An orphaned immigrant's experiences take him from the Hudson River Valley to Harvard, off to sea on a British merchant ship, then finally back to his birthplace, where he serves as an Israeli soldier in the Yom Kippur War.
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From the Back Cover
"That best of all possible novels: read ten pages and you can't put it down; finish it and you'll feel it haunt your days and nights." - The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
Refiner's Fire is the story of Marshall Pearl, orphaned at birth aboard an illegal immigrant ship off the coast of Palestine in 1947 and brought as an infant into the "ardent unlimitedness" of America. Determined to see the world in its beauty, ferocity, and ultimate justice, he does so, in scenes of gorgeous color and great excitement, as a child in the Hudson Valley, fighting Rastifarians in Jamaica, at Harvard, in a slaughterhouse on the Great Plains, in the Mexican desert, on the sea, and in the Alps. Finally he is drawn to Israel to confront the logic of his birth, in a crucible of war, magic, suffering, and grace. At the opening of the book, he is one of the dying wounded being transported to Haifa during the 1973 war. We follow him as he dreams, reconstructing his life, until, by the strength of what he has learned, suffered, and hoped, Marshall Pearl rises.
"Every once in a while a book appears that engulfs you in its limitless beauty. This is such a book. Helprin's use of language and imagery is an ineffable joy." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Refiner's Fire is an experience, like being shot out of a cannon - exhilarating, extravagant, vertiginous." - The Boston Globe
Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, Mark Helprin served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, Refiner's Fire, Ellis Island and Other Stories, Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir from Antproof Case, The Pacific and Other Stories, and Freddy and Fredericka.
Refiner's Fire is the story of Marshall Pearl, orphaned at birth aboard an illegal immigrant ship off the coast of Palestine in 1947 and brought as an infant into the "ardent unlimitedness" of America. Determined to see the world in its beauty, ferocity, and ultimate justice, he does so, in scenes of gorgeous color and great excitement, as a child in the Hudson Valley, fighting Rastifarians in Jamaica, at Harvard, in a slaughterhouse on the Great Plains, in the Mexican desert, on the sea, and in the Alps. Finally he is drawn to Israel to confront the logic of his birth, in a crucible of war, magic, suffering, and grace. At the opening of the book, he is one of the dying wounded being transported to Haifa during the 1973 war. We follow him as he dreams, reconstructing his life, until, by the strength of what he has learned, suffered, and hoped, Marshall Pearl rises.
"Every once in a while a book appears that engulfs you in its limitless beauty. This is such a book. Helprin's use of language and imagery is an ineffable joy." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Refiner's Fire is an experience, like being shot out of a cannon - exhilarating, extravagant, vertiginous." - The Boston Globe
Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, Mark Helprin served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, Refiner's Fire, Ellis Island and Other Stories, Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Memoir from Antproof Case, The Pacific and Other Stories, and Freddy and Fredericka.
About the Author
Mark Helprin is the acclaimed author of Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Freddy and Fredericka, The Pacific, Ellis Island, Memoir from Antproof Case, and numerous other works. His novels are read around the world, translated into over 20 languages.
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More About the Author
Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, MARK HELPRIN served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Refiner's Fire, Winter's Tale, and A Soldier of the Great War. He lives in Virginia.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fire burns, language soothes,
By
This review is from: Refiner's Fire (Paperback)
This is the best Fiction I have read in English since I read the translation of Milan Kundera's "Unbearable Lightness of Being". The beauty of the language is such that it would not be surprising if one required grief counseling after completing this book. The experience and beauty gained in the reading, is mourned soon after you have turned the last page and a feeling of loss descends upon you. Though the book is not sad. Completing it is. It is alive with the joy of lively and interesting characters who take you with them in their dreams and hopes for the future. It is only this that one loses by turning the last page. Intellectually a stimulating story and linguistically one of the best examples of how English should be written with an appreciation of the natural poetic imagery of the language.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best living writer of fiction alive today.,
By archer (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Refiner's Fire (Paperback)
I started life reading all of the works of William Faulkner -- The best American writer of the 20th Century. Richard Powers is obviously a genius and a great writer. Don Dillio, John Irving, and especially Wallace Stegner are all great writers. But Mark Helprin is a true genius with language. After reading four of Mark Helprin's books, he comes closest to the magic writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, except I end up caring a gread deal more about his characters. "Winter's Tale" is remarkable. Just the language in "A Soldier of the Great War"; and "Memoir from Antproof Case" are worth reading. The brillance of the later works are evident in "Refiner's Fire".
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DO NOT READ THE ENDING FIRST,
By Randy Krieger (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Refiner's Fire (Paperback)
If you do, you will deprive yourself of one of the joy's of reading this book. While endings typically conclude, surprise, or leave questions, Refiner's Fire does so much more: It affirms life. Read the book, page by page, and let the story carry you away. Then, as the pages remaining become thinner and thinner you will race to finish -- but you must not. Allow it to unfold and experience one of the most joyful and moving books ever. Just terrific
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First Sentence:
Riding in a new 1938 Ford through the March countryside of North Carolina, Paul Levy was astonished by the tranquility and depth of the blue above. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
deck force Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Eagle Bay, New York, Lindos Transit, Rica Vista, Fourth Daughter, Arieh Ben Barak, Kfar Yona, Royal George, Tel Aviv, Signor Pascaleo, Bat Gallim, Big Tub, Second Mountain Brigade, Sister Bernadine, Fortress Six, Air Force, Professor Berry, Civil War, Grafton Burnwhite, Marshall Pearl, Bet Shan, Cosmas Indicopleustes, Lydia Levy, Nancy May Baker, West Bank New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Riding in a new 1938 Ford through the March countryside of North Carolina, Paul Levy was astonished by the tranquility and depth of the blue above. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
deck force Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Eagle Bay, New York, Lindos Transit, Rica Vista, Fourth Daughter, Arieh Ben Barak, Kfar Yona, Royal George, Tel Aviv, Signor Pascaleo, Bat Gallim, Big Tub, Second Mountain Brigade, Sister Bernadine, Fortress Six, Air Force, Professor Berry, Civil War, Grafton Burnwhite, Marshall Pearl, Bet Shan, Cosmas Indicopleustes, Lydia Levy, Nancy May Baker, West Bank New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 13
books:
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10
books
cite this book:
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- Central Asia in World History (The New Oxford World History) by Peter B. Golden on page 15
- Ellis Island and Other Stories by Mark Helprin in Front Matter
- Swan Lake by Mark Helprin in Front Matter
- Gods, Graves and Scholars: The Story of Archaeology by C. W. Ceram on page 107
- Arabian Nights by Jack Marshall on page 70
See all 13 books this book cites
- Ellis Island and Other Stories by Mark Helprin in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- Memoir from Antproof Case by Mark Helprin in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin in Back Flap, and Back Cover
- Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin in Back Cover
- Book Lover's Guide to Great Reading: A Guided Tour of Classic & Contemporary Literature by Terry W. Glaspey on page 162
See all 10 books citing this book
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