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I must admit that I
felt a little funny reading this one on the bus. I'm sure more than
one person thought I was reading some story about men in sparkly pants
waving American flags while doing some high kicks. (I've never seen
the play adaptation, but I imagine there's a lot of kicking and men
in mascara going on.) I'm not exactly sure how to categorize this
book. Normally I would call it historical fiction, as the book's characters
interact with real people from history, but historical figures do
a lot more than wind their way through the book--they end up staring
in it. Titans such as Henry Ford and J.P Morgan have dialogue, as
well as Harry Houdini and lesser knows (at least to us) folks through
history such as the famous socialist Emma Goldman, the queen of scandal,
Evelyn Nesbit and her murdered husband, Stanford White. These characters
bob and weave their way through a story of turn-of-the-century America--a
country whose sexuality, industry and fame were just getting under
way. The story itself moves along quickly, swinging from story to
story, all leading to an inevitable climax. It's an American story,
with immigrants working their way up from the ghetto, the rich taking
advantage of everyone, blacks struggling for respect, and the rise
and fall of fame. It's all very tabloidish, but makes for an interesting
read and well worth the time if you are in need of a good perspective
on this time period and don't being stared at funny by the dude in
the pink tank top.
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