bob@cadovax.UUCP (Bob "Kat" Kaplan) (03/06/85)
I had read Mark Helprin's two short story collections and his first novel without too much enthusiasm. Some of his stories were imaginative, some were uninteresting, and some were both. I thought he was a good writer, but a lot of his stories were easily forgettable. So I was not looking forward to much when I started reading "Winter's Tale". But it turns out to be a great book. I don't know what I liked about it so much, but I literally couldn't put it down (until I was physically exhausted: it's a long book and I'm a slow reader). When I did finally finish it (at 3:00 a.m.), I was sad that it was over. What I want to say is: Read the book. Even if you don't like "fantasy" books (I don't.) you will like this book. If you think you are a writer, you'll have to lower your estimation of your skills by a few notches. Mark Helprin has shown he can write. Now I await his next book with great anticipation. -- Bob Kaplan "Where is it written that we must destroy ourselves?"
jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner) (03/11/85)
[...] I'd like to second the recommendation of Winter's Tale and point out that the book is not "fantasy" (at least the way I think of fantasy). It is, in fact, that seldom-seen-in-modern-times beastie, a "tall tale". It has all the classic marks of the tall tale: the most beautiful (and strangest) girl in the world, the equally strange and evil villain, the mildly super hero, and the legendary horse that he rides. The writing is indeed astounding, never pretentious but always intelligent and amusing. I can think of no other writer with the ability to pull off the sheer flambuoyance that Helprin displays, with the possible exception of Tom Wolfe. Buy the book and read it. Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo