Synopses & Reviews
From Mark Helprin, acclaimed author of
A Soldier of the Great War and
Winter's Tale, comes a miraculous song of the twentieth century.
In a mountain garden in Brazil, an old American is writing his memoirs, placing the pages carefully in his antproof case. As he reminisces we learn he was a World War II ace who was shot down twice, an investment banker who met with popes and presidents, a multimillionaire, a man who was never not in love. He spent his adolescence in an insane asylum in Switzerland; he was the thief of the century, a murderer, and a protector of the innocent. And all his life, he waged a valiant, losing, one-man battle against the world's most insidious enslaver: coffee.
Review
"[S]pellbinding....Helprin has a great gift for meaningful, dazzlingly detailed description as well as a nimble sense of humor and a keen perception of life as a jumble of the holy and the profane, a chaos that can only be tamed by the power of love." Booklist
Review
"Helprin returns to his themes of love and redemption, once again creating a tale that is rich in imagery and juxtaposes the irreverence and faith, foolishness and brilliance, of a 20th-century Don Quixote. Highly recommended." Library Journal
About the Author
Mark Helprin is the author of A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Refiner's Fire, A Soldier of the Great War, Ellis Island and Other Stories, Winter's Tale, and Memoir from Antproof Case. He has been honored with the Jewish Book Award and the Prix de Rome for his works. He lives in upstate New York.