This book took me forever to read. I had tried twice before, but just couldn't get into it. Finally buckled down to do it on vacation. I think it is a very good book with some pages of greatness. That being said, it just took too long to come together for me and the individual stories weren't compelling enough on their own. Obviously meticulously researched and painstakingly detailed, on the whole I am just relieved I finally finished.

Not normally a fan of historical fiction (if the history is interesting, why the need to fictionalize it?) I picked this book up merely for the novelty of the cover and the promise of Coney Island-goodness that screams from the top cover. And it was a buck in clearance at Half Price Books.

What I found was actually quite a surprise. I found myself not interested at all for well over 100 pages, but then all at once realized I was invested in some of the characters. The layout of the chapters confused me at first when I read in short spurts; eventually, however, I figured out that not only were the characters heading each chapter intertwined with one another, occasionally a chapter would backtrack so that particular character could tell his or her perspective about a situation the reader had already encountered. Once I accepted that I found myself enjoying the book entirely.

The historical part of the story comes in the form of the characters themselves (Freud and Jung come to America and the reader witnesses the break in their beliefs, Kid Twist and Gyp the Blood are very central characters, etc.) as well as the landscape (turn of the century immigrant New York, specifically Coney Island; Bowery bars; opium dens; whore houses; sweatshops, etc.). Dramatized historical events showed their heads as well such as the union strike (and subsequent arrest of the women strikers, their imprisonment, their torture), the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, politics, corruption... a lot of the same things I spent 4.5 years learning about at a historically women's college.

Kevin Baker clearly did his research and fleshed out many real characters from the very late 19th-very early 20th century without sugar-coating any of it. He openly admits in his Acknowledgements that certain creative licenses were taken, rearranging a small period of years in order to tell the story he wanted to tell. Normally that sort of thing would drive me batty. Somehow Baker was able to do it in a completely non-offensive way. In fact, the man made me downright approve of it.

Really loved it. Great characters and wildly interesting history

This is one of those amazing historical novels set at the turn of the century (19th-20th) and the attendant transformation from Victorian to Modern society that allows for a deep and rich mosaic. Baker is great at scenes, moments, currents and tides of time. This is a novel to get lost in, to revel in while you try and absorb what a brilliant time it was when all was changing.

I read this book as I've always been a fan of Coney and its incredible history. Kevin Baker weaves a sprawling tale and the historical detail seems extremely well researched. Felt like being there. The writing's good, the characters interesting. And yet the whole experience didn't come together for me.

There was an odd mix of characters that served nothing. Trick the Dwarf and Kid Twist - two entirely separate stories. Then the whole weaving in of Freud/Jung simply took away from the stories that could have had far bigger impact. Oddly, Trick the Dwarf, who for all intents and purposes should have been the largest (no pun) character, went nowhere - more of an observer to a story. The whole gangster-y feud also felt like a distraction, same as city politics. The real power was in the story of Esse, Esther Abramowitz, a young woman discovering herself, life, love - unfortunately, because of everything else focused on, Esse's tale was left wanting, too. Her stories ties in so much and a stronger focus on just her could have made it amazing ... but I realize the novel wouldn't have had to be called "Dreamland" then. With the focus on Coney and Dreamland in particular, it should have been Trick the Dwarf's story. It wasn't - in the end it was no one's story and all of those woven tales fizzled.

I don't know why the hell I wasted my time on this book. Probably because, naively, I thought it would get better. It didn't, it was full of WAY too many characters, and honestly I couldn't figure out what was going on half the time with each of these 1,200 characters and why I should even care.

Waited for it to better

Lots of promise,but never went anywhere. I like historical fiction and thought this to an interesting period and place in history ,but just didn't do anything for me

This book is long and not always easy to follow. There are a lot of characters and stories going on at once, and lots of terms I didn't know (though there is a glossary in the back). However, I gave it 4 stars because I loved some of the subplots, and I loved the history. The book has really stuck with me and I think about it whenever I am in New York. I recommend it for the history, the politics, and the connection to New York. Be patient if its hard to catch on at first - there are multiple stories going on at once.

Interesting book but by far not as good as Paradise Alley. I still don't know why he had to mention Freud in this bookat all. There was no interactivity between Freud and the other characters of the book. I liked the story of Esther and her brother.
I have to admit that I am glad that I didn't have to live and work in that timeframe.

This was a nice trip back in time on the coney island strip and the streets of fast paced manhattan

Another great historical novel by Kevin Baker that conveya a wonderful sense of the lives of turn-of-the-20th-century Jewish immigrants in New York City through the prism of that most American invention, the Dreamland amusement park on Coney Island. He also skillfully evokes the political machine that was Tammany Hall, and successfully imparts quite a lot of history while spinning a very absorbing tale.

Did you say you wanted me to review another historical fiction book? Ok! Very much in the same vein as HBO's Boardwalk Empire, this is New York in the early 1900's - at it's best and at it's worst.
The story is told from several points of view, from the dwarf that works at Coney Island to the prostitute that's in love with her pimp, the book is full of great complex characters and interesting events. It veers from gritty violence to newfound love to political manoeverings to union worker uprisings and never leaves you bored. It gets a little The Jungle at times, depressing the hell out of you and making you glad you weren't alive back then, but gets back on course right before you slit your wrists.

Start with this book - I saw Kevin Baker's other novels in this New York series, and they look pretty bleak as well. This one at least takes you on a fun trip through Coney Island before it makes you cry.