The Book of Daniel

I read a compelling novel by E.L. Doctorow called The Book of Daniel.  The story follows the life of Daniel Lewin, formerly known as Daniel Isaacson, son of Rochelle and Paul.  The story is based on the true life experience of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, alleged to be Communists living in America during the late 1940s-early 50s, who eventually were executed for espionage.  Doctorow presents a first person narrator, Daniel, from his youth with his sister Susan, experiencing the pain of having his parents arrested in their home, being separated and placed in a children’s home in the Bronx, to the trial and eventual death of his parents.  The book jumps from the present time, 1960s, back to early childhood and then to events during the trial.  Little attention is paid to the alleged “espionage activities” of the parents.  Daniel’s pain of trying to comfort his younger sister and create some type of normalcy when all else is falling apart around him, including the onset of the hippie era, makes for a well written story.  As a young child at the end of the “hippie” era, many of the moments described by Daniel brought back vague memories.  It was a tumultuous time with fear, anarchy, and true activism (where has that gone???).  Susan’s debilitating psyche, which ends in her own suicide, tears one apart knowing how the innocence of a youth is torn away.  The story ends with Daniel’s confrontation with the man who turned his mother and father over to the authorities.  Griping scene leaving the reader to decide their own interpretation of who really was guilty of espionage.  Doctorow’s work is impeccable and I think this is a dynamic book of its time.  Presenting a time which seems unbelievable, executing people with limited data, but illustrating how the fear of a country could create unheard of action.  Hmmm… maybe we are seeing similar actions today with illegal immigration and our perceived desire not to be a melting pot any longer?  Thumbs up for telling this story.