Mark Helprin is a big favorite of mine. A Soldier of the Great War, Refiner’s Fire, Winter’s Tale, Memoir From Antproof Case — all very good books and enjoyable reads.
Then my brother-in-law over the Christmas holidays asked me if I had read Freddie and Fredericka. Nope. So I bought it, the wife stole it, left it lying around, and I gave it a try last week.
And put it down. I don’t know. I gave it my best, but satire is not Helprin’s strong suit and maybe it was seeing Helen Mirren in The Queen a couple weekends ago, but satire about the British Royal Family doesn’t float my boat and I tossed it down after 100 pages.
I also started and have stalled on Pynchon’s latest, Against the Day. It did the usual Pynchon trick of sucking you in with a slightly comprehensible plot until about page 100 when the drugs kick in, or whatever it is that makes Pynchon drift off into Pynchon-land. So I know I need to suck it up, just as I sucked it up with Gravity’s Rainbow and get into Pynchon mode (which is like reading Shakespeare, it takes a while to get into the language), and slog through it. I still haven’t finished Mason/Dixon, but I still maintain Gravity’s Rainbow is the most important novel of our times and did more to shape my personal weltschauung than any other piece of philosophy, art, or sermon.
good to know. maybe i’ll skip Helprin’s latest as well.
Hah! The Book Thief of Lenovo is book thieved in return! Justice triumphs! 🙂
David–never knew you were also a Helprin fan. But I must admit I began losing my faith in him years ago, when he published A Solider of the Great War. Unlike the idealism and self-reliance, with a tinge of magic realism, of Refiner’s Fire and his early short stories such as Dove of the East, I found AGOTGW ponderous, pretentious and devoid of any new thinking. His characters, which had seemed so noble in his earlier works, verged on caricature. I nevertheless loyally bought and attempted to read Ant Proof Case but just couldn’t get into it. This time around, I couldn’t even bring myself to purchase Freddie and Fredericka. Judging by your reaction, sounds like I made the right call. What a shame but maybe he can still surprise us with another winner.
I agree with your assessment. Helprin was strong and refreshing inthe early days, got a little repetitive in the latter books, still — I don’t think I had as negative a reaction to A Soldier as you did. But, F&F? Stay away.
dc