Book Review
Mar. 20th, 2008 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariMartin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer
by Steven Millhauser
The title character of this book is a young man who has grown up in New York City at the tail end of the 19th century, a time of huge growth, bustling expansion, and sweeping modernisation in the city. Martin, full of big dreams and ambition, becomes a successful entrepreneur. He starts with a small chain of cafes and then moves on to hotels. His hotels become increasingly grandiose and expansive, including not only lodgings but department stores, underground parks, theaters, museum exhibits, and other attractions.
As Martin's hotels become more and more like self-contained fantasy worlds, the narrative and prose style of the novel becomes increasingly like a dream or fairy tale. This progression gives the rags-to-riches story a singularly refreshing angle. It also allows Millhauser to take a look at the way in which entrepreneurial dreams and ambitions can be an attempt to remake the world to fit one's own specifications and desires.
by Steven Millhauser
The title character of this book is a young man who has grown up in New York City at the tail end of the 19th century, a time of huge growth, bustling expansion, and sweeping modernisation in the city. Martin, full of big dreams and ambition, becomes a successful entrepreneur. He starts with a small chain of cafes and then moves on to hotels. His hotels become increasingly grandiose and expansive, including not only lodgings but department stores, underground parks, theaters, museum exhibits, and other attractions.
As Martin's hotels become more and more like self-contained fantasy worlds, the narrative and prose style of the novel becomes increasingly like a dream or fairy tale. This progression gives the rags-to-riches story a singularly refreshing angle. It also allows Millhauser to take a look at the way in which entrepreneurial dreams and ambitions can be an attempt to remake the world to fit one's own specifications and desires.
