Customer Reviews

A Dove of the East: And Other Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are wondering if it is worth while to read one of Helprin's mammoth novels (they are all, uhm, Big), you can get an idea from reading either a book in the Swan Lake trilogy (hard-to-find children's books, illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg), or one of his short story collections. I cherish his short stories, and this collection is one of my favorites. The variety of time, place, and subject matter, the vividness of the telling, and the kindness and sympathy he gives his subjects - all make the stories worthwhile.

Mark Helprin's novels, and many of his short stories, make me feel as though constellations are coruscating in my mind. Richard Powers's novels, e.g. The Gold Bug Variations, also have this effect on me. I wish the whole world would read their books!

Helprin truly is, as a friend observed, one of our greatest living writers. These stories are sublime and affecting. Katrina, Katrin' is as moving a story as I have read, and A Dove of the East does extra duty - it's a thought-provoking examination of the human condition on one level, and a look back in time at the Middle East.

These stories do what good stories should: Make their impact during and immediately after reading, and then reappear in your consciousness at a later time, triggered by a tangential event perhaps, or an emotional shard.

I am a big fan of Freddy and Fredericka and wanted to try his other works. This is a beautiful collection of stories, reminiscent of Isak Dinesen. Maybe an unusual comparison, but both of these writers are inspired by the love for life, and poignancy of human existence. Gorgeous. I cannot wait to read more of Mark Helprin's books

I found the English awful. Actually quite impressively bad for something that has, surely, been professionally edited.

I only wrote technical documents, but there are simple rules, there are things you don't do. For example repeatedly using the same adjectives. Then there's the punctuation, or lack thereof. The similes and metaphors are trite. It's like reading the writing of a teenager.

People liked this? Someone published it? Amazing.