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Summary: One of the BEST books I have read in the last 25 years.
Review: A magnificant tale which gave me a very calming feeling.
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Summary: Surreal and Captivating
Review: Truly one of the greatest books of the past 20 years - certianly the best I've ever read. The story is as beautiful as the Italian countryside - never has the pain and triumph of youth been described so amazingly. I highly recommend.
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Summary: A hypnotic book -- for awhile, anyway.
Review: I haven't read anything of Mark Helprin's other novels, but based on this one, I think I'll give them a try.From the very first sentence describing a "pinwheel" of sunlight washing over Rome, Helprin's prose sparkles and jumps off the page at you. A Soldier of The Great War isn't filled with elaborate sentence structures or complex rhythms, but it does feature a seemingly infinite number of memorable phrases and vivid images. I don't know if Helprin's many descriptions of Italian scenery, but I hope so; reading this novel made me want to visit this amazing Wonderland of light and air. The author does a credible job of building characters, as well. Alessandro himself is a far more interesting person as an old man than as the young naif which dominates most of the book, but he remains a good stand-in for the reader. And the cast of supporting characters, while often outlandish, never cease to be interesting and believable. In fact, Helprin's work with individual words, characters and scenes is so deft that I didn't realize until sometime past page 400 that the plot itself was nothing original. Countless stories of young men in war have been written, and some, such as A Farewell To Arms, have more enticing plot devices. And suddenly I realized that there is only so much dazzling prose a person can take. After awhile, I didn't care about Alessandro's grand adventure anymore. But it's worth reading up until then.
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Summary: Love it as I did when I first read it, but do not reread.
Review: When Soldier of the Great War was first published I read it and liked it so much I recommended it to all my friends. They, like I, loved it, and we all felt it was a must reread. I am now rereading it for a book group, and it's been a terrible disappointment. It is the only book I have ever reread that I remembered liking the first time around and failed to find anything new or other layers I missed the first time. Hold on to your memories of it - for the first read is truly worthwhile. The second time around it begins to sounds like "The Perils of Pauline".
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Summary: One of the great novels of the 20th Century
Review: If you want to know why the recent list of the 100 greatest 20th century novels is such a farce, then read this book. Mark Helpin has more talent in his pinky than most of the writers who made that list. This book is stunningly awesome. I am fascinated by turn-of-the-century Europe and the Great War, and Mark Helprin managed to lock into my mind and take me back to that period. Unlike others whose only critique was the slow build-up, I couldn't get enough of the long journey that Alessandro and Nicolo embarked upon. Alessandro was in the Great War and I hung on his every word and memory. This book is powerful and moving. Helprin, through Alessandro, pleads with us to remember all of the soldiers who lie under the white crosses. Their lives were meaninglessly thrown away, but we have the power to restore meaning just by remembering them. The ending of this book is so perfect that I wanted to cry but I was too awestruck by the beauty and the power and the meaning of the book as a whole.
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Summary: Outstanding - an adult's world, but as if thru child's eyes
Review: Agree that first 50 pages or so are not representative of all that follows - stay with it and it's really worth it! This may not really be the world as it exists, but is instead a more idealized world, as if children never grew into adults and never lost the wonder, excitement and magical textures of childhood. There are lot's of individual moments where the words succeed in becoming three dimensional, as real as actual memories. For instance, the image of the field workers happening upon the old Alessandro and the young travellor - their simple act of sitting silently in the dark at the top of a hill temporarily turns the festive mood of the workers into one of disquiet and uneasiness. Like a fisherman casting a line from the present into the future, the need to find meaning in this simple moment may eventually result in a story and then a myth that survives for generations beyond the lives of those involved. Perhaps some of the most enduring parts of culture and belie! fs started in such modest ways; and maybe a simple unrecognized moment of our own will reach out to last long beyond our own lives. Anyway, this book always comes first to mind when I think of the novels I've enjoyed the most. One I'll probably reread every five years for the rest of my life.
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Summary: Helprin writes like some people dream!
Review: The difference is that while you are reading this exquisite epic of a man and man's war you will find that you are always reaching for a map or a dictionary in which to know exactly where and what Allesandro Guiliani is doing and thinking! Never have I felt so drawn to a characters world than in this novel. I found myself constantly wondering what the author did to research this book and how he could know how it felt to be alive in 1915.
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Summary: Episodic writing style makes for a great read
Review: I must confess that I am only a third of the way through this book, and decided to log on and see if the reviews of the book matched my own thoughts. They do. Very, very rarely do I find my mind drifting at work to the setting of a book I am currently reading. But I find myself excited at the prospect of returning home to it. One of the wonderful things about "A Soldier of the Great War" is the way Helprin masterfully constructs the story. Sure, it's long. But every 20 pages or so, the protagonist embarks on a new adventure. Thus, it seems that every time I pick up the book I am indulged in a new story. The best thing is that Helprin keeps his themes constant throughout...whether on the battlefield or racing his horse, Alessandro encounters the same realities, only in different forms. Read this book! It is worth it.
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Summary: Between Heller and Hemingway
Review: Appropriately placed on the shelf between Heller and Hemingway, this is a large, lyrical story by an author who can compress a chapter into a paragraph. Simply the best book I've read in the last ten years. Helprin is a throwback to the time when authors wrote as though they cared for the words they used.
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Summary: The most tremendous book I've ever read
Review: It is hard to review a book such as this because in order to gain a full appreciation for the work one must actually involve themselves into it. This story suck you right in from the first chapter and does not let up until the book has been shut. It is as if the reader is actually in the trenches with the characters vicariously living the novel themselves.
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