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The Dakota Winters
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
20 posts | 18 read | 19 to read
An evocative and wildly absorbing novel about the Winters, a family living in New York Citys famed Dakota apartment building in the year leading up to John Lennons assassination Its the fall of 1979 in New York City when twenty-three-year-old Anton Winter, back from the Peace Corps and on the mend from a nasty bout of malaria, returns to his childhood home in the Dakota. Antons father, the famous late-night host Buddy Winter, is there to greet him, himself recovering from a breakdown. Before long, Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddys stalled career, a mission that takes him from the gritty streets of New York, to the slopes of the Lake Placid Olympics, to the Hollywood Hills, to the blue waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and brings him into close quarters with the likes of Johnny Carson, Ted and Joan Kennedy, and a seagoing John Lennon. But the more Anton finds himself enmeshed in his fathers professional and spiritual reinvention, the more he questions his own path, and fissures in the Winter family begin to threaten their close bond. By turns hilarious and poignant, The Dakota Winters is a family saga, a page-turning social novel, and a tale of a critical moment in the history of New York City and the country at large.
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review
JenniferTapler
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Bailedbailed

#bookreview ⭐️ I really wanted to like this, but just couldn‘t get into it. It felt like it lacked a plot - just an unhappy, entitled narrator sponging off of his parents. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere and finally gave up about 80% in, so I don‘t know if it improved after that? I did enjoy the early 80s pop culture references.

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Lauren.Archer
Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
Pickpick

I was torn while listening to the auidobook. This felt like a book with just a lot of name dropping. However as the story went on, I became really endeared to it. Great Historical Fiction of NYC in the early '80s

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Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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1. Not a well known book, but I really enjoyed it. It stayed with me for days.
2. It‘s long hot nights here but either way it‘s still my library & my bed.
3. Says it all really. Sydney is completely ringed by major fires & tomorrow is forecast as 47C(117F)🥵
4. Baby Yoda of course👶🏻

#FriYayIntro

julesG Stay hydrated and as cool as possible. 4y
TrishB Hope you‘re all safe ❤️ 4y
Lizpixie @julesG I have ducted air con & don‘t go anywhere without a water bottle. Won‘t be no one cooler & hydrated than me!😘 @TrishB thanks lovely, so far we are, though my SIL‘s property is still in danger & my eldest is a SES volunteer who‘ll be at the fire zone tomorrow cutting down damaged trees so she‘ll be my main worry. I keep telling myself she‘s smart & experienced but still🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y
See All 9 Comments
TrishB We‘re there to worry! 4y
erzascarletbookgasm 3. Oh my, 🥵 stay cool! 4y
Lizpixie @TrishB this is true. It‘s just 2 volunteers just died doing exactly what she‘s doing, so my worry meter is set to 11🚨 4y
Lizpixie @erzascarletbookgasm I ain‘t leavin my house tomorrow unless they cart me out unconscious! Ducted air con is the best gift the hubby gave me. Except for my library of course☺️ 4y
TrishB I saw that on the news 💔 understand totally. 4y
squirrelbrain Stay safe ❤️ 4y
25 likes9 comments
review
Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Pickpick

#Readathon I loved this book! This has got to be the best book I‘ve read this year. It starts out about a father/son relationship, turns into a love letter to the Dakota & NYC before,surprisingly, becoming a love letter to John Lennon, before closing out as being about a father/son relationship. It‘s funny, poignant, beautifully written & meaningful,Highly recommend #Deweys24hrReadathon #HSreadathon #Booked2019 #FeaturesAMusician

Cinfhen I see I‘ve already stacked this book but now I need to find it!! Sounds awesome 💜🎶 5y
48 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Check in for the #Deweys24hrReadathon was all about the food we‘re eating. Well, my #BooknDinner tonight is Chevapi sausages,crispy herbed potatoes🥔peas & corn on the cob🌽We get to have corn on the cob year round! I‘m very much enjoying the book too, it‘s like a flashback to my childhood, if I was American. And rich enough to live in the Dakota. NYC fascinates me, there‘s so much hidden history. I‘d love to visit🗽 #readathon

Jari-chan That looks delicious! 😋 5y
Lauram Those potatoes 😍 5y
Lizpixie @Jari-chan it was!😋 @Lauram the hubby makes them especially for me. They‘re soooo good!🙌 5y
66 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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#Readathon Ok, so we had our grandson last night, at 4am there was an “incident” which kept us up till this morning. Long story short, I forgot about the #Deweys24hrReadathon till now! It‘s 4.30pm so I‘ve lost 6.5hrs reading time😢My #openingsurvey is:
1. Sydney,Australia. 10am was the official start!
2. The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton
3. Ice cream! I know, I‘m an addict.
4. Just #keeponswimming
5. Solo. No other readers in my house #allbymyself🎵

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Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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#LetsTravelAugust #Day1 #NewYork My current read happens to be set in the first prompt,so why not add to the fun! It‘s 1979 in NYC when Anton Winter comes back from the Peace Corps in Africa with a bad case of malaria, back to his family home in the Dakota building. His father was a talk show host until a nervous breakdown had him walk offstage in the middle of a show, now he‘s working on getting back his career. A snapshot of NYC in the late 70s.

