Mark Helprin
Glenn Barnett
I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then they
print on the dust cover?
Tina S
His most recent fiction writing has been as a speechwriter for the Dole
campaign.
Glenn Barnett <gbar...@cerritos.edu> wrote in article
<1996Nov4...@vax.cerritos.edu>...
Fiona Webster
Glenn Barnett writes:
>I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
>Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
>they print on the dust cover?
Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
--don't forget to vote today,
Fiona
Ted Samsel
Fiona Webster (f...@oceanstar.comDeleteThis) wrote:
Vote early.... and often...
--
Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net "Took all the money I had in the bank,
Bought a rebuilt carburetor,
put the rest in the tank."
USED CARLOTTA.. 1995
Dan Morisseau
In article (Fiona Webster) writes:
>Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
So what?
Give it a rest, you worthless old rag.
====================================================================
"I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time
to talk and says the wrong things. Talking is something you can't do
judiciously unless you keep in practice"
- Casper Gutman, The Maltese Falcon
========== This .sig exceeds Plate "C" specifications ==============
Brian Pickrell
Fiona Webster (f...@oceanstar.comDeleteThis) wrote:
: Glenn Barnett writes:
: >I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
: >Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
: >they print on the dust cover?
: Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
Sort of shoots the theory about him being really good. I hope he isn't
also the guy who coaches Dole on his delivery.
: --don't forget to vote today,
Did. Even voted for the judges and all those other races where you don't
know anything about the candidates.
: Fiona
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Pickrell
My sister has an Oscar Wilde quote in her .signature.
Ken MacIver
dp...@seanet.com (Dan Morisseau) wrote:
>In article (Fiona Webster) writes:
>>Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
>So what?
>Give it a rest, you worthless old rag.
Sound like a Dole speech!
Ken
Ken MacIver
te...@infi.net (Ted Samsel) wrote:
>Fiona Webster (f...@oceanstar.comDeleteThis) wrote:
>: Glenn Barnett writes:
>: >I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
>: >Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
>: >they print on the dust cover?
>:
>: Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
>:
>: --don't forget to vote today,
>Vote early.... and often...
See, they give you a blue chit for Sully's place. You vote, you go
there, Sully gives you a cold pop, around here a Gansett, then Sully
gives you a red chit, you go back to the polls, hand it to fred after
you vote again, then back to Sully's and so forth. After eleven such
trips, it was decided that sitting and paying in Sully's was easier.
Particularly when they found one guy voted 6-5 against!
Ken
"GO WORLEY & SAMSEL"
moggin
Glenn Barnett:
> : >I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
> : >Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
> : >they print on the dust cover?
Fiona Webster (f...@oceanstar.comDeleteThis):
> : Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
pma...@eskimo.com (Brian Pickrell):
> Sort of shoots the theory about him being really good.
I can see why you'd think so, but really, he's good. (Strange,
huh?)
-- moggin
Jim Hori
In article <1996Nov4...@vax.cerritos.edu>,
Glenn Barnett <gbar...@cerritos.edu> wrote:
>I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
>Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then they
>print on the dust cover?
>
There was a profile of him in the New York Times Sunday Magazine sometime
in the last two years that had some interesting background information.
....
jimh
Ken Jones
In article <55nnb5$9nc...@fi.smart.net>, f...@oceanstar.comDeleteThis (Fiona Webster) wrote:
>Glenn Barnett writes:
>>I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
>>Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
>>they print on the dust cover?
>
>
Perhaps that accounts for the strong postmodern influence in Dole's speeches.
He always refers to himself in the third person, talks in fragments, repeats
everything three times, and, like most postmodern authors, doesn't make a lick
of sense.
Rob Lingelbach
In article <moggin-0611...@vyger311.nando.net>,
moggin <mog...@nando.net> wrote:
>Glenn Barnett:
>
>> : >I am reading my third book by an extrodinary modern novelest named Mark
>> : >Helprin. This guy is really good. Does anyone know more about him then
>> : >they print on the dust cover?
> I can see why you'd think so, but really, he's good. (Strange,
>huh?)
