The Dakota Winters: A Novel

I love New York in any era, so this book, set in 1970s-80s NYC fits me. Add in the references to sport and celebrity, and it's an absolute pleasure to read. The author weaves the historical references into a great story. I recommend this book.

I had a very strange relationship with this novel. I think the last time I fell half in love with a narrator the way I did with Anton Winter was when I read Holden for the first time at sixteen. It took me about a month to get through it and I read other novels and watched other films throughout. In part it was because this novel had almost zero pacing. The other reason why I stretched out the read is because I liked having it on the arm of my couch next to a steaming cup of tea, knowing I could reach for it and slip into Anton's head, in 1980, at my leisure.Oddly, I also watched Borg vs. McEnroe during this time and found the synchronicity noteworthy--that and the fact that I was trying to finish the book by 8 December, this year the fortieth anniversary of Lennon's sad demise. The Dakota Winters is written in increments, some quite short, and I think that was also part of why it was easy to lift my head and break a fragile momentum. The story had a barely-perceivable pulse, but there were definitely moments when I could hear and feel my own heart beating in response to passages, exchanges and fleeting but meaningful observations. I did love it. I'd go so far as to echo the sentiment that I was half *in love* with it.That said, I skimmed the last fifty pages. In part because of my mood at the time (I need to just finish this thing!) and in part because the final moments felt, to me, like maybe the author was thinking and feeling the same thing. There's a part of me that believes I'll someday go back and pick up where I began to skim and read it word for word. Whether or not I do, I can't say I demanded more of this experience. On whatever ineffable, inarticulable level it entranced me for a month, it sufficed.A 💋 for Anton, in any event. Had I been 23 in 1980 NYC, I certainly would have fallen for him.

The book has a somewhat breezy, rambling quality that is very entertaining. The main character's voice is authentic, and he keeps the narrative moving forward in a refreshing, disjointed fashion that keeps the reader enthralled without losing the reader when the narrative frequently shifts direction. This creates a feeling of loose ends but without the tension of needing to have those dangling threads.The one weakness of the novel, admittedly a big one since it's meant to be the novel's central conceit, is the injection of John Lennon as some sort of super-human driving force for the stories lived by all the novel's fictional characters. Injection is a fairly apt description of his appearance in the novel's movement--aside from a few casual mentions of him being one of The Dakota's tenants--he is absent from roughly the first two-thirds of the novel. He is then thrust into the story line and sticks around like an unrelenting house guest.Once he's on the scene, it seems all roads lead not to Rome but to John Lennon, and it's rarely ever clear why. His relationship with the characters and their unfolding stories is similarly muddled--the conversations and interactions Lennon has with the other characters seem forced and have a false sound and feel to them. The denouement of his abrupt removal from the story--from life itself--seems inartfully added; like it's an afterthought. I believe the novel would have ultimately been much stronger keeping him at arm's length; not directly engaged with the other characters but as a force admired from afar.

Halfway through The Dakota Winters, I stopped momentarily and asked myself: what is the key story here? Is it the story of the narrator Anton, who is in danger of being overshadowed by his charismatic and damaged by his late-night talk show host father, Buddy Winters? Or is it a homage to his neighbor and friend, John Lennon (yes, THAT John Lennon) who also lives at the Dakota?Tom Barbash wants the book to do both, but ultimately, I’m not sure it did. The excellence of the book comes from capturing a slice of time – 1970s New York on the upper west side – and there are scores of titillating tidbits about the many celebrities that frequented Buddy’s talk show and, of course, tidbits about John Lennon. As far as the former, I didn’t think the father-son story was developed with as many nuances as I had hoped for. Mr. Barbash wimps out a bit in delving deeply into his characters’ psyches. We see them interact together but I never viscerally sensed the emotional pain that threaded the relationship.John Lennon comes across as curiously flat. At a time when he was going through primal scream and all the fallout of his marriage to Yoko, I didn't quite buy his role as a compassionate and wizened “older brother” to Anton. There is a long subplot about John taking up sailing (with Anton and Captain Hank Halsted, his real life “sailing captain.” Again, the many psychological struggles that Lennon was coping with during that turbulent time are not delineated or explored in any depth.Granted, this is a fun book to read. Everyone from Teddy and Joan Kennedy to Johnny Carson make their appearance and it was fascinating to read about the iconic Dakota building. But at the end of the day, it felt a little bit like a frothy dessert – good while I was partaking but less than satisfying as I got to the last, inevitable bite.

Really like how Barbash weaves together pop culture, historical fiction and real trigger points of 70's and 80's New York gritty nostalgia. Anyone who knows that era of Manhattan will find this a terrific read.

I enjoyed this story.

Is it fiction or not? If so, well invented!Great for NY-Lovers to wander around the Upper West Side.Visit the Big Apple - that is more rewarding!