OriginalCyn620 👌🏻📚❤️🗽 5y
55 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Lizpixie
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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#BookMail Pt4 This one is yet another @SavidgeReads recommendation, I love his booktube channel. I highly suggest any litten that loves adult litfic with a big dose of personality to check him out.👍Set In 1979 NYC, Anton Winter returns from the peace corps & moves back into his family apartment in The Dakota building. His father is a famous late night host who‘s recovering from a breakdown & drags Anton along on his quest to reignite his career.

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GidgetsTreasures75
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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2-23-19: My 16th finished book of 2019! I chose this one for its title and cover and it surprised me! 👍🏼📖#️⃣1️⃣6️⃣ #thedakotawinters #tombarbash

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GidgetsTreasures75
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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2-23-19: This is so true! #future

review
NatalieR
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Mehso-so

I didn‘t hate this book nor did I love it. I was drawn to this book for the history of the Dakota and those pieces were enjoyable. I liked the historical fiction with John Lennon, but that had to grow on me. Otherwise, the purpose of the story lacked passion or a reason for me to care.

Redwritinghood Totally agree. I felt the same way about this one. 5y
BarbaraBB Well it does count for #ReadingUSA2019 😉 5y
NatalieR @BarbaraBB yes, it definitely does! I already have New York though. 😏 5y
105 likes3 comments
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Vicki22
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Mehso-so

I didn‘t enjoy this book, mainly because it was trying to do too many things & not succeeding at any of them. It was part ‘coming of age, who am I out of my famous father‘s shadow?‘; part historical fiction but only skimming the surface of important events that happened in 80s NY; & it contained WAY too much name-dropping. It might have been better if it just focussed on the protagonist‘s relationship with John Lennon, but it didn‘t. 1⭐️ only.

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Redwritinghood
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Mehso-so

Very mediocre book. The narrator seems to just be an observer throughout this story of second chances and comeback attempts. Unfortunately, it often seemed that the author didn‘t quite know what he wanted the story to ultimately be about. There was a rich opportunity here, but I didn‘t feel it was fully used. This gets points for the narration on the audiobook, where a lot of the impersonations were pretty good. 2.5⭐️

72 likes1 comment
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JustJill1963
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Looking forward to reading this weekend!

whatsthEStorey This looks really good! Stacked it in my TBR. Welcome to Litsy! 🤗📚📖 5y
JustJill1963 It is good! Thanks. Happy New Year! 5y
23 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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BookishMarginalia
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Pickpick

This was an interesting character-driven, light-on-plot novel set mostly in NYC during the late 1970s. I found the bits about Buddy‘s career and the narrator‘s interactions with John Lennon to be the most appealing part of the novel, and could have done without some of the gratuitous name-dropping and navel-gazing. Overall, a quick read and an entertaining audiobook that will not linger long in my mind.

Lea What app is that? I love the little positive messages it gives you! 5y
BookishMarginalia @lea It‘s Scrbd 👍🏼 5y
132 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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Librarybelle
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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BookishMarginalia I‘m about halfway through the audiobook — I‘m liking it so far. 5y
Librarybelle @BookishMarginalia Oh good! It looked good when I checked it out from the library...hope to get to it the beginning of January! 5y
TrishB Good pick 👍🏻 5y
Librarybelle @Cinfhen I grabbed that during a Kindle Daily Deal too! 5y
93 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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shortsarahrose
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Pickpick

It took me a bit to get into, and if you prefer more plot heavy stories, this isn‘t for you. It is much more about the characters and their doubts and struggles as they try to find themselves. I think the novel also draws some strong parallels between our current messed up time and 1979/80. A thoughtful read for the end of the year.

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Apinlibraryland
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Mehso-so

Interesting enough that I didn‘t DNF, but I didn‘t really get the point. There was a lot of name dropping and it was jarring to have so many real famous people mentioned in a fiction book. Fast read but likely forgettable.

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KGlibrarian
The Dakota Winters | Tom Barbash
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Pickpick

I loved being transported back to the New York of the 1970s in this nostalgic, well-written novel. Narrated by the 23-year-old son of a famous talk-show host and socialite mother, the story follows the the Winters from their intriguing life in the Dakota apartment building, where they spend time with their friends John and Yoko, to campaign events they share with Ted and Joan Kennedy. A fascinating page turner filled with pain, love, and hope.

UwannaPublishme This sounds great! 6y
27 likes1 stack add1 comment