often got in the way.
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