Happy Valentine's Day! I'm spending today with my niece to celebrate her birthday and she's my Valentine (LOL). As I'm writing she's sitting next to me and watching Peter Pan. I hope that you're all celebrating Valentine's Day in some way but really we should celebrate love every day.
Two days ago I finished a book called "Winter's Tale." The novel was written by Mark Helprin in 1983 but today movie adaptation is in theaters. I had added the book to my to-read list months ago but soon forgot about it, that is, until I found out about the movie. Of course I had to make sure to read the book before seeing the movie so that's exactly what I did.
I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when I began reading it but soon found myself immersed in the story. The story begins with the escape of a white horse from its master and the horse's rescue of Peter Lake from the Short Tail Gang. Peter Lake, a nineteenth century burgalar, is in a constant war to stay away from the Short Tails. The leader of the Short Tails, Pearly Soames, harbors a strong dislike of Peter Lake. Pearly's dislike stems from the fact that Peter Lake ruined his plan to construct a golden room.
Peter Lake has an interesting history that begins with his parents being refused entrance to New York City from Ellis Island. They are slowly dying of consumption and make the difficult decision to leave Peter in New York to give him a chance to live. He is set into a miniature boat and drifts into the Jersey shore and the Bayonne Marsh where he is found by the Baymen. The Baymen are descendents of Indians who live in much the same way as their ancestors did. Peter stays with the Baymen until they send him to the city because they feel that he will never be one of them.
Peter is introduced to the harsh life of one of the poor of New York City. Soon after entering the city he meets the Reverend Mootfowl and begins working as a mechanic. Life seems to be going smoothly up until the famous Jackson Mead comes to the city to build a bridge. Mootfowl slowly becomes unhinged the longer Mead is around, he tricks Peter and his friend, Cecil Mature, into killing him. While on the run from the police the two are found by the Short Tails where they are forced to join the gang lest Soames turns them in for the murder of Mootfowl. After ten years in the Short Tails Peter betrays them by warning the Baymen of a planned attack.
Thus, Beverly Penn is introduced. Her father, Isaac Penn is the publisher of the very successful paper The Sun. Despite her family's wealth her father cannot save her from the consumption that is slowly taking her life. At 19 years old she has seen little of the world but has an otherworldly knowledge of life. Peter and Beverly meet when he is trying to rob her house while the rest of her family is away in the mysterious Lake of the Coheeries. In just one night they fall in love. They travel to spend the holidays with the Penn family in the Coheeries and they spend New Year's Eve dancing together. In the New Year they are married but soon after Beverly dies. Her family expects Peter to stay with him but he soon disappears. Heartbroken, Peter Lake goes back to his old life where he is still being chased by the Short Tails. Eventually they catch up to him and kill him. Or so you think...
The story continues almost a hundred years later, becoming much more complicated and mysterious. I will keep the rest of the story to myself so I don't ruin it for everyone. There's more to this book than just the story. The writing is exquisite. The descriptions conjure up amazing images of the scenes described. I found myself completely in the dark about what was to come next in the story. And the characters, these are some of the most interesting characters I've ever read about.
I will say that you definitely need to concentrate while reading this. Some of the concepts take a while to sink in so if you don't pay close attention to what you're reading you will become confused. My only issue with the novel is the ending. It doesn't really give a clear answer about what has conspired. It is mostly up to the reader to decide how the story ends. I, of course, have decided it ended happily just the way I wanted it to. I'd have to give this books a 9 out of 10 just because of the ending and some questions not being answered. It's most certainly worth reading though.
I'm planning on seeing the movie sometime this weekend so I will see if it lives up to my expectations. It has some talented actors in it, including: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, and Russel Crow, with an appearance by Will Smith. I'm quite excited to see it.
Sorry for the long post, I just had to share my thoughts about this story with you all. Have a great Valentine's Day and a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Erin a.k.a. Bookworm
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