Reviews

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition

1.0

I breezed through that last 50 pages of this book. I cannot do it anymore. It is a book of scenery with a story in the background. You only have to set atmosphere once, not every other page for goodness sake. I will go see the movie, because according to the previews they will focus on mostly the best part of the book, the relationship between Peter Lake and Beverly (Sybil from Downton Abbey). But the magic that this book was supposed to have was lost in the details.

claire_dobson's review against another edition

2.0

Even though there were exquisite descriptions, I found the book as a whole long winded and a bit of a chore to read. Maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind to read it, who knows. I was very disappointed though as I had been so excited to read it it after hearing nothing but praise.

wilkerwyrm's review against another edition

4.0

This is quite a tome. It gets four stars because some moments are completely engrossing. I love strange mad cap hijinks and Mrs. Gamely is a winner. It’s not five stars because some parts are just hard to get through and page 520 veers into weird men writing women territory (which is unfortunate because it’s rare in this book). I would highly recommend this to people who like stranger in a strange land because it has the same vibe to me.

brandidean's review against another edition

2.0

I think this would have been charming if it had been shorter. There were good parts, and I liked some of the fantasy elements. But it all got bogged down in the sheer length and density of the book. And honestly, for 750 pages, I expect the plot to make more sense (there were constant pauses for elaborate backstories, as if the author had no particular plan and was making it up as he went along) and the characters to be better drawn (the women in particular were just stereotypes).
I didn't hate it, but it was not worth the time it took to read it.

scenicreading's review against another edition

1.0

Well, I just started reading this book again, but not in a good way. I had completely forgotten about reading it earlier this year. That is not a good sign. When I did remember, I remembered it as: "That book I didn't like, and what was the thing with the horse? Was there a point?"

No, there doesn't seem to be much of a point to anything in this book.

mayhap's review against another edition

3.0

This book is mostly weird, occasionally wonderful, and about as suited for adapting into a movie as a fever dream. I literally do not see how this will work at all.

musicsaves's review against another edition

5.0

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "A great city is nothing more than a portrait of itself, and yet when all is said and done, its arsenals of scenes and images are part of a deeply moving plan." And the deeply moving plan of this epic adventure through the heart and magic of New York City is lifted on wings of language...some of the most evocative, thoughtful, poetic and memorable language I've encountered. Helprin LOVES words. He seems to relish in their splendor and when he couples his literary vision with the magically, fantastical vision of his story...well, it makes for a very unique reading experience. I was captivated and swept away on the back of his mythic white horse!

rickwren's review against another edition

1.0

This book was not a pleasure to read, it was a chore. Helprin is in love with description and is mightily impressed with his vocabulary and it shows. Page after page of similes, metaphors, and more adjectives than I thought existed littered this otherwise ridiculous book.

I hated the story. It started out well, with a chase through the streets of old New York, but then the mysticism began and the story devolved (or evolved I'm sure many readers believe) into a salvation story that rattled the bones of believers and nonbelievers alike until all had risen and Christ himself was building a bridge from this world into all others. Blech.

I want the time back. And I deserve a certificate of completion for trudging through this stupid tome.

moontintedtulips's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

babsaway14's review against another edition

2.0

I struggled with this book. It was beautifully written. Helpern's description of a working person's disbelief that someone as "unskilled and unschooled as the rich" was his master is a description I will never forget. And yet I put the book down halfway through. Today I read a review by a critic in Salon. In it, she mentioned the book "Swamplandia" and said she put the book down halfway through as she had a very low tolerance for "that particular blend of kookiness, cuteness and the bittersweet." And I neither do I. I am not a sentimental person and I recognize my limits. 700 pages of horses flying, little rotund men shaped like weeble-wobbles warring, and grandmotherly illiterate ladies in villages who enjoy using large words for pages and pages cannot hold my attention, regardless of an unseemly love story in the middle. Time for me to move on.