Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Harcourt Brace International (1995), Edition: First Edition, 514 pages
Description
The bittersweet memoir of an aging man-of-the-world. In a tone tinged with humor and regret he describes his many lives, from banker to fighter pilot, to inmate of a mental asylum, commenting on every subject under the sun, including his visceral hate of coffee.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Jim53
Mark Helprin is one of my favorite authors, because of his ability to combine hilarious absurdity with moving earnestness. We see this quality in Memoir, although we have to work a bit harder to discern what's going on than I did with the previous Helprin novels I read, Winter's Tale and Freddy and
In Memoir, our narrator is an eighty-year-old man, born in the US, orphaned, raised in a Swiss home for the insane, educated at Harvard... we learn all these details in different sections of the memoir. He is now nearing the end of his life, teaching English as a second language in Brazil, cheerfully training his students to greet guests of high rank with choice obscenities. He reflects on his experiences as a pilot in WWII, his life as an investment banker, the many women he has loved, and his incessant war against the world's greatest source of evil, coffee. He is focused on protecting his memories and the people who have populated them; hence the antproof case in which his memoir is stored.
Helprin's style supports his narrator's bravado and his quasi-magical view of the world. He combines lyrical descriptions with improbable incidents, personal insights with absurd obsessions. I enjoy his writing tremendously, but he wanders quite a bit in this novel; it's more work than others I've read, which is not in itself a problem, but the reward is somewhat less. I suspect more would become clear with a re-read, but it's a long book, and there are many others waiting to be read. Recommended, but not as highly as others of his.
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Fredericka (F&F was my favorite book of 2008).In Memoir, our narrator is an eighty-year-old man, born in the US, orphaned, raised in a Swiss home for the insane, educated at Harvard... we learn all these details in different sections of the memoir. He is now nearing the end of his life, teaching English as a second language in Brazil, cheerfully training his students to greet guests of high rank with choice obscenities. He reflects on his experiences as a pilot in WWII, his life as an investment banker, the many women he has loved, and his incessant war against the world's greatest source of evil, coffee. He is focused on protecting his memories and the people who have populated them; hence the antproof case in which his memoir is stored.
Helprin's style supports his narrator's bravado and his quasi-magical view of the world. He combines lyrical descriptions with improbable incidents, personal insights with absurd obsessions. I enjoy his writing tremendously, but he wanders quite a bit in this novel; it's more work than others I've read, which is not in itself a problem, but the reward is somewhat less. I suspect more would become clear with a re-read, but it's a long book, and there are many others waiting to be read. Recommended, but not as highly as others of his.
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LibraryThing member ben_a
Re-read on vacation. Helprin's stylistic flourishes astound and amaze, as does his ability to shift from the absurd and hilarious to the touching and sublime. And it's not just style. His aesthetic comes linked to an ethos, a theology. Helprin is, if not a preacher, at least an old-time country
These virtues come at a price. Helprin protagonists are elves -- Tolkein elves -- made for this world, impossibly in love with it, walking light-footed on snowdrifts. In some books, this wears better than in others. 3.10.08
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medicine show promoter: for the beauty of the world, for duty, for parental love, and against the painful inevitability of change; ever and always pointing us towards an ideal, and urging us to become the person we hope we could be. These virtues come at a price. Helprin protagonists are elves -- Tolkein elves -- made for this world, impossibly in love with it, walking light-footed on snowdrifts. In some books, this wears better than in others. 3.10.08
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LibraryThing member franque23
A quick reading long story. Memoir of a man's entire life racked and lifted by events within and beyond his control. A well written book which certainly calls into question the protagonists' self opinions.
I may never drink coffee again-that's not true but it could happen after absorbing this
I may never drink coffee again-that's not true but it could happen after absorbing this
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Author's whimsical driftings through time, space and thought. How bad is it to be rich? How difficult is it to have murdered a teacher? Is a crash landing all it's made out to be? First love burns as intensely as your desire to keep reading this story's 'vistas', travels and moments of self-reflection. Franque Show Less
LibraryThing member drsnowdon
An amazing story of an incredible life. Helprin is a phenomenal writer who draws you into the work. One of my favourite books of all time.
LibraryThing member VashonJim
A roller-coaster ride of a book. At times, the writing is stunning. Still not sure how I view the book as a whole though.
Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 1997)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
514 p.; 6.5 inches
ISBN
0151000972 / 9780151000975
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |