The perfect mix of optimism, transformation, ingenuity, and whimsy.
In the summer of 1893, the widow Juna Lewis is granted the opportunity of a lifetime, a trip to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, courtesy of her sometimes prickly, yet always practical, father-in-law. Filled with equal parts apprehension and excitement, Juna packs her bags and gathers her eager 14-year-old son, Henry, and boards a train for a journey that is sure to change both their lives. As heir to Lewis Vinegar, the family business, young Henry is less than pleased with his prospects in the field of fermented apples, and this trip is meant to be a learning experience for the future business owner. However, the Expo has so much to see and do that even a full schedule administered by a whip-cracking mentor can’t dull Henry’s enthusiasm. With her son cared for, Juna is able to enjoy total freedom and personal agency for, perhaps, the first time in her life. Juna and Henry experience the miracle of electricity, taste exotic foods, and meet people from cultures they never thought they’d encounter. More than just a few weeks of frivolity, the trip gives Juna opportunities she could never get at home. Horizons are expanded and relationships are reimagined as devastating events from the past are looked at in a new light.
With fluidity and grace, Cindy Angell Keeling immerses readers in the exuberance and ingenuity of this World’s Fair in her lovely debut novel, Dream City Dreaming. Audiences will be wonderstruck alongside Juna and Henry as they explore the expansive grounds and take in the stupendous sights. Here, the author’s intimate familiarity with that spectacular event is showcased, but not in a grandiloquent manner. Instead, you’ll practically be able to smell the array of decadent foods, enjoy the dizzying views from the Ferris wheel, and feel the anticipation as you wait for your turn on the next gondola ride around the beautiful lagoon. The prose has a lively, lyrical quality that will handily lull you into a sense of peace and calm. But reader, beware! Calm suddenly devolves into tension and mayhem as the pace accelerates into a frenzied ending you’ll be delighted you stuck around for. Reading like a comprehensive guidebook to a once-in-a-lifetime event, but finished off with a suspenseful twist, Dream City Dreaming is the perfect mix of optimism, transformation, ingenuity, and whimsy.
