Dreamland
by Kevin Baker
List Price: $26.00
Pages: 480
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0060193093
Publisher: HarperCollins
Dreamland is a historical novel that recreates turn-of-the-century New York,
bringing to life an entire era and capturing the essence of the American
immigrant experience. Each character in author Kevin Baker's diverse cast
represents a different walk of life from New York, circa 1910.
Dreamland's heroine, Esther "Esse" Abramowitz, is a perfect example of
the strength and resilience of the immigrant spirit. A hard-working laborer in
a Lower East Side sweatshop, Esse never ceases in her various struggles
for independence, equality, and fair treatment against exploitative employers
and society's traditional views of the role of women. Esse's coming-of-age
coincides with her love affair with Kid Twist, a stowaway from the Old World.
The action of Dreamland begins with Kid Twist's violent falling-out with the
feared gangster leader Gyp the Blood, setting in motion a long series of
events that lead ultimately to a startling and unexpected finale on Coney
Island.
The stories of Esse and Kid Twist are intertwined with tales of a multitude of
characters, most drawn straight from the pages of history, such as
Tammany Hall political boss Big Tim Sullivan; Sigmund Freud, the father of
psychoanalysis; Karl Jung, his protege; Beansy Rosenthal, whose
testimony in a police corruption case threatens to undermine Tammany
Hall, and whose murder plays a catalytic role in the events of this novel; and
numerous others, real and imagined, from Coney Island at a time when it
was one of the most miraculous spectacles of the modern world.
Dreamland is a story about survival, about human beings living day-to-day,
persevering against the odds. Turn-of-the-century New York was truly a
remarkable place and time; while it held for most immigrants more promise
than the lands from which they'd come, it introduced hardship and
cataclysmic disappointment on a scale virtually unimaginable from today's
perspective. From Esse, who was destined to work in a sweatshop and live
in a filthy, crowded tenement, to Trick the Dwarf, eking out a living as a
sideshow freak, basic survival consumed the bulk of people's time and
spirit. For the poor, especially destitute immigrants, life was often a bitter
struggle for the American Dream, an elusive and uncertain end in itself. Of
course, honest work wasn't the only way--or even the best way--to make it in
New York; indeed, there seemed greater opportunity through gangsterism,
crime, and corruption. Esse and Gyp the Blood escape their common
oppressive circumstance through opposite roots. Survival dictates that Kid
Twist become a gangster, despite a moral aversion to the work expected of
him. Whether these characters sewed or killed, sweat or cheated, earning
enough to live another week was often all that mattered.
And on the weekend? For Esse, as for thousands of immigrants, the
Sunday off provided the opportunity to mix with all walks of life in Coney
Island--the magical city where bright lights cast a soft glow on hard lives
and the surf of the Atlantic washed away fears and troubles. All kinds of
people came together in Coney Island in a strange and dynamic synergy.
Whores mixed with factory workers and gangsters with freaks; midgets lived
out their dreams of normalcy and onlookers reveled in the spectacle. When
it came time for dreaming, the playing field leveled, and the rich and the
poor alike went to Coney's parks--Steeplechase, Luna Park, and of course,
Dreamland. There they could release their tensions and worries and fears,
and find excitement in a stolen caress, comfort in the misfortune of others,
beauty in a ride that left the surf below and soared in to the sky above . . .
truly a land of dreams that provided a haven from the rough-and-tumble of
life in a sometimes unforgiving New York City.
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1. A key issue for immigrants has been the struggle to assimilate into their new homeland without sacrificing hallmarks of many different distinct cultures with them. What legacies have the various characters in Dreamland brought with them from their respective Old Worlds? Take Esse's family in particular and highlight how the old and the new clash, and how each member deals with the assimilation process differently.
2. Author Kevin Baker challenges the reader to sniff out various hidden historical figures in Dreamland. How many can you name?
3. Along those same lines, how difficult is it to distinguish between history and Mr. Baker's craft in the novel? Can you separate the fiction from the reality? How fine do you think that line is in your own perception of and involvement in the making of history right now?
4. Violence and beauty are often very closely associated in Dreamland. Why they might share close ties? Cite specific examples from the book.
5. Love is often tested in Dreamland. Whether faced with family disapproval, the threat of physical dangers, divisive politics, or simply the dynamics of a rapidly changing world, many of the book's characters meet the challenge put forth by love in its many different forms. For example, Kid Twist's loyalty to Esse never waned, not even in the face of death; Trick's love for Carlotta was uncompromised by her madness; even power-hungry Big Tim Sullivan's heart opened children everywhere. In light of this, how much do you think that characters' motivations were shaped by love in Dreamland?
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