by As I said the other day, I only just heard that they’re making a movie of one of my favorite books, A Winter’s Tale, by Mark Helprin. They were even filming nearby a day or two ago and I missed it. (Damnit to the infinity power. Proof that I live in an indifferent universe.) I was considering using a quote from A Winter’s Tale in my book about unsolved murders. It basically summons up my mission in life, certainly my mission whenever I write:
“Remember, what we are trying to do in this life is to shatter time and bring back the dead.”
My only fear is that they will make the movie too comic book-like, which even the book itself veers into from time to time. But in the end the book was magnificent regardless, and I can’t help hoping the movie will be as well. In any case, I highly recommend the book. It has a shaky start. At the time I thought it was just too over-the-top flowery and poetic, way over-written. But I made myself hang in there because the person who recommended it to me was so adamant and convincing. And then, at a certain point, it just works. It starts to soar and it never stops.
If you love New York City you must read it. All the history and Helprin’s descriptions of what New York looked like in the 19th century, the culture and so on, are factually correct. For instance, there’s a gang called the Dead Rabbits in the book and there really was a gang called the Dead Rabbits at the time. A Winter’s Tale is packed with details like this. It’s just this wonderful banging, clanking, steam and machine-filled world, with this epic tale of the struggle and balance between love and good and evil going on over centuries and well, terrible sentence, I know, I better stop it now, but great book.
An alley off Hudson Street where a restaurant always sets up tables and chairs. And now they’ve decorated it for Christmas.
If this photo was a Christmas card, I’d buy it.
What message would you put inside it if it was a card?
Thank you so much!! Merry Christmas from a holiday-brightened corner of New York city.