Doctorow admits that something happened in the writing of World's Fair that he did not anticipate. "The beginning of the book is the voice of an adult recollecting childhood. As the book proceeds, the voice gets younger and younger, almost as if this man is being possessed by his memories. So the diction grows simpler in tone and the difference between adulthood and childhood disappears entirely." Whether planned this way or not, the power of the novel has much to do with the memories of childhood assuming more and more control over the narrative point of view.

The voice of the adult/child is complemented infrequently by chapters that are narrated by other family members. Four are told from the mother's point of view, two chapters from the older-brother's, and one by Aunt Frances. The early death of the father removes him as a possible witness at the...