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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer

2 Ratings: -0.5

A book by Steven Millhauser

Martin Dressler is a turn-of-the-century New York City entrepreneur who begins in his father's cigar store but dreams of a bigger empire. That dream shapes into a series of large hotels. At first, Dressler's seems the archetypal American success story, … see full wiki

Tags: Books

Author: Steven Millhauser

Publisher: Vintage

2 reviews about Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American...

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review by TStocksl. March 25, 2009

Prince Charming kisses Sleeping Beauty; he falls asleep.

Martin Dressler is the son of a hard-working small cigar-shop owner in New York City. Martin works hard in his father's shop, loving his work and his family, devoting his life to it. His earnest attention to detail and customer service attracts the attention of the hotel down the street, which hires him part time as a bell hop at the age of 14. Now working two jobs (quitting his father's shop was not an option), he has no time for school, a move his mother protests. Martin's … more

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review by cdbaker. May 14, 2002

posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Two-thirds of this book is great. It's the story of an enterprising young man who becomes a successful entrepreneur through hard work and merit (although his personal life is rather bizarre). The book completely falls apart at the end. It devolves into a surreal and colossal hubris that is disconnected from the rest of the book and the character. It works as neither satire nor as a morality tale, or anything else. How this book won a Pulitzer Prize is a puzzle to me.

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