Good Reads / Community Library Notes
The Book of Daniel
E.L. Doctorow
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Book of Daniel
E.L. Doctorow
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Book of Daniel, by E.L. Doctorow, is the story of Daniel and his sister, Susan. His life is one of many confrontations. Susan is in an insane asylum and Daniel tries to have her released. Daniel’s father, Robert Lewin, is a professor of law at Boston College. He suggests they find the senior doctor in charge, but it is Memorial Day. Author Doctorow flashes back to when the lawyer, Archer, drags the two children through the crowds on the sidewalk. Daniel is about ten and Susan about eight-years-old. Daniel watches out for her, wipes her nose, and gets something out of her eye. He cares about his sister. The crowd yells, “Here are the children.”
Author Doctorow describes the chanting of the crowd, the feelings of the children, as they see the posters of their parents, and the placards going up and down with the chants. The crowd chants, “Free them.” Doctorow interrupts his story with the explanation of the historical phenomenon of after-war hysteria. Enemies must continue to be found. In 1919, strikers from AF of L struck for better wages. Eighteen strikers were killed and the military called in. And new immigration laws were enacted. The Lewin family went to Jones Beach with their friends, the Isaacsons, and found a vacant spot on the sand.
Daniel’s father dwelled on the injustices of the world and taught them to Daniel. He told Daniel about the use of Chinese labor to build the railroads, and Negro labor in the south worked to death of. He took Daniel with him to sell subscriptions to “The Worker.” The narrator’s father is Paul Issacson, Daniel's uncle, who has a radio repair shop. The narrator loves to go to the radio shop and hang out there. Paul hated that American democracy wasn’t democratic. Now we learn that the couple in the posters got away to New Zealand or Australia. The narrator’s parents stood in for them, and went to their deaths for them.
Doctorow takes the reader to a Sunday in September when people are going to a Paul Robeson concert in the park. Daniel is excited to go. The governor has called out the State troopers to guard everyone. The concert is a happy experience. But on the bus ride home, a mob appears, throws rocks, and yells epithets at the concert-goers. Danny’s father went to the door to tell the cop to stop the mayhem. He was beaten, and his arm crushed in the bus door.
When Daniel and Susan grow up, they are sent to live with Lise and Bob Lewin. Their lives change; they each have their own room, clothes that fit, a new name, a new house. They never speak about the past. The author says maybe they should have. Doctorow tells of Daniel’s grandmother. She went mad and often ran away from their home. Crowds came to the house when she died. Danny went down to the cellar to see Williams, the super. He said grandma wasn’t insane. When she ran away, she went to see Williams and brought him tea in a glass. Danny’s mother said their friends were interesting, they had ideas and discussed things. One day, they went for a walk to the radio shop, and there was a crowd in front. A new television set is displayed in the window. Father tells them that Mindish, their dentist, has been arrested. Father says not to worry, they have not done anything wrong. When the FBI men come to their house the next day, father has spoken to Ascher, an attorney. Dozens of men and policemen arrive. They arrest Issacson and search everywhere. Danny kicks and yells at the men as his father is dragged away. His sister, Susan, is hysterical and sobbing. Ascher is honest and works hard for his clients. But this was a hard time; people were arrested, fired from their jobs, and blacklisted. It was the time of the “Red Menace.” Mindish has implicated them, but they (mother and father) claim they are innocent.
When both parents are in jail, the lawyer Ascher asks their aunt Freida to care for them. They have no one, no money, no home. Danny watched on his aunt’s television when General MacArthur came home from Japan and crowds cheered him. They lasted five weeks at their aunt’s house. In the newspapers, Danny’s father was called a master spy, a ring leader. They are taken to a shelter, but after a few days, they run away. They are caught at the open-air market near their home, where they are smelling the fresh oranges.
At the trial, the Issacsons are convicted. Ascher knew they would be. He couldn’t help them. Years later, Danny flies to California to see Mindish. What does he find out? Why did Mindish testify against his parents? Was it because he was afraid he’d be deported? What happens to Susan? How does she survive all the traumatic experiences? Doctorow has won many awards, including the Library of Congress prize for American fiction. Find this novel, located with others of Doctorow in your Mendocino Community Library.
Author Doctorow describes the chanting of the crowd, the feelings of the children, as they see the posters of their parents, and the placards going up and down with the chants. The crowd chants, “Free them.” Doctorow interrupts his story with the explanation of the historical phenomenon of after-war hysteria. Enemies must continue to be found. In 1919, strikers from AF of L struck for better wages. Eighteen strikers were killed and the military called in. And new immigration laws were enacted. The Lewin family went to Jones Beach with their friends, the Isaacsons, and found a vacant spot on the sand.
Daniel’s father dwelled on the injustices of the world and taught them to Daniel. He told Daniel about the use of Chinese labor to build the railroads, and Negro labor in the south worked to death of. He took Daniel with him to sell subscriptions to “The Worker.” The narrator’s father is Paul Issacson, Daniel's uncle, who has a radio repair shop. The narrator loves to go to the radio shop and hang out there. Paul hated that American democracy wasn’t democratic. Now we learn that the couple in the posters got away to New Zealand or Australia. The narrator’s parents stood in for them, and went to their deaths for them.
Doctorow takes the reader to a Sunday in September when people are going to a Paul Robeson concert in the park. Daniel is excited to go. The governor has called out the State troopers to guard everyone. The concert is a happy experience. But on the bus ride home, a mob appears, throws rocks, and yells epithets at the concert-goers. Danny’s father went to the door to tell the cop to stop the mayhem. He was beaten, and his arm crushed in the bus door.
When Daniel and Susan grow up, they are sent to live with Lise and Bob Lewin. Their lives change; they each have their own room, clothes that fit, a new name, a new house. They never speak about the past. The author says maybe they should have. Doctorow tells of Daniel’s grandmother. She went mad and often ran away from their home. Crowds came to the house when she died. Danny went down to the cellar to see Williams, the super. He said grandma wasn’t insane. When she ran away, she went to see Williams and brought him tea in a glass. Danny’s mother said their friends were interesting, they had ideas and discussed things. One day, they went for a walk to the radio shop, and there was a crowd in front. A new television set is displayed in the window. Father tells them that Mindish, their dentist, has been arrested. Father says not to worry, they have not done anything wrong. When the FBI men come to their house the next day, father has spoken to Ascher, an attorney. Dozens of men and policemen arrive. They arrest Issacson and search everywhere. Danny kicks and yells at the men as his father is dragged away. His sister, Susan, is hysterical and sobbing. Ascher is honest and works hard for his clients. But this was a hard time; people were arrested, fired from their jobs, and blacklisted. It was the time of the “Red Menace.” Mindish has implicated them, but they (mother and father) claim they are innocent.
When both parents are in jail, the lawyer Ascher asks their aunt Freida to care for them. They have no one, no money, no home. Danny watched on his aunt’s television when General MacArthur came home from Japan and crowds cheered him. They lasted five weeks at their aunt’s house. In the newspapers, Danny’s father was called a master spy, a ring leader. They are taken to a shelter, but after a few days, they run away. They are caught at the open-air market near their home, where they are smelling the fresh oranges.
At the trial, the Issacsons are convicted. Ascher knew they would be. He couldn’t help them. Years later, Danny flies to California to see Mindish. What does he find out? Why did Mindish testify against his parents? Was it because he was afraid he’d be deported? What happens to Susan? How does she survive all the traumatic experiences? Doctorow has won many awards, including the Library of Congress prize for American fiction. Find this novel, located with others of Doctorow in your Mendocino Community Library.