#146 ("The Book of Daniel" by E. L. Doctorow)

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Of the six books we’ve read for this podcast, only one of them so far has not featured a fictionalized version of a real historical figure. This month’s novel even ups the ante on that conceit by presenting a fictionalized account of a historical event. E. L. Doctorow changes the names and some of the details, but this novel is very much about the trial and eventual execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, an American married couple convicted (and subsequently executed) in 1951 of spying for the Russian government, despite the prosecution presenting no hard evidence of their treason. It’s a dark moment in the history of our nation, and Doctorow utilizes fiction, memoir, and academic thesis to examine the repercussions of this historic event on not only its participants but the nation.

This is a very thought-provoking novel.