Book Review: Dream City

In this unconventional tale of Las Vegas during the two delirious boom decades before the bust of the Great Recession, failed actor “C. D.” Reinhart, who has launched a new career in hotel marketing, is gradually losing his moral and existential compass. Working on The Strip during an era when Sin City’s population growth was outpacing any other place in America, C. D. climbs the industry ladder while modeling himself after a Pyramid Resorts top executive, Lance Sheperd. C. D.’s professional choices lead him down a tumultuous road, as Sheperd, a complex and, at times, visionary figure, pilots his ventures through the tangled wheeling and dealing of finance and corporate politics straight into catastrophe.

As the story progresses, C. D. comes to understand how his personal losses and the losses of his cohort of hard driving executives on the make—especially the tragic life of his work partner, Greta Olsson, the only woman to break through into their male dominated world—are a result of the make-believe environment he has helped to create, a world where representation replaces reality. Hoping to piece together his faltering marriage and family relationships, C. D. must find a new path as he struggles to hold onto his dreams.

Dream City by Douglas Unger will be published October 8, 2024. University of Nevada Press provided an early galley for review.

I've never been to Vegas but have always wanted to go. The cover and description of this novel sounded intriguing.

The Pyramid World hotel setting appears to be meant as a stand-in for the real-life Luxor hotel, with the story line of the construction to mirror that of the actual hotel in the early 90's. Unger, a professor of English at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, clearly is drawing from a city he knows as he sprinkles in plenty of real Vegas locals - other hotels, restaurants, etc. - into the narrative. The details about all things casinos and gamblers also ring true.

I'm a bit on the fence with this one though. At times, it reads a lot more like a nonfiction historical book rather than a fiction novel. Not being familiar with the author (his last fiction book looks to have been from 1995), I am not sure if this is part of his writing style or just the approach taken for this particular release. The narrative arc spans over several decades for the main characters, thus it lacks the urgency I usually gravitate towards in stories. When we do get an in-depth scene with lots of character dialogue and interaction, I was definitely tuned in though.

Reader mileage might vary here.