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dspayne's review against another edition
4.0
Great writing. Not only does the author showcase a variety of settings of the first world war with his unique poetic style, he also dives into the philosophy of the main character during his life before, during and after the war.
leslielu67's review against another edition
1.0
I had high hopes that I would learn something about Italy during WW1, but what snippets I could gather were lost in pages of pages of descriptions of a painting I've never seen (here's an idea: show it in the book); how light and snow and sun and moon and birds and whatever affect Alessando; how Alessandro, apparantly some sort of superman, escapes all kinds of death and women swoon in his presence. Master climber! Master swimmer! Master at languages! Master horseman! Master of beauty! Scales the Alps alone with nothing but ice axes. Sits on the beach during a lighting storm and barely misses being struck. Blech - I did not even like Alessandro all that much. And Helprin could have done a little more research: I am skeptical that the condemned prisoners were shaved monthly by electric razors, or that any soldier strapped on a semi-automatic PISTOL to his waistband. Here are the things I learned: Italian deserters often hid in the far off hills, and Helprin could have cut this novel in half and gotten the same point across.
greglhoward's review against another edition
3.0
In so many ways, this book was good. Helprin is a beautiful writer, Alessandro was an interesting character, and there was real emotion on the pages. But Helprin's style, which is great in a [b:Winter's Tale|12967|Winter's Tale|Mark Helprin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399135618s/12967.jpg|1965767], rubs me a bit the wrong way when it's about World War I. Maybe it's that the book pivots too quickly from seriousness to absurdity, or maybe I just need to lighten up a bit. It's also 800 pages long, so it's a bit of a commitment.
mkpeterson's review against another edition
5.0
truly fantastic - takes “life imitates art” to another level
a soldier whose humanity is preserved amidst unspeakable pain and loss - the quiet and steady persistence of love and beauty
a soldier whose humanity is preserved amidst unspeakable pain and loss - the quiet and steady persistence of love and beauty
john_raine's review against another edition
5.0
This book started out VERY slowly. I almost put it down several times in the first 200 or so pages, but I am so glad that I stuck with it. Very thought provoking, but most of all just a beautiful book and beautiful story. I don't know if I would read it again, because it was a long slog, but it was very rewarding. Not really sure that I can think of a good comparison for it.
askmashka's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
jackimurphy's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it. It was incredibly long, but beautiful. I think that were this the first Helprin I read I would have liked it a little better, but "Winter's Tale" is just so magnificently glorious that I can't help but feel a little let down.
alh0f3's review against another edition
3.0
I had heard great things about this book, but I was underwhelmed. It would have benefitted from a significant edit. It moved fast in a couple of spots but was otherwise a bit of a slog.
lian_tanner's review against another edition
5.0
Breathtaking, beautiful, astonishing, deeply moving ... I could go on for some time like this.