RagtimeRagtime
Score Classic
What it's about
In New Rochelle, New York, in the early 1900s, a well-off family's life becomes entangled with two others: a Jewish immigrant artist and his young daughter, and Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Black ragtime pianist whose new car is vandalized by racist firemen. When the law won't give Coalhouse justice, he takes it himself. Through it all wander real figures of the age: Harry Houdini, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list and is on TIME's list of the best novels. It's a brilliant, playful portrait of America at the turn of the century.
You'll love it if you liked
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
The Great Gatsby
Invisible ManGood to know
The writing is clipped, with almost no dialogue in quotation marks and many characters known only as Father or Mother. It became a Broadway musical.
By the numbers
- Readers26 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics93 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller58 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
More by E. L. Doctorow
If you like this, read next
War and Peace
The Cider House Rules
The Power and the Glory
The Magnificent Ambersons
My Brilliant Friend
A Tale of Two CitiesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Ragtime worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list and is on TIME's list of the best novels. It ranks #769 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 75.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Ragtime about?
In New Rochelle, New York, in the early 1900s, a well-off family's life becomes entangled with two others: a Jewish immigrant artist and his young daughter, and Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Black ragtime pianist whose new car is vandalized by racist firemen. When the law won't give Coalhouse justice, he takes it himself. Through it all wander real figures of the age: Harry Houdini, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman.
How long does it take to read Ragtime?
About 9 hours (369 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Ragtime won?
NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (1975).
What should I read after Ragtime?
If you liked it, try The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald or Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.