Rating: 
Summary: War IS Hell
Review: Lyrical. Poetic. Flowing. Emotionally riveting. In my humble opinion, this is Helprin's masterpiece. Protagonist Alessandro is deeply and authentically human, a sensitive man caught in a vicious machine struggling to maintain his humanity. This book reads like a movie and would make a fine screenplay. Not to be missed.
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Summary: Don't be put off by the title!
Review: I never would have thought I would read a book that has words in the title like "soldier" and "war." But I was urged to give this a look and I knew the writer's other work, which was never short of wonderful. This novel is amazing in scope and power. Helprin is a true craftsman; his words seem to almost sing off the page. And the main character is someone I came to care about deeply, his life and loves, his friends, the tragedies, and even the deep humor. Yes, there is war here and even some exciting sequences which normally I tend to skim, not being a fan of "action." But the way Helprin writes draws you into the story and never lets go.
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Summary: Does it get better than this?
Review: My dad, now retired and with lots of time on his hands told me that he had read a book by an author I had not heard of before. He said I must get it out and read it no matter what. I took the book from the library and I was kidnapped by a consumption that I could not wash away with tears nor laugh away with glee. Helprin's book was so powerfully good, perhaps great, that it became a love affair as deep as Alessandro's with Ariene. We fall in love not only with our protagonist, a superhuman of endless vigor, vitality, simple moral and ethical virtues, but we are enlightened about the human condition on every page. To say that people suffer during war time is a hackney phrase, so what Helprin has accomplished is to elevate that suffering into a lament for all of humanity as we all get drawn into the tragedies that fate hands us.
I cannot remember how many times I laughed like a fool on the subway on the way to work or grabbed my eyes as I wept. This is such a great novel I would argue that it should be mandatory on the reading lists of all English major courses in the land. Helprin has a grasp, an insight into the range of human life, that I wished that his book would have contained thousands more pages and generations more to talk to us. I eagerly await my copy of the Antproof Case. What a brilliant writer; thanks Dad.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest American Novel of the Late 20th Century
Review: One of the truly great works of American fiction. I will go so far to say as it is the finest work of fiction I've read written in the last half of the 20th century.
In "A Soldier of the Great War" Mark Helprin creates a story encompassing the whole of humanity weaving reality with a world of fantastic wonder. The unbelievable becomes real and what seems simple is only deceptively so and bends into the fascinatingly complex.
Helprin's style is enigmatic; his tale told in equal parts masculine bravado and contemplative delicacy. It is nothing short of astonishing.
Beginning with the preparation for a visit to his daughter, we follow the elderly Alessandro Giuliani on a seemingly routine bus journey. Things turn and a short journey turns into adventure when the old man comes to the aid of a teenager and he begins sharing his story and the lessons learned over a life rich and eventful. A life of youthful privilege gives way to the horrors of WWI and discoveries of love, loss and destiny.
Helprin elevates American fiction to that pantheon we reserve for storytellers the likes of Dickens, Cervantes, Dumas and Hesse. With this book (and to a certain degree "Winter's Tale")- he tightens the gap between great writers of "then" and "now" bringing contemporary fiction a true and rare respectability.
All adulation would, of course, mean nothing if this were receiving accolades solely on style and structure and ignoring the "readability" factor. On that front, I can only say this is a book I cannot imagine anyone not falling in love with and that, my friends, is the rarest book of all.
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Summary: Just an outstanding book.
Review: An absolutely perfect read. Well developed characters, an interesting plot, intelligent writing, and a message that resonates beyond the last page.
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Summary: One Of The Most Beautiful Books I Have Ever Read
Review: Soldier Of The Great War is simply marvelous, exciting reading.
Alessandro tells his story so beautifully, I fell in love with the character and dreaded the turning of each page as I knew it brought me closer to the story's end.
There is pathos here, and great irony as when, for example, as a soldier, Allessandro has performed acts of astonishing heroism, then is given the ultimate punishment for his desertion. And yet Mark Helprin has the ability to have us chuckling even as we feel pain and fury for Alessandro's unfair treatment.
Perhaps this is the strongest messge within this Great book: that Life is seldom fair, that the good guys don't always win- at least not in the way we want them to- and yet Life still maintains it's beauty. Alessandro never loses his love and appreciation for Life. It's also so lovely to experience the wonder Alessandro feels toward those he loves, especially the message of women as healers.
Lastly, Mark Helprin's prose is so beautiful at times this book reads like poetry. The imagery is incredible. Prepare to relish this book and thoroughly enjoy yourself; to laugh, cry, hate, and most of all to feel a sense of love and joy. If you haven't read Soldier Of The Great War yet, I envy you the experience.
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Summary: No better book yet.
Review: I'll save the flowery stuff...terrific book, I give one away yearly. Will tick-off many to say it, but I do not know a better living author. Will tick-off even more to know that he also wrote a near-famous speech for Sen Bob Dole, upon his retirement from the senate.
Rating:
Summary: War IS Hell
Review: Lyrical. Poetic. Flowing. Emotionally riveting. In my humble opinion, this is Helprin's masterpiece. Protagonist Alessandro is deeply and authentically human, a sensitive man caught in a vicious machine struggling to maintain his humanity. This book reads like a movie and would make a fine screenplay. Not to be missed.
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Summary: Remarkable in every way
Review: I too am disappointed with the negative or poor reviews of this book. I feel it is one of the greatest books I have ever read, absolutely one of the top three. It is remarkable in the reality interwoven with the fantasy. The characters are wonderful and engaging. I am convinced, as one reviewer put it, that the readers who did not like it have no appreciation for either the horrors and reality of war or any familiarity with the Northern Italian people. For example,the climbing is a very big part of the history of northern Italy and its rural peoples. Especially if you were a young, strong and competitive young man in this era. Italy's greatest athletes of the day were mountaineers and climbers.
The setting of an old man walking through his beloved mountains with his young partner is a very likely and real likelihood in Italy. They are a people bound to the scale and grandeur of their land filled with mountains.Fabulous throughout and inspirational in every way.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best
Review: For a novel to be truly great, it must captivate your days, invade your dreams, and change your way of perceiving the world. This novel is truly great. Like the protagonist, you will be infected by his gift of seeing beauty in everything, even the ugly or horrific. Warning! After reading this book, I bought and read three other books written by Helprin. All terrible! (Sort of reminds you of Frank Herbert) This one, though, is a towering achievement.
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