In a bygone era, in the realms of literary expression, a glittering nor'easter, dusted with diamonds, arrived with a soft brush and a gentle sift. It wove its way through the perspectives, peripheries, and promenades, leaving behind perilously long page-counts. This phenomenon persisted along the gridded avenues of the most magnificent city that Time had ever ordained.

It was the City Of Books, and this particular work was not just any book. Nay, it was the very kind and the most principal example of what was written during that time. It was highly regarded by the Reading Citizenry, meant to adorn the halls and paper the walls.

However, enough of simply sounding like the book. Let's delve into what it truly is. Like other novels of its era, it aimed to employ Magical Realism as a means to frame the harshly realistic with the presumably magical and overly twee. The intention was to create a third kind of reality.

It aspired to be a Myth. It sought to reach beyond the stars,超越 fictional叙事的惯例, and beyond plausibility, to become that very myth. Similar to other novels of its time, it utilized outrageously cartoonish character names to bring forth cartoonish characters and paid little attention to establishing narrative structures that would yield narrative results. And that's because it desired more than any of those "believable" or "credible" outcomes. It wanted to be the myth; it wanted, as far as I can discern, to be a sort of new-age Bible.

This was a late reading for me of a novel that had been lauded to the skies by many of my contemporaries during and since its initial publication. Many glowing reviews were penned by actual professionals, real reviewers, and countless copies were sold. I acquired this for a dollar at my public library's sale table, and in the spirit of the book, I would say that was about twice, nay, well and truly many times more than I should have paid.

Skip this one, regardless of what others may tell you.

As an individual who has a profound adoration for magical realism, I entered into reading this book with high expectations. And indeed, I did find certain parts quite engaging - Beverly and Peter's stories, along with those of the Penn family in general. In fact, it reminded me a great deal of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. Just as Xanth is essentially modeled after Florida, this book is basically set in Manhattan, complete with offbeat puns and touches of sarcasm.

However, ultimately, this book just didn't quite click for me. There was an excessive amount of attention to detail, to the point where it seemed the author might have lost sight of the overall plot. In a sense, you actually do lose the plot as the main character vanishes for at least the middle third of the novel. Given that the book itself is approximately 700 pages long, this is no insignificant chunk.

I stubbornly forced myself to power through because I have an aversion to not finishing books. For example, Wolf Hall was a struggle until the last 50% when it all came together fantastically, thus making the effort worthwhile. I patiently kept waiting and hoping for that same kind of payoff here, but unfortunately, it never materialized. I'm now glad to have finally finished it and be able to move on to the next literary adventure.

This was recently donated to my Little Free Library Shed by a friend of mine.

And, when I was looking through it, I realized that I had read it before. So, it was interesting to re-visit it again.

This was not an easy read before or as a re-visit. How do I describe it? Maybe I don't.

There is a great expectation to understand that it was a fantasy read for one, and a love story on another level. Was there a moral lesson here, too? Was there something of comic genius, as well?

I say this and ask this, because I question it in my own way of attempting to understand all that I read.

Are we supposed to be caught up in some magic? Is there supposed to be some justice determined? An acceptance of responsibility? Good vs. evil?

Any way you look at it, the direct narrative triumphs in its magical realism depiction of a chaotic New York City world. So, either readers are going to love this book or hate it. Could there possibly be an in-between? I don't think so. But readers will definitely feel something as they venture through Helprin's view of this world.

If nothing else, I would say that this may be a great book for group discussion. Because for me to try and explain it would be fruitless. Perhaps this makes 'Winter's Tale' a great gift just for being its own interesting piece of literature. I have to believe rating it is all over the place, too.

4.5 stars

This book, which was donated by a friend, holds a special charm. Upon re-reading, I was reminded of its complexity. It's a fantasy that also delves into a love story, and there may be hidden moral lessons and elements of comic genius. I question these aspects as I try to understand the book. The magical realism描绘的 chaotic纽约市世界 is captivating. Readers will either love or hate it, with little room for in-between. It's a great book for group discussion as it's difficult to explain. Overall, 'Winter's Tale' is an interesting piece of literature that deserves its 4.5-star rating.

I can clearly understand the reasons why this book has its critics. The author has a tendency to be overly verbose, and there are an almost excessive number of characters, making it quite challenging to keep track of them all. In the past, I have started reading it half a dozen times, but always ended up putting it down before. However, this time, I made a conscious effort to read far enough to truly get into it. As I persisted, the density of the prose gradually gave way to some absolutely stunningly beautiful passages. The unique quirks of each individual character and their fascinating backstories began to stand out vividly. And before I knew it, I was completely hooked.

I will readily admit that there are certain passages - often entire chapters - that I skimmed through. There were characters that I felt a stronger connection with than others, and there were events that initially seemed too tangential to hold much significance. I had to constantly force myself not to linger on every single phrase, otherwise, I would never have been able to finish reading it. Now, I eagerly look forward to reading it again - perhaps on a snowy day, as my sister so thoughtfully recommended - and this time, I will read those passages more closely, with a more discerning eye, and discover all the new details that I might have missed the first time around.

A captivating fairy tale, this steam-punk masterpiece is set in a snowy New York City during a Belle Epoque that never truly existed. The story unfolds with a charming thief at its center, and there is a story within a story that adds an extra layer of intrigue. To top it off, there's a horse that defies gravity and takes flight. It's a great big hulking huge book that demands your attention. It took me forever to read, not because it was difficult, but because the writing was so exquisitely beautiful. I found myself having to stop every other paragraph just to gasp in awe at the author's skill.

Did I mention that I liked this book? It's an understatement. This is a book that will transport you to a world of magic and wonder, and leave you longing for more.

ETA: However, beware the audiobook. The narrator unfortunately does not do justice to the story. It's a shame, as the book itself is a work of art.

There are, without a doubt, worse works of fiction out there in the world. However, this particular book stands out as the worst one that I have actually had the misfortune to read. And it very well could be the worst book that you will ever come across. It's a bad book that居然gets recommended, which is rather interesting.

It is written for those individuals who enjoy the sound of language swirling around in their heads, those who desire to feel long torrents of words washing over them. Judging from the popularity and success of this author, as well as others like Proulx, there are indeed a significant number of such people. But it's a shockingly low standard that, in this instance, presents us with page after page of constructions like this: "Across the river was an eighteenth-century knoll with trees standing upon it like peasant women with arms akimbo, and the spotlight of the sun firing their green tops, while black shadows below suggested a grove of infinite proportions." Let's disregard the grammar for a moment. What exactly makes a tree-covered knoll an 18th century one? How can you envision trees looking like peasant women with their hands on their hips and their elbows out, rather than, for example, upper class schoolboys with their hands on their hips and their elbows out? Is it something in the bark? The shape of the leaves? Groves are small by definition; if it appears infinite, then don't call it a grove!

I solemnly swear that I'm not being unfair in my selection of quotations. Before penning this review, I randomly flipped through the book, and every time I stopped, I found elaborately detailed vagaries. Interestingly, you don't have to take my word for it; because this kind of self-indulgence draws attention to itself, Mark Helprin fans post collections of individual sentences as testaments to his greatness. Can you even imagine doing that with Steinbeck? Hemingway? Faulkner? Would that be the way to capture their true greatness?

Ironically, Helprin's fans - and many professional critics - like him for the very reasons that I think he's dreadful. His sentences demand attention, which is especially convenient when you're writing a book review for publication. And they are determined to be evocative as an end in itself: a sort of Platonic evocativeness. But evocative of what? Well, what does an eighteenth-century knoll mean to you?

A remarkable movie was crafted based on this captivating book. The story unfolds in a rather unique and heart-wrenching manner.

From IMDb, we get a glimpse of the intriguing plot. A burglar, who is perhaps on the wrong side of the law, finds himself in a most unexpected situation. He falls deeply in love with an heiress, but tragically, she passes away right in his arms. However, the plot takes a supernatural turn when he discovers that he has been bestowed with the extraordinary gift of reincarnation.

Driven by his love and a sense of purpose, he embarks on a heroic journey to save her. This movie promises to be a blend of romance, mystery, and the supernatural, captivating audiences and taking them on an emotional rollercoaster. With its engaging storyline and the allure of reincarnation, it has the potential to become a classic in the world of cinema.

**Title: A Winter's Tale**
**Author: Mark Helprin**
**Reason for Reading: Macabre Letters (Macabre Island 2023)**
**Reading/Re-reading: Reading**
**My Edition: Electronic**
**Rating: 3/5**

I find it very difficult to review this book for a simple reason. I wanted to love it, but I couldn't.

The story presents us with Peter Lake (a thief) and Beverly Penn (a girl secluded in a house). Destiny will lead Peter to rob in Beverly's house, and from there, the magic occurs. Theirs is an insta-love (please don't make me say insta-lust!). In my case, insta-love causes me to reject it because I feel it's very fantastical. But in their case, for some strange reason, I understood that love from the first moment. What united them? How did that love arise? From her part, I feel the desperation for an imminent fatal outcome. In his case, it gives the impression that he was fascinated from the first second he saw her play the piano, as if observing her was like observing a work of art that one needs to look at for a lifetime to capture every simple detail. They are two souls that needed each other and knew it the moment they saw each other.

This encounter made me remember the movie "Love Is the Devil" (1998), where there is an almost identical parallel between a thief and a painter. The difference is that this relationship is toxic at a Chernobyl level, while that of Peter and Beverly is not.

