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A review by wwatts1734
Memoir from Antproof Case by Mark Helprin
4.0
The first thing that you have to know about Mark Helprin is that he combines the genre of historical fiction with the genre of fantasy. His novels are based on solid historical settings, but they are not exactly realistic, and Helprin intended them this way. His novel "A Winter's Tale", which was recently made into a movie, is very much this way. It is not realistic at all. "Memoir from an Antproof Case" is a bit more realistic, but it's still a fantasy. It should be read that way. Reading Helprin's novels purely as historical fiction will lead to disappointment.
"Memoir" is the story of an elderly American who was born at the beginning of the 20th Century and relates the story of his life through the 1980s. The main character is very quirky. He hates coffee with a passion. He works interesting jobs, becomes an aviator during World War II when he is already in his 40s, and eventually flees the country with a planeload of gold from Wall Street. What's up with this guy? As Helprin tells his tale, the reader begins to understand why this character is so quirky. Why does he hate his employer so much? Why does he hate coffee? By the end of the novel all of this becomes clear, and I really felt like I could sympathize with a guy whom I had previously thought of as a nutcase. The twists and turns in this novel and the historical anomalies kept my attention.
I would almost classify "Memoir" as a psychological novel because of the way that Helprin unfolds his characters. I also appreciated Helprin's historical allusions regarding the various eras of the 20th century, allusions that may go over the heads of less historically aware readers. Overall I really enjoyed "Memoir". I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a quirky historical or fantasy novel.
"Memoir" is the story of an elderly American who was born at the beginning of the 20th Century and relates the story of his life through the 1980s. The main character is very quirky. He hates coffee with a passion. He works interesting jobs, becomes an aviator during World War II when he is already in his 40s, and eventually flees the country with a planeload of gold from Wall Street. What's up with this guy? As Helprin tells his tale, the reader begins to understand why this character is so quirky. Why does he hate his employer so much? Why does he hate coffee? By the end of the novel all of this becomes clear, and I really felt like I could sympathize with a guy whom I had previously thought of as a nutcase. The twists and turns in this novel and the historical anomalies kept my attention.
I would almost classify "Memoir" as a psychological novel because of the way that Helprin unfolds his characters. I also appreciated Helprin's historical allusions regarding the various eras of the 20th century, allusions that may go over the heads of less historically aware readers. Overall I really enjoyed "Memoir". I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a quirky historical or fantasy novel.