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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Ok, I really didn't finish this book. I tried, really. I was hoping for so much after reading Soldier of The Great War. This was a struggle the whole time. Maybe one day if I actually finish it I will come back and give a different review. Doubt it.
5 stars for the first 1/2 to 2/3. to be fair, by the time i got to that point, it was no longer winter… i went from enjoying this so much to dragging myself through to the end in audio format. it’s hard to say if that was more about the book or about trying to read it when it was >90 degrees outside. but also, it’s just too long; the end was ugh and it should get 1 star off anyway for killing off beautiful maidens and having male characters who live forever-ish + a romanticization of poverty (and crime, but the rags to riches is the most galling even if yes yes it’s fantasy. early on i was reading and thinking *i bet the author is Republican*) This is a great book to start on the first cold day of winter or the beginning of a thanksgiving holiday.. or NYE? just plan backward so you can finish before February ends. not a beach read.
This book really didn't have to be this long. At least 450 pages could've been scratched, it would only be an improvement. Some of the book was like looking into a beautiful and complex snow globe, but that was it; looking in, not experiencing. The rest was a large mess of over the top prose with so much unnecessary description it was infuriating! And what was the story? No one knows, least of all Helprin! But it was sort of pretty to look at, at places... So no cannot, will not recommend! Why did I finish it? I got into deep (200 or so pages) before I realized what utter crap this was. A beautiful crap.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, I'm not even halfway through this book, but I'm putting it to the side for now. It is full of rich descriptions and beautiful language and, for that, I love it. It also has a bizarre, surreal plot. Between that and the intricate descriptions and abundance of strange emotions, I'm having a hard time making my way through it as quickly as I would like. I've decided to put this wintry story aside (ironically) until the summer, when I can spend larger chunks of time reading. I used to be categorically opposed to putting a book aside midway through, but my pleasure reading time is so brief and so precious, I'd much rather spend it reading something that I can devour. So, as soon as Mike is finished with The Road, I'm onto that. Can't wait.
Ugh, what a mess! I kept reading and reading this book, hoping that the end would somehow redeem the hundreds of impossibly sloppy pages that went before, but I shouldn't have been surprised that the end was the most frustrating part of the whole thing. Helprin has given us the novel as an unmoored planet, whirling madly through space, festooned with the dangling ends of a hundred unresolved plots, lit by the glimmers of thousands of lavishly described yet utterly inconsequential details, peopled by wandering hordes of forgotten characters, and powered by the hot air of endless philosophical mumbo-jumbo.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Winter's Tale paints a beautifully romantic, vibrant picture of a New York that could have been. Weaving together themes of love, timelessness and justice, the book brings together a larger-than-life cast of characters, each engaged in their own adventure of discovery.
Helprin's prose is engaging, witty and deftly humorous, writing with an elder's introspection and the innocent wonder of a child. Winter's Tale is an epic of the highest caliber.
Helprin's prose is engaging, witty and deftly humorous, writing with an elder's introspection and the innocent wonder of a child. Winter's Tale is an epic of the highest caliber.
Published: 1983
Movie: 2014
Pages: 673
Cover: Urban, Winter, Unicorn (Fantasy)
Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy, Literary
Writing: Lyrical, Slow-paced
Prestigious award winning handsome author (Harvard): Huge back cover photo
Ages: 20s to 40s
Not a series
Description: When master mechanic Peter Lake attempts to rob a mansion on the Upper West Side, he is caught by young Beverly Penn, the terminally ill daughter of the house, and their subsequent love sends Peter on a desperate personal journey.
Movie: 2014
Pages: 673
Cover: Urban, Winter, Unicorn (Fantasy)
Genre: Magical Realism, Fantasy, Literary
Writing: Lyrical, Slow-paced
Prestigious award winning handsome author (Harvard): Huge back cover photo
Ages: 20s to 40s
Not a series
Description: When master mechanic Peter Lake attempts to rob a mansion on the Upper West Side, he is caught by young Beverly Penn, the terminally ill daughter of the house, and their subsequent love sends Peter on a desperate personal journey.