From Booklist
So sharp-witted and eloquent is Doctorow, the distinguished author of Ragtime, World's Fair, and The Waterworks, every one of the interviews collected here reads like a polished essay on the state of the contemporary novel and fiction's moral imperative. An excellent subject not only because of his dynamic intellect and radical humanitarianism but because, as editor Morris puts it, the "utter unpredictability of his works" enables Doctorow to illuminate many of the mysteries of creative writing. Doctorow talks about how Hawthorne and Chekhov influence his work, discusses the fluid line between fiction and nonfiction, explains that his novels are both autobiographical and invented, and declares that all novels are political. Formerly the editor-in-chief at Dial, Doctorow offers insights into the publishing business, and, having experienced cinematic adaptations of his work, speaks forcefully about film and television. Each rigorous and surprising conversation (Doctorow's interviewers are no slouches) crackles with the fire of Doctorow's convictions and profound belief in literature's role in safeguarding liberty and justice. Donna Seaman

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In Conversations with E. L. Doctorow Christopher D. Morris has gathered over twenty of the most revelatory interviews with the acclaimed author of Ragtime, World's Fair, Billy Bathgate, The Book of Daniel, and other novels, plays, and short stories. In his work the American dream and the values his characters try to live by turn to madness and ashes.. "Within this collection Doctorow explores the themes of his work not only in the contexts of national and literary history but also in terms of disturbing trends in contemporary American culture. Talking about style, he discusses his experiments with shifting points of view and unreliable narrators as a part of the modernist heritage to which readers have become accustomed. But he stresses that these techniques are always subordinate to the telling of a good story and the creation of memorable characters.

About the Author:
Morris, Christopher D. has been the Charles A. Dana Professor of English at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, since 1996. He is also the author of Models of Misrepresentation: On the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow and regularly publishes in journals like The Ohio Review, Critique, and Film Criticism.

SYNOPSIS

Novelist E. L. Doctorow is admired by many audiences, both popular and aesthetic. This volume collects twenty of the best of the many interviews he has given. At present there is no biography of Doctorow. Until one is published, these interviews will serve as an informative biographical introduction.

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