The Dakota Winters

Set in New York City in 1979 and 1980, the "Dakota" of Tom Barbash's second novel is the famed Upper West Side apartment building at the corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West. That building is home to comedian and talk show host Reginald "Buddy" Winters, his wife, Emily, and their sons, Anton and Kip.

Twenty-three-year-old Anton, the novel's narrator, thinks he's there only temporarily, after a near-fatal bout of illness while serving in the Peace Corps. And he isn't the only member of the family in recovery mode. Buddy, who hosted a late-night talk show, is striving to rebuild his career after a nervous breakdown that featured an on-air walk-off. To make the Winters' lives even more interesting, two floors above them live their friends John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It's been nearly five years since John's last album, and he's in the midst of his own creative lull.

Through Anton's observant eyes, Barbash (The Last Good Chance) trails these characters around New York City in one of its dodgier eras. The smart and self-aware narrator becomes a creative muse to both Buddy and John, who is on the cusp of recording his final album, Double Fantasy. Hovering over all of this is a reader's knowledge of the tragedy that will occur at the Dakota on the night of December 8, 1980.

The Dakota Winters is a refreshingly candid look at the power of celebrity and the sometimes terrifying price it exacts. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Powered by: Xtenit