Dreamland

Rating:
Summary: Dreamland is a fun and frightening novel
Review: With key characters named Trick the Dwarf, Kid Twist, Gyp the Blood and the Mad Carlotta, it is tough not to become enthralled by this book. The author does an outstanding job of placing you in New York at the turn of the last century and the sights, sounds, and smells of lower Manhattan, Coney Island, and the Bowery make this book come to life. Several key chapters are so compelling, I read them over and over to ensure I got every last nuance. The introduction of historical fact as part of the story is an interesting device that worked well and led me to do further reading on early theme parks, gangland life in New York, and the origins of the labor movement. This is one of the better works of fiction I have read lately and I am not the least bit disturbed that a film adaptation is already in the works.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story.
Review: I haven't read the book yet but want to. What I am interested in is reading the book and going on the tour in New York that I read about in the Salt Lake City Tribune. A group of teachers would like to do this. Can you help me? How could we get in contact to do this? Debbi Gerard

Rating:
Summary: Rich and evocative
Review: A mesmerizing glimpse into a city and an era that is too frequently romanticized through the glasses of nostalgia. DREAMLAND slaps the reader awake with depictions of the day-to-day brutalities of getting by in the "good old days." Rich characterizations, spanning the heights and depths of society; characters you really end up giving a damn about, all masterfully intertwined. No tidy wrap-ups at the end. Baker does a magnificent job of research, from Lower East Side Yiddish slang, to the clothes people wore. You can tell he loves history. I've been extremely disappointed with most modern fiction. DREAMLAND held my attention from beginning to end. I can't want to see what Baker does for an encore.

Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. The characters were rich and real, the depiction of the city masterful. One of the most haunting visions of America at the turn of century, it is a superb companion to the novels of Caleb Carr and, of course, Ragtime. Stunning and unforgetable writing!

Rating:
Summary: Bizarre, incomplete, "could have been a contender" if...
Review: This could have been a really terrific book if the author had taken more time to develop a more cohesive plot line. The characters were interesting, if also a bit bizarre, and the sweatshop theme was informative. However, there was no sense to the Jung/Freud subplot and the love story between Kid Twist and Esther did not have a satisfying or clarified conclusion. "Dreamland" is not a book I would recommend to every reader friend of mine.

Rating:
Summary: Not very good
Review: Although the author has obviously spent a good amount of time doing his research, the time might have been better spent developing a coherent plot or creating charaters of any substance. With all of the excellent books available, you might want to give this one a pass.

Rating:
Summary: sensationalist historical fiction
Review: Mr. Baker seems more interested in shocking his readers than in presenting a panorama of life in the United States at the turn of the century. Better give this one a miss and read Ragtime instead.

Rating:
Summary: An embarrassment of twitches
Review: In his last American lecture, Sigmund Freud blamed much of human neurosis on civilization (and its discontents). Just living, and especially living in society, is such a tough row to hoe that it's no wonder individuals invent or adopt fantasies to help them schlep by. These indespensable "stories" are the fuel of "Dreamland," a raucous, garish, cruel, fantastic evocation of America as Coney Island. Freud himself provides a running commentary on the view, his orderly Viennese mind thoroughly scrambled by end of the book. At the other end of the analytical spectrum hunkers Trick the Dwarf, a fountain of passion striving from his twisted point of view to make sense of life. Balancing the middle, on an ever-tightening tightrope, is Big Tim Sullivan the canny ward boss, whose vision of the world sharpens even as he loses his hold on it. Only Freud insists that there is any such thing as truth. The others are content to be story-spinners, and they go about it with such abandon the story almost spins out of control. It's a tribute to Mr. Baker's skill that he can keep all these threads intact for 500 pages, much less weave them together in any kind of pattern. Many of the scenes are stunning, such a staged tenement fire at Dreamland, and an illegal prize fight carried out in a packed area in almost total silence. All the main characters are lovingly drawn, in particular Esther Abramowitz, her impossible father, and Tim Sullivan. With aplomb and largesse, Baker infuses even walk-ons with indelible life, such as the desk cop at central precinct, "full of the barely contained exuberance of men who worked all day with other men, and did as they pleased." The most important character, however, may be The People, seen from overhead as twitching masses, writhing snakes, cheering throngs, laughing fiends, grappling lovers: democracy running amuck, telling itself any lie necessary to stay afloat. At times the author overdoes it, cramming the narrative with so much period detail, local color, grotesquery and depravity it tips toward farce. But after each death-defying stumble (the audience gasps!) he steadies his gaudy, intricate burden and carries on with style (wild applause and cheers!). Though the author makes his point with the final disappearing act, it comes off looking like a slick trick, and everything preceding it like . . . a dream. Still, it was quite a ride.

Rating:
Summary: Very,very disappointing!!
Review: I was so excited to get to read this book- what a disappointment! It was horrible! The parts with Freud & Jung just did not seem like they belonged.I did not like the ending at all! If you want to read about turn-of-the century New York, I suggest reading Caleb Carr's "The Alienest".

Rating:
Summary: A sad, vast, lyrical novel
Review: Baker's writing sort of sneaks up on you; he's very good in patches and he knows how to assemble an unwieldy assortment of characters into a terrific, satisfying whole. Absolutely vivid portrayals of the garment workers and gangsters. A great, big, crazy read. Fell in love with Esse.