During the plot, there is a description of the character of Peter (his personal history, how he was raised, his activities), all until the turn of the millennium. We also have Athansor, a white horse with a very special particularity. Whenever there is a problem, Athansor will come to the rescue. There is a gallery of several characters, like Pearly Soames (a gangster who of course has a gang), Isaac Penn (Beverly's father), Harry, Jack, and Willa (Beverly's siblings), Jayga, Jim, Leonora, Denura, and Lionel (servants), Mootfowl (a reverend). When I say there are several characters, I'm not lying (and that's not even the complete list). This is an unnecessary excess of characters, especially when some are greatly introduced and then don't have an enormous weight in the plot.

The author has a great talent for writing details and descriptions. What he does with the city of New York is almost poetic, at times a romantic plot, at times with criminal action, at times historical fiction, at times fantastical with a lot of a Dickensian flavor. My problem with this book is that it really doesn't focus on almost anything. The romance is very, very minimal. There will be another couple where the author again uses the formula "the moment I saw you, I fell in love." Once I can make the exception and accept it, but repeating the same pattern again is not okay. Basing love on a simple look really isn't enough. Presenting relationships requires a certain realism (even though I know this is fiction), and the romances end up being too instantaneous. If you choose this book because you want to read an extensive romance, you will feel disappointed.

Also, it should be mentioned that at times it is complex to connect the characters with the eras. If I had to define this book in a few words, I would say that it is chapters where the main character is the description.

I did not fall in love with this book.

However, I did see and appreciate the beauty of the writing. The story is extremely creative and inventive, which is quite remarkable.

The characters are interesting and possess a magical quality. Their interconnectivity is carefully woven into the story, showing the author's skill.

But unfortunately, I never really connected with the story or the characters. In some ways, it was too disjointed until the end, and I would often lose interest. I had to force myself to keep going.

For me, a good read is one that I can't bear to put down, not one that I have to struggle to return to. I really wanted to love this book and had high expectations for it.

But in the end, it fell a bit short. It was enjoyable in a very fanciful way, but not as much as I had hoped.

Perhaps others will have a different experience with this book and be able to fully immerse themselves in its world.

I'm only halfway through this book, and yet, I'm completely in love with it.

Before this, I had never even heard of Helprin. But during Christmas, a friend gave me this book. She received it from someone else and didn't have the time to read it anytime soon.

At the moment, it has completely overshadowed my desire to read anything else. I'll hold off on giving specific details until I've finished it.

An update: I have now completed the book, and I firmly believe it's going to be one of my all-time favorites. Only time will tell. It's the kind of book that lingers with you for a long while, and I'm probably not done processing my response to it.

When I think about how to write about it, it seems that anything I could say would just sound absurd. It's a book of astonishing scope that delves into time, relationships, justice, spirituality, and mythology.

Trying to discuss what it's "about" would be misleadingly simplistic. The closest I can come is to say that it's about something approximating enlightenment.

At times, it reads like mythology, while at other times, it's more like poetic/satirical sci-fi (and I'm not really a sci-fi enthusiast).

It's definitely not a book for everyone, mainly because of the way it handles time. If you're in the mood for a traditional, straightforward narrative with clear-cut conceptions of good and bad, time, justice, and love, this book will likely drive you crazy.

But I think it's a book I'm likely to revisit again and again, and there are very few books I can say that about.

One of my all-time favorite books is truly a gem.

I first encountered it when it was published in the 90s, and it made an indelible impression on me.

Recently, I've been thinking that I'll probably pick it up and read it again soon.

This book has been extremely influential in shaping my writing style.

It has had a profound impact, especially when it comes to books like Downsiders and the Everlost trilogy (Everlost, Everwild, and Everfound).

Helprin's unique and whimsical sense of fantasy is simply wonderful.

It transports readers to a world full of magic and wonder, where anything is possible.

The vivid descriptions and engaging storylines have inspired me to strive for the same level of creativity in my own writing.

I am truly grateful to have discovered this amazing book and to have been influenced by it in such a positive way.

A fairy tale steam-punk masterpiece awaits within the pages of this enchanting book. Set in a snowy New York City during a Belle Epoque that never truly was, it weaves a captivating tale. There's a charming thief who adds an element of mystery and excitement. The story unfolds with a story within a story, creating a multi-layered narrative that keeps the reader hooked. And let's not forget the horse that flies, which seems almost magical in this fantastical world.

It's a great big hulking huge book, and it took me forever to read. However, this was not because it was dull or uninteresting. On the contrary, the writing was so exquisite that I found myself having to stop every other paragraph to gasp in awe. The author's use of language is truly masterful, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind.

Did I mention that I liked this book? Well, I did. It's a truly remarkable piece of literature that combines elements of fairy tale, steam-punk, and mystery to create a unique and unforgettable reading experience. ETA: Beware the audiobook, the narrator is not up to it.