I agree that there was no 'there' there, but just the promise of a 'there' got my subconscious guessing what it would turn out to be, which was enough that I di

I agree that there was no 'there' there, but just the promise of a 'there' got my subconscious guessing what it would turn out to be, which was enough that I didn't feel my time was entirely wasted. A little like when you see a bad movie, knowing its going to be bad, but you enjoy it just for the set-up it gives your mind to play around in. Doctorow's writing is just good enough to do that.