396. U.S.A.

U.S.A.
John Dos Passos
1938
Around 1300 pages

 

You are not going to hear me composing an ode about my country as of late, but I knew a book called U.S.A. wouldn't be patriotic. We Americans just love writing about the death of our stupid dreams. My home city Pittsburgh got a shout out, as being a particularly miserable place to live. Represent!

This one is a doozy, as it is actually a series composed of three novels. The main narrative is interspersed with newspaper clippings, autobiographical streams of consciousness, and song lyrics. It's...a lot. Although it is interesting to see how much cinema is starting to influence literature. I've been in the 1800s for roughly ten years, so this is a big deal to me.

As for the main story, I wasn't too intrigued by the characters who were struggling to survive in a ruthlessly capitalist society. Still, Dos Passos is critical of the Communist Party as well, so it comes across as less preachy than some of the other propaganda we've seen here. 

The concept of making a novel into a collage seems like the sort of thing they would make you do in an undergrad writing class. This one drags.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Neil Peart of Rush was inspired by U.S.A. to write the lyrics for the song "The Camera Eye."

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