In a burgeoning metropolis, in the land of opportunity, on the cusp of a new century, Helen and George Miller live what no one would consider "fairy tale" lives. Sold by their parents to a mysterious dwarf, they escape, only to be captured and imprisoned by a sadistic old fortuneteller, who runs a candy shop and freak show at a seaside amusement park. With the aid of Bernard the Wolf Boy, they escape again, but not unscathed. From poverty, through war and plague, on to the prosperity of the jazz age, George, Helen, and Bernard become inextricably bound in a tangled web of love and friendship. Can they find within themselves the courage, kindness, and love that will redeem them? In this city, in this century, where all things seem possible, can any of them find happily ever after?
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Jeffrey Berg grew up on Long Island. He attended Columbia University and earned a B.A. in English. While friends attended law school or business school, Jeff became a paralegal at a major New York law firm and determined that the law was not his calling. He returned to Columbia and earned an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing. During the past decade, he has become father to three children and poured most of his creative energy into them. He has attended many hockey games, helped with much homework, and read many children's books. Not to mention changing a diaper or two. Moving from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Connecticut provided him with more personal time (on the train) than he had had in years. He has used this opportunity to write two novels. Jeff enjoys travel, having been in recent years to Italy, Turkey, Canada, Ireland, Amsterdam, and many parts of the United States. In 2006, he and his family traveled to the Galapagos and the Amazon, and in 2008, they did a whirlwind tour of New Zealand in an RV.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
True Fairy Tale Spirit,
By IJP (Virginia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Millers' Tales: New World Fables, Book 1 (Paperback)
Ah, Fairy Tales. Sweet children's stories? Avid readers know better. In true spirit of Fairy Tales, Jeffrey Berg has created a world familiar and fantastic. Set in NYC in the 1900s, the setting is naturally ripe for exhibiting struggle and darkness. Our heroes, George and Helen Miller, are both victim of circumstance and masters of their own fate. Their choices lead to salvation. Or is it destruction? Villians are around every corner, ready to harm. Or do they help? Are these events impossible to believe? Yes and No. This fast read will carry you, like a trail of crumbs, through the potential reality of family and relationships.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read!,
By
This review is from: Millers' Tales: New World Fables, Book 1 (Paperback)
I could not put this book down! In Millers' Tales, Jeff Berg created a world so vivid and inviting that the writing draws you in and makes you feel like you're actually experiencing life along with George and Helen. I can't wait for the next book!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everyone loves a good fairy tale,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Millers' Tales: New World Fables, Book 1 (Paperback)
As a boy I listened to the stories my father told me at night, tucking me under the covers. These days I do the same with my chldren, making a little special connection. Fables are different than other stories. They're meant to entertain, but mostly to describe relationships between people and capture universal truths. To teach our kids a little bit about life and how they should wend their way through it.
What Berg has done here is deploy a few of our favorite plots in new context. Not the dark Bavarian forest of Brother's Grimm, but turn of the century New York. There's a bit of The Great Gatsby in there, posters constantly following our hero, vision replaced by pointing. We want more of our hero, even if he's a pig boy. This book is a fast read, but the prose is loaded with description and enlivened characters. The themes play out with details typically skipped in telling fabulous stories; we learn why Rumpelstilskin wants a child, what Gretel gives up when she pushes the witch into the oven and the real "magic" used to turn a boy be into a pig. It's too bad there aren't more books like "Miller's Tales." Maguire's "Wicked" comes close, but Berg's characters are more real, and closer to home. The writing is also a bit tighter and less breezy. But the plots, and the universal truths explored are similar. For Berg it's the nature love and loveliness: "Beauty without kindness is like a flower without fragrance". And like "Wicked" you wouldn't want to read this to a six year old. This book is for adults and teens who enjoy a good novel, with strong plot, tight writing and a moral both Bush and Obama could get behind. Recommended.
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