E. L. Doctorow: By the Book

The New York Times - Januray 16, 2014

The author of “Andrew’s Brain” and “Ragtime” sometimes puts down a book because he can see where the story’s going. “As you practice your craft, you lose your innocence as a reader.”

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

E. L. Doctorow Illustration by Jillian Tamaki

When and where do you like to read?

At my desk. Or out of doors in the backyard when the weather’s fine.

As a rereader, what books do you find yourself returning to again and again?

Montaigne. Chekhov. They never fail you. Montaigne is the most honest memoirist in the world: He didn’t try to construct a narrative of his life; he just went wherever his thoughts took him, diving into his own mind and setting down its reflections and feelings for everyone to see. A kind of experiment in self-portraiture under a white light — published under the title “Essais,” or “Essays.” As for Anton Chekhov, no one puts life onto the page as Chekhov does. He defies critical analysis — the prose seems artless, as if he just splashes out the sentences. I recommend the five short novels including “The Duel” and “Three Years” in the translations of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. But the truth is, I’ve never read any translation of Chekhov in which that rigorously judicious mind didn’t come through.

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