ABSTRACT
The Book of Daniel evidences a deep preoccupation with human suffering at both a thematic and a formal level. The Book of Daniel concerns itself to a great extent with the narration of traumatic memories. The Book of Daniel is a novel full of contradictions which render it a plural text open to multiple readings. Indeed, it is readily apparent that, when read against the grain, Doctorow’s novel constitutes an interesting site for feminist revision. The chapter examines the novel’s attitude toward some key feminist concerns. The Book of Daniel seeks to warn of the disastrous consequences of psychological trauma for the individual, who might eventually end up becoming a perpetrator. Disguising as fictionalized memoir, The Book of Daniel narrates a tale of extreme suffering that exposes a number of social, economic and political structures of the United States as mechanisms of control and alienation that have a strong traumatizing potential and easily render the individual powerless.
