From Library Journal
Experienced narrator George Guidall tells this Horatio Alger-meets-Walt Disney account of an ambitious young man living the American dream with spectacular bravado (LJ 4/15/96). Martin starts out as a bellhop in a modest hotel in turn-of-the-century Manhattan and ends up building lavish hotels that turn out to be theatrical extravaganzas. The author has vividly described it all in elegant prose, but for some reason he tends to stifle his characters. Instead of letting them talk for themselves, he talks about them. In fact, there is so little dialog that the liveliest character in the book is the city of New York. Guidall does his best to animate the inanimate text, but perhaps reading it aloud is not the best approach. Since Martin Dressler won Millhauser a Pulitzer Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award, it might make sense to enjoy the printed book and forget about the audio program. A marginal purchase.?Jo Carr, Sarasota, Fla.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning story of a self-made restaurant/hotel magnate presents a real challenge to narrator George Guidall. Usually Guidall can grab a story or character with his voice, inhabit it and produce a memorable reading. Author Millhauser's strength, though, is description, sometimes lengthy description. Thus, Guidall's strong and vibrant voice is reduced to narrating lists of architectural attributes, the contents of hotel interiors, and characters' feelings. Also, there is little dialogue, so he doesn't get a chance to develop characters. Make no mistake; Guidall is a wonderful narrator, and he makes the story more interesting than it has a right to be. It's just that his talents seem underused here. R.I.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
