Synopses & Reviews
Now a major motion picture New York Times bestseller "Utterly extraordinary . . . A piercing sense of the beautiful arising from narrative and emotional fantasy is everywhere alive in the novel . . . Not for some time have I read a work as funny, thoughtful, passionate or large-souled . . . I find myself nervous, to a degree I dont recall in my past as a reviewer, about failing the work, inadequately displaying its brilliance." - Benjamin DeMott, New York Times Book Review Mark Helprins masterpiece will transport you to New York of the Belle Epoque, to a city clarified by a siege of unprecedented snows. One winter night, Peter Lake - master mechanic and second-storey man - attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks it is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the affair between a middle-aged Irish burglar and Beverly Penn, a young girl dying of consumption. It is a love so powerful that Peter Lake, a simple and uneducated man, will be driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature. "He creates tableaux of such beauty and clarity that the inner eye is stunned." - Publishers Weekly "This novel stretches the boundaries of contemporary literature. It is a gifted writers love affair with the language." - Newsday
Synopsis
A bestseller that takes readers on a journey to New York of the Belle Epoque, where Peter Lake attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home. Thus begins the love between the middle-aged Irishman and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying. “This novel...is a gifted writers love affair with the language” (Newsday).
Synopsis
New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake--orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side.
Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl, who is dying.
Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man, because of a love that, at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle, in a city ever alight with its own energy and beseiged by unprecedented winters, is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.
Synopsis
Mark Helprin's acclaimed novel is now a major motion picture starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint, and Russell Crowe. Written and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind), in theatres February 14, 2014.
Synopsis
Mark Helprins masterpiece will transport you to New York of the Belle Epoque, to a city clarified by a siege of unprecedented snows. One winter night, Peter Lake - master mechanic and second-storey man - attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks it is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the affair between a middle-aged Irish burglar and Beverly Penn, a young girl dying of consumption. It is a love so powerful that Peter Lake, a simple and uneducated man, will be driven to stop time and bring back the dead. His great struggle is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary stories of American literature.
About the Author
Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, MARK HELPRIN served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Refiner's Fire, Winter's Tale, and A Soldier of the Great War. He lives in Virginia.
Table of Contents
I. THE CITY
A White Horse Escapes 3
The Ferry Burns in Morning Cold 10
Pearly Soames 20
Peter Lake Hangs from a Star 40
Beverly 95
A Goddess in the Bath 110
On the Marsh 130
Lake of the Coheeries 143
The Hospital in Printing House Square 173
Aceldama 191
II. FOUR GATES TO THE CITY
Four Gates to the City 219
Lake of the Coheeries 221
In the Drifts 264
A New Life 347
Hell Gate 370
III. THE SUN...AND THE GHOST
Nothing Is Random 401
Peter Lake Returns 403
The Sun... 418
...and The Ghost 438
An Early Summer Dinner at Petipas 445
The Machine Age 456
IV. A GOLDEN AGE
A Very Short History of the Clouds 505
Battery Bridge 507
White Horse and Dark Horse 544
The White Dog of Afghanistan 579
Abysmillard Redux 591
Ex Machina 606
For the Soldiers and Sailors of Chelsea 641
The City Alight 666
A Golden Age 697
epilogue 747