There is a webpage for Helprin at
'http://129.241.11.151/Helprin/helprin.html', and a mailinglist that
can be subscribed to by sending a message to
'helprin...@alegria.com' with the Subject: subscribe.
--Rob
--
Rob Lingelbach | 2660 Hollyridge Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90068
r...@alegria.com | "I care not much for a man's religion whose dog or
r...@sun.alegria.com | cat are not the better for it." --Abraham Lincoln
r...@praia.alegria.com KB6CUN http://www.alegria.com
Bruce McGuffin
15) You know, there's something rather attractive in the bad weather
of England -- when you've got a kitchen-fire to look forward to...
Four o' clock! Come along -- we'll just be in nice time for tea.
Hugh Lofting, the 2nd Dr. Dolittle book: "Dr. Dolittle's Voyages", or
"The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle" or something along those lines.
Bruce McGuffin
K. Harper
James Lloyd Hill wrote:
>
> 1) The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little
> embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves
> together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim
> cruiser in the distance.
_The Lord of the Flies_ by William Golding
Joel
j-h...@ehsn24.cen.uiuc.edu (James Lloyd Hill) wrote:
>To wit, I'm in a contest to win a $50 gift certificate at a local
>bookstore. They've produced a list of the endings of 50 "reasonably
>well-known books"
>9) Her hand moved behind his head and supported it. Her fingers moved
> gently in his hair. She looked up and across the barn, and her lips
> came together and smiled mysteriously.
"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
>19) When they strove to detach the skeleton from the one it was
> embracing it crumbled into dust.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo
william r smith
James Lloyd Hill wrote:
>1) The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little
> embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves
> together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim
> cruiser in the distance.
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding, I think.
William Sburgfort Smith
_______________________________________________________________________________
William Smith will...@mhpcc.edu
Maui High Performance Computing Center WWW: http://www.mhpcc.edu
_______________________________________________________________________________
Bill Page
James Lloyd Hill (j-h...@ehsn24.cen.uiuc.edu) wrote:
> 14) Shantih shantih shantih
"The Wasteland," T.S. Eliot.
--
Bill Page inet: pa...@mc.edu
Mississippi College (601)925-5638
Clinton, MS 39058
James Lloyd Hill
In article <55t7hd$c...@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu> j-h...@ehsn24.cen.uiuc.edu (James Lloyd Hill) writes:
>
>First things first; I want to be upfront about this: this isn't
>just an opportunity to flex your mental muscle.
>
>To wit, I'm in a contest to win a $50 gift certificate at a local
>bookstore. They've produced a list of the endings of 50 "reasonably
>authors.
Several respondents have asked me for the entire list of 50 so that
they can play along. (Numbers with asterisks are the ones that have
been ID'd.) So, here 'tis, and if you see one unmakred that you know,
please mail it to me:
*1) It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done;
it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.
*2) The oldest hath borne most: we that are young shall never see so
much, nor live so long.
*3) The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little
embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves
together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim
cruiser in the distance.
*4) The broken flower drooped over Ben's fist and his eyes were empty
and blue and serene again as cornice and facade flowed smoothly once
more from left to right: post and tree, window and doorway, and
signboard, each in its ordered place.
*5) End here. Us then. Finn, again! Take. Bussoftlhee, mememormee!
Till thousendsthee. Lps. The keys to. Given! A way a lone a
last a loved a long the
*6) I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever
tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.
*7) He was waiting until the officer reached the sunlit place where
the first trees of the pine forest joined the green slope of the
meadow. He could feel his heart beating against the pine needle
floor of the forest.
*8) I lingered round them, under that benign sky, watched the moths
fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft
wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could
ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.
9) Dark, when it came, would come on quickly, as it does in wintertime.
"I am simply mad about--" But the sentence was left unfinished for
the hush was shattered when, with an instant shock of happiness, she
heard the ringing of the bell.
*10) With a sudden intensity, as if she saw it clear for a second, she
drew a line there, in the centre. It was done; it was finished.
Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I
have had my vision.
11) "And all this, all this life abroad, and all this Europe of yours is
just a delusion, and all of us abroad are a delusion. Mark my words,
you'll see it for yourself!" she concluded almost angrily as she
took leave of Radomsky.
*12) But no, he would not give in. Turning sharply, he walked toward
the city's gold phosphorescence. His fists were shut, his mouth
was set fast. He would not take that direction, to the darkness,
to follow her. He walked towards the faintly humming, glowing
town, quickly.
*13) I caught him, yes, I held him--it may be imagined with what a
passion; but at the end of a minute I began to feel what it truly
was that I held. We were alone with the quiet day, and his little
heart, dispossessed, had stopped.
14) He got out. She drove on, following the cortege, watching him in the
rear view mirror as he crossed the road and stood, thumbing a ride,
while cars full of returning mourners glided past him, back to New
York.
*15) Lord! said my mother, what is all this story about?--A Cock and
a Bull, said Yorick--And one of the best of its kind, I ever heard.
*16) April 27. Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in
good stead.
Dublin 1904.
Trieste 1914.
17) O my soul, so may thy face be by me when I close my life indeed; so
may I, when realities are melting from me like the shadows which I
now dismiss, still find thee near me, pointing upward.
*18) On a field, sable, the letter A, gules.
19) But Uncle Pierre! Oh, what a wonderful man! But my father! My
father! My father! Yes, I will do whatever he would approve.
*20) But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the
rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and civilize
me, and I can't stand for it. I been there before.
*21) It was the ever-devious Rachel, that in her retracing search after
her missing children, only found another orphan.
*22) For the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric
acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might
have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden
life, and rest in unvisited tombs.
*23) Ah! /Vanitas Vanitatum!/ which of us is happy in this world? Which
of us has his desire? or having it, is satisfied? --come, children,
let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played out.
*24) The sultry nightmare was in the past. He had been an animal blistered
and sweating in the heat and pain of war. He turned now with a
lover's thirst to images of tranquil skies, fresh meadows, cool
brooks--an existence of soft and eternal peace. Over the river a
golden ray of sun came through the hosts of leaden rain clouds.
*25) But that is the beginning of a new story, the story of the gradual
rebirth of a man, the story of his gradual regeneration, of his
gradual passing from one world to another, of his acquaintance with
a new and hitherto unknown reality. That might be the subject of
a new story--our present story is ended.
*26) And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any
meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer
that is malignant in the body of America--then, all of the credit
is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine.
27) "Pooh! You had to buy the man before you could get his dog."
"Well, perhaps that's not the worst part of the bargain."
*28) I can stand it then. Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get
him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.
*29) So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly
into the past.
*30) Her hand moved behind his head and supported it. Her fingers moved
gently in his hair. She looked up and across the barn, and her lips
came together and smiled mysteriously.
*31) He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there
all night and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
*32) And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
33) And he hasn't been seen in the state of New Hampshire from that day
to this. I'm not talking about Massachusetts or Vermont.
34) The branch of chemistry dealing with fermentation, as applied in
wine-making, brewing, etc.
*35) The reign of Edward VI was a singularly merciful one for those
harsh times. Now that we are taking leave of him let us keep
this in our minds, to his credit.
*36) But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in
that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and
his Bear will always be playing.
*37) He crossed his hands on his lap and smiled, as a man who has won
Salvation for himself and his beloved.
*38) Come in, Adam, and rest; it has been a hard day for thee.
*39) I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and,
as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the
forge, so the evening mists came rising now; and in all the broad
expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of
another parting from her.
*40) Shantih shantih shantih
*41) Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends.
*42) You know, there's something rather attractive in the bad weather
of England -- when you've got a kitchen-fire to look forward to...
Four o' clock! Come along -- we'll just be in nice time for tea.
43) "Do you think he will ever find it?" I asked.
44) I know that here where her ashes are -- I know that her divine
eyes would no longer refuse to look into mine, since the sorrow
which seemed eternal and would have slain me to see would not
now be in them.
*45) ...and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find
a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life,
and the happy summer days.
46) Ill stands it with me if I have spoken falsely; thine also it
was to hear truly. Farewell.
47) When they strove to detach the skeleton from the one it was
embracing it crumbled into dust.
*48) And Pallas, still with Mentor's form and voice, set a pact
between them for ever and ever.
*49) Wait and hope.
*50) Go, bid the soldiers shoot.
Jim
--
j-h...@coewl.cen.uiuc.edu http://www.swcp.com/~jimhill/
"I'm shoo'in' bas-ket-ball; I'm shoo'in' bas-ket-ball..."
Tim McDougall
nan...@tiac.net (Ken MacIver) wrote:
>dp...@seanet.com (Dan Morisseau) wrote:
>
>>In article (Fiona Webster) writes:
>
>
>>>Did they print the part about how he writes speeches for Bob Dole?
>
>>So what?
>
>>Give it a rest, you worthless old rag.
>
>Sound like a Dole speech!
>
Regardless ... however much I don't agree with his political stance, I
do think he's a wonderful fiction writer. One of the few I rush to
grab and read as soon as they hit the stands.
If I was to restrict my reading only to authors who in their personal
lives agreed with my liberal political views, I'd be a close-minded,
poorly-read, hack of a reader.
Tim McDougall
moggin
tmc...@execpc.com (Tim McDougall):
[re: Mark Helprin]
> [...] however much I don't agree with his political stance, I
> do think he's a wonderful fiction writer. One of the few I rush to
> grab and read as soon as they hit the stands. [...]
Agreed. But I thought _Antproof Case_ was disappointing.
Not _bad_ (I still enjoyed it) -- just not on the same level as
some of his previous work. How 'bout you?
-- moggin
Tim McDougall
mog...@nando.net (moggin) wrote:
I'd agree with that ... considering the whole works, I'd place
_Antproof Case_ maybe just below _Winter's Tale_ and certainly below
_Soldier of the Great War_, which I consider a classic.
_Antproof Case_ suffered a little in the early going because Helprin
was rather slow to reveal what motivated the main character. But
while _Winter's Tale_ got off to a much quicker start and was more
consistent throughout, I'd still have to say that _Antproof Case_ had
a more satisfying finish. I thought the back quarter of the book was
brilliant, and the first three quarters were, well, Helprin doing what
he does, spinning those big, luxurious tall tales where you don't know
where to separate the storyteller's exaggerations from what really
happened, and taking emotions and details that would go unnoticed by
lesser writers and giving them epic proportions.
Although I was disappointed in comparison to his other books, I still
enjoyed it quite a bit.
Tim McDougall
moggin
> >> [...] however much I don't agree with his political stance, I
> >> do think he's a wonderful fiction writer. One of the few I rush to
> >> grab and read as soon as they hit the stands. [...]
moggin:
> > Agreed. But I thought _Antproof Case_ was disappointing.
> >Not _bad_ (I still enjoyed it) -- just not on the same level as
> >some of his previous work. How 'bout you?
Tim:
> I'd agree with that ... considering the whole works, I'd place
> _Antproof Case_ maybe just below _Winter's Tale_ and certainly below
> _Soldier of the Great War_, which I consider a classic.
Exactly. The short stories collected in _Ellis _Island_ are
absolutely top-notch, too -- some masterpieces there (including
"Ellis Island").
> _Antproof Case_ suffered a little in the early going because Helprin
> was rather slow to reveal what motivated the main character. But
> while _Winter's Tale_ got off to a much quicker start and was more
> consistent throughout, I'd still have to say that _Antproof Case_ had
> a more satisfying finish. I thought the back quarter of the book was
> brilliant, and the first three quarters were, well, Helprin doing what
> he does, spinning those big, luxurious tall tales where you don't know
> where to separate the storyteller's exaggerations from what really
> happened, and taking emotions and details that would go unnoticed by
> lesser writers and giving them epic proportions.
That was the problem for me: the book seemed too cartoonish.
Not half so much as Pynchon's _Vineland_, but enough to detract.
> Although I was disappointed in comparison to his other books, I still
> enjoyed it quite a bit.
Yep.
-- moggin
Tim McDougall
dc...@darwin.clas.virginia.edu (David Swanson) wrote:
>
>I've heard nothing but high praise for SofTGW, and have nothing but
>contempt for the Dole speeches and the defense of Dole in Newsweek
>(elect the man because he hurt his arm, etc.). Here's something I
>wrote about Refiner's Fire a long time ago:
>
>
>ÒRefinerÕs FireÓ by Mark Helprin
>
<length of commentary clipped>
>
>If you like quasi-realistic adventure fantasies, clever schemes whereby
>a handful of fearless ubermenschen defeat an army, and a smiling blonde
>at the end of each episode, this book beats any television cops show by
>a mile. The action is superb. And if youÕre tired of characters who
>try to ingratiate themselves through humility and failure, this is the
>book to read!
>
>
So, I'd take it that while you aknowledged that Helprin was a fine
stylistic writer in Refiner's Fire, you found the actual content empty
or lacking moral character.
I haven't read Refiner's Fire, so I won't comment. But have you his
most recent three novels, or his short stories? If so, what did you
think? Did you come to the same conclusion?
I'm hoping I've misinterpreted your post, and that the message I'm
supposed to retain isn't "I read his first book, and found it stylish
but shallow, so all the rest of his work must be the same, and by the
way he supports Dole so I don't like him."
Tim McDougall
David Swanson
I've heard nothing but high praise for SofTGW, and have nothing but
contempt for the Dole speeches and the defense of Dole in Newsweek
(elect the man because he hurt his arm, etc.). Here's something I
wrote about Refiner's Fire a long time ago:
ÒRefinerÕs FireÓ by Mark Helprin
This is a wonderful book of a particular type. Or to put it another
way, if you arenÕt bothered by its shortcomings, youÕre liable to love
it. Its shortcomings include the following. As a male adventure
fantasy, it gives no character to women (and depicts feminists as
demons). The protagonistÕs bride is treated as a trophy. But no
character-development is to be found in the men either. This is a book
of events, not of actors. Absurd wealth is glorified, as is war, and
as is purposeless drifting. A moronic argument is given in favor of
the code of Hammurabi. Meat-eating is romanticized. Et cetera. And
this is more than political quibbling. I couldnÕt be more pleased to
have found a Republican who can write as wonderfully as Helprin can.
The trouble is that the book not only lacks morality, but lacks a
coherent purpose. Marshall (the hero) is given an ideal childhood, but
is said to be deeply troubled by the knowledge that he is adopted. No
elaboration is given of why or how this bothers Marshall. The fact is
stated baldly and then allowed to drive the whole tale of disconnected
adventures, in which Marshall, for the most part, does not search for
his father, but simply rambles about the world performing acts of
superhuman strength and cunning, while beautiful girls and women throw
themselves at his feet. Ulysses is dragged in as a symbolic theme.
But Marshall bears no resemblance to the original Ulysses or to Stephen
Dedalus. Ulysses was trying to get home. Both he and Dedalus were
human, with flaws. And Joyce's book is held together by the uniqueness
of the writing. Marshall is more of an anglophile heterosexual
anti-drug pro-violence Jack Kerouac - with special powers, and without
the justification of being an artist in search of material.
If you like quasi-realistic adventure fantasies, clever schemes whereby
a handful of fearless ubermenschen defeat an army, and a smiling blonde
at the end of each episode, this book beats any television cops show by
a mile. The action is superb. And if youÕre tired of characters who
try to ingratiate themselves through humility and failure, this is the
book to read!
David
"When reading the works of an important thinker, look first for the
apparent absurdities in the text and ask yourself how a sensible person
could have written them. When you find an answer, . . . when these
passages make sense, then you may find that more central passages,ones
you previously thought you understood, have changed their meaning."
Kuhn