A very LONG book, and several members quit early on. But everyone agreed it was beautifully written, if a bit wordy, and felt like you were reading six different stories! There were also no discussion questions available, so we had to wing it.

When I first started this book, I was completely engrossed with the beautiful prose. The thought-provoking imagery jumps off the page because of the author\\\'s skill in writing memorable sentences.

However, I suspect this book is an anthology of the author\\\'s short stories. The \\\"main story\\\" is of burglar Peter Lake and his interactions with his nemesis Pearly Soames. There seems to be a slight religious connotation involved here as Pearly Soames\\\' gang (the Short Tails) seem more like mindless demons rather than simply short gangsters.

There is also the enigma of the \\\"Cloud Wall\\\" which is a recurring element throughout the book. It apparently surrounds New York City and all who pass through it are no longer mentioned. I suspect it\\\'s a metaphor for death.

My biggest problem with the book is that too many interesting characters are introduced only to die (or never be heard of again) a short time later. There are also other characters who vie for the main character label, and since the book has a great deal to do with time you\\\'re never really sure how they connect. This isn\\\'t even evident at the end of the book.

For all of its 750 pages, A Winter\\\'s Tale is a modestly good book. At times the prose is pure poetry and the one thing I consistently enjoyed. The problem is that the story is too convoluted and confusing. Too many interesting characters drift in and out of the plot for no apparent reason.

Then there is the overuse of \\\"deus ex machina\\\" where Peter Lake has the most expedient (and unlikely) solutions to all his problems. Toward the end of the book he even develops a sort of psychokinesis which is also left unexplained.

Late in the book Peter Lake suffers a stab wound to the stomach by one of the Short Tails gangmembers and although he\\\'s apparently bleeding profusely no one he comes into contact with after even notices the blood. I suspect that in this instance Helprin is attempting to make Peter Lake into a Jesus figure.

I would recommend this book to anyone who had a scholarly interest in descriptive prose and nothing to do for a week. They\\\'ll find that good prose, no matter how beautiful, CANNOT carry a story by itself. Mark Helprin understands characterization, but his skill with plot leaves too much to be desired for a book of this length.

I could not get into thsi book.. i tried to keep make myself read it but it did not doing anything to get me hooked.

The drscriptions were beautifully done. However, this book spent way too much time telling the back story and taking the reader into other sub-stories.

I did not want this story to end. The imagination takes flight with the reading of this book.