Welcome to Week 1 of the Read-along for Mark Helprin's "Winter's Tale"
One thing that struck me while reading this first chapter was the writing style. This book is so beautifully written. I feel like Helprin's sentence structure is almost musical in its quality. It takes me back to the fairytales and the feeling I get when I read my favorite poem. He also creates beautiful imagery with the White horse in the backdrop of a city covered by snow. I also loved how he had the first chapter being told from the perspective of the horse. Yes, it's a little strange, but this is no Mr. Ed. It's like the horse sees the world much like we humans do. He is very aware of his surroundings and is as curious about what's going on as we are. This first chapter definately kept me engaged and interested.
Questions for my readers:
1. What was your favorite thing about the first chapter?
2. What images popped into your head as you read it?
3. What do you think of that final scene when Peter jumps on the horse's back and they escape together?
Well. I just wrote a long response, and then accidentally deleted it when I went to post. Let me try this again.... I really love it so far. The horse is what did it for me. Such a well-written personality and seeing from his perspective completely endeared him to me. So when Peter found him and they escaped together, it was a terrific chapter ending. And the writing! One of my favorite parts was on page four, "the gemlike wind". You immediately know the kind of wind he means, even having never heard it before. Beautiful.
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