Rereading Ragtime, I find that most of the initial impact has been blunted: Literary shocks are subject to the law of diminishing returns. I find, too, a certain vacuity of literary display. What once seemed verbally startling is now revealed as mostly tinsel. But that Doctorow was superior to most of his American fellow-novelists in his concentration on fiction as form, not as a vehicle for special or ethnic preaching, is made very clear. A rereading of Welcome to Hard Times and The Book of Daniel has confirmed Doctorow's special status. Loon Lake exhibits a new formal direction. It is a difficult book and I don't think it is a successful one. But it is a very honorable attempt at expanding the resources of the genre. (p. 66)

I am happy to learn that Loon Lake is already a popular book…. Happy because, whatever the faults of the work...