Book Log 2023 #12: Billy Bathgate by E. L. Doctorow

Doctorow said he was inspired to write this book by a picture he saw of two men in tuxedos standing on the deck of a tugboat. The image suggested what he called "the cult of gangsterism," and led to this book about a teenager who becomes part of Dutch Schultz's gang.  He becomes a kind of a gofer, doing low level work (casing apartment buildings, etc.), which eventually leads to him spending a lot of time with Schultz's latest moll, Drew Preston. Billy's interest in Drew grows as Schultz's interest in her wanes, leading Billy and Drew into an affair that adds an extra layer of danger to their day-to-day life in Schultz's orbit.

This book fits into the same mold as Ragtime and World's Fair, using historical New York as a backdrop for stories of race, class, and family. I liked it about as much as those other books, though I wasn't crazy about the ending (I've read a few thing saying it's too sentimental, which I think may be right).