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Donald Trump of the Turn of the Century
As a young man, Dressler is understandably naive. But, through hard work and some dumb luck, his empire of a cigar store blossoms to being a hotel owner, to a frachiser of restaurants and ultimately a skyscraper developer.
The character of Dressler could be the lead of an Ayn Rand novel -- rags to riches based upon peronal perseverance. However, he is not as controversial as a Rand icon.
The leap from poverty to great wealth could be analogized to Gatsby. And, like Gatsby, his love life falters and fails. Unlike Gatsby, he does not die because of his lover or lover's mate. But, do not confuse this novel with the Great Gatsby which novel has few peers in the English language, and Hemingway probably appropriately proclaimed the greatest novel written in the English language.
The details of the times compare to other turn of the century Pulitzer winners -- e.g.The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier&Clay.
But, I just don't seem to understand something. Being a rich developer in New York, if not the richest developer of real estate skyscrapers in New York, Dressler's ability to court a good woman is about as futile as when he was a hustler at the cigar booth in the hotel. His wealth grows. His personality grows. His wisdom grows. But, his love life stagnates.
Donald Trump is something of a modern day Dressler. And, I am sure that the ego-inflated Trump would never assert or admit that his love life has stagnated. Pleassssse.
But, the romance of the turn of the century emanates well throughout this book. The New York he describes is without a completed subway, built on dirt roads, adorned withh small buildings, and has other trite commonalities which this generation could not fathom. Hard to beieve New York was like Des Moines.
This is a book that moves well. The writing is top shelf. Relax on a rainy day and let his pictoral descriptions take you back a century.
A curiosity, more than anything else.
In early Twentieth century New York, Martin Dressler becomes the quintessential American success story, only to fall on his face in the end. From humble beginnings, he builds grander and grander hotels, almost suggestive of a more sophisticated version of Disney World. For instance, in one of his hotels, on a sub-basement floor, the canals of Venice are re-created.
Dressler makes the mistake of assuming that people want to bring the outdoors inside in artificially controlled environments. His increasingly elaborate visions become more and more bizarre, and display a hubris in building which remind one of Donald Trump. About half way through, the book takes on an oddly claustrophobic, creepy and surrealistic feel, such as when the author depicts Dressler's marriage to his beautiful, but vacuous and frigid wife, or describes people strolling in the underground artificial worlds created by the main character. The reader just wants to escape from it all, run outside, and take a breath of fresh air.
Although reading "Martin Dressler" is an odd experience, the book is somewhat flat with little plot and unmemorable characters. Nevertheless, I can recommend Steven Millhauser's "Martin Dressler," but try to purchase it second hand.
Amazing
A friend handed me a copy of this book about six years ago, and told me that because of my love of the fantasy world Disney had created, that I might enjoy this book. And while it is far more interesting and layered than what I have learned of the Disney legacy (fiction often is that way), I did see some astonishing parallels. Also, if you're a big fan of Vegas, and the theming behind those "cities within a hotel", it is even more interesting to read a tale of someone creating that kind of self contained atmosphere in a time when we consider everything to have been much more simple. The story is well crafted and refreshingly complex in the relationships between the characters. Truly one of the best books I've ever read.
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