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Dreamland Kevin Baker 9780060852726 Books

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Dreamland Kevin Baker 9780060852726 Books

Dreamland was too cruel. The characters were heartless, like the time in history that the book represents. The sweatshops, the cruelty to animals and the selfish greed of the thugs and politicians of the era made finishing the story an uphill battle. I prefer my books to be entertaining or enlightening, not a slug fest of brutality.
The description of Dreamland, Luna Park and turn-of-the-century New York was most interesting. Kevin Baker is a masterful writer who can evoke emotional grit with the turn of a phrase.
Just not my cup of tea.


Tags : Dreamland [Kevin Baker] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <blockquote> <em>A literary tour de force, a magnificent chronicle of a remarkable era and a place of dreams</em> </blockquote> In a stunning work of imagination and memory,Kevin Baker,Dreamland,Harper Perennial,0060852720,Historical,Freud, Sigmund,Immigrants,Jung, C. G,New York (N.Y.),Political corruption,Tammany Hall,Triangle Shirtwaist Company - Fire, 1911,Women clothing workers,(Carl Gustav),,1856-1939,1875-1961,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Historical,Freud, Sigmund,,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical fiction,Jung, C. G.,United States

Dreamland Kevin Baker 9780060852726 Books Reviews

Nice little period piece about the people and society of the East coast, New Jersey, Coney Island, etc. Gamblers, "freaks"
sweat shops. A good little backward look at an earlier time.
This book provides a very vivid portrait of life in the "demimonde" of turn of the 20th century New York. The characters are unreal, outsiders fighting to survive in a hostile world controlled by the rich and corrupt Tammany politicians. The author clearly works hard for historical authenticity to the point where he gives up [spoiler alert] on even attempting to provide any resolution or restoration. We, the readers, are given many plausible possible plot endings instead, but are left to our own dreams. Of course, we must confront the meaning of "dreamland" which in this case is more night- (or as a friend of mine once quipped) or perhaps day-mare. To add to the mix, we are presented with the famous Freud-Jung visit to New York at this time as they made their way to Worcester and Clark University. As a Jungian, I feel the author misrepresents Jung who did more important work on dream interpretation than Freud that has held up over time although he was, in fact, duplicitous in dealing with Freud. Dreams, according to Jung, are guides to finding our true place or calling in the world. In this instance, the book utterly fails. It seems to take the view that they are illusions and delusions like Dreamland--world of fantasy like Freud's dreams of repressed sexuality--rather than a path to personal growth. Overall, this is a too long book that pales in comparison to the infamous dwarf, Oskar Morgenstern, in Grass's "Tin Drum." Here it is hard to see the meaning of "Trick the Dwarf," "Gyp the Blood," "Kid Twist" and others outside of their real historical existence as curiosities rather than "circus animals" that take you ultimately to "the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.".
A very strange story about a strange group of interrelated people. I enjoyed the "period" and location in which this bizarre story takes place, but found the characters and their activities to be appalling! The story focuses on the "underbelly" of NYC around the turn of the (last) century. My fascination comes from that of a native NYer. If you have no interest in the period/location... this story is a little hard to handle and so far... not that great!
Read this for two hours and hated every minute. Just couldn't get into the style of writing. I kept thinking that I was constantly interrupting someone's conversation and and just couldn't follow.
Kevin Bakers historical novel, "Dreamland," is a story of America's underclass as workers, rightly or wrongly, have always been called. "Dreamland" is part fantasy of the comic joys of an amusement park, Coney Island, one of the very few pleasures of the desperately poor, aka immigrant, populations. In this book, Kevin Baker takes us into the lives of tenement dwellers, prostitutes, street peddlers, all the imaginable impoverished who were considered little more than waste on Manhattan's streets. In addition, the novel is well-peppered with the savage criminal element who controlled New York at the time. As the third book of the City of Fire Trilogy, "Dreamland" has received high marks from most of America's prestigious review columnists.

These many categories of city dwellers are shown as the groups gathered together but especially through the protagonist characterizations of a few who show us the lives of the very poor contrasted with another group of the rich and powerful who lead the reader to empathize with the plight of selected character types.

Basically the book follows the pattern of singling out protagonist "types" to present in various episodic named "Parts." This strategy allows the author to keep the action and conflict active and the readers on the edge of their seats.

Although a big, fat book, "Dreamland" is full of history and emotion. One never wearies of its length. Again, the author's immense knowledge of the tiniest details of the history as well as his profound observation of human behavior enables him to build believable multi-faceted characters in often incredible circumstances (e.g., a man who publicly displays his ability to break another's back, a rat baiting contest, police beatings of strikers, Chinese opium dens including the tools of users , etc.). In short, author Baker takes the reader deep into the experience, the time and place of 19th/early 20th Century America.

Not to be forgotten, too, is the writerly skills of this author. His prose is clean and lyrical, well chosen figurative language and sharp descriptions of his characters. The voice is perfect as it depicts each character.

"Dreamland" grabs you in the first sentence and doesn't let go till the last. The phrase,"turns you every which way but loose," seems an apt description. A great reading experience that you'll treasure always.
Dreamland was too cruel. The characters were heartless, like the time in history that the book represents. The sweatshops, the cruelty to animals and the selfish greed of the thugs and politicians of the era made finishing the story an uphill battle. I prefer my books to be entertaining or enlightening, not a slug fest of brutality.
The description of Dreamland, Luna Park and turn-of-the-century New York was most interesting. Kevin Baker is a masterful writer who can evoke emotional grit with the turn of a phrase.
Just not my cup of tea.