A Soldier of the Great War

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin, HMH Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mark Helprin ISBN: 9780547545141
Publisher: HMH Books Publication: June 1, 2005
Imprint: Mariner Books Language: English
Author: Mark Helprin
ISBN: 9780547545141
Publisher: HMH Books
Publication: June 1, 2005
Imprint: Mariner Books
Language: English

For Alessandro Giullani, the young son of a prosperous Roman Lawyer, golden trees shimmer in the sun beneath a sky of perfect blue. At night the moon is amber and the city of Rome seethes with light. He races horses across the country to the sea, and in the Alps he practices the precise and sublime art of mountain climbing. At the ancient university in Bologna he is a student of painting and the science of beauty. And he falls in love. His is a world of adventure and dreams, of music, storm, and the spirit. Then the Great War intervenes.

Half a century later, in August of 1964, Alessandro, a white-haired professor, still tall and proud, finds himself unexpectedly on the road with an illiterate young factory worker. As they walk toward Monte Prato, a village seventy kilometers distant, the old man tells the story of his life. How he became a soldier. A hero. A prisoner. A deserter. A wanderer in the hell that claimed Europe. And how he tragically lost one family and gained another.

The boy is dazzled by the action and envious of the richness and color of the story, and realizes that the old man's magnificent tale of love and war is more than a tale: it is the recapitulation of his life, his reckoning with mortality, and above all, a love song for his family.

This e-book includes a sample chapter of IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For Alessandro Giullani, the young son of a prosperous Roman Lawyer, golden trees shimmer in the sun beneath a sky of perfect blue. At night the moon is amber and the city of Rome seethes with light. He races horses across the country to the sea, and in the Alps he practices the precise and sublime art of mountain climbing. At the ancient university in Bologna he is a student of painting and the science of beauty. And he falls in love. His is a world of adventure and dreams, of music, storm, and the spirit. Then the Great War intervenes.

Half a century later, in August of 1964, Alessandro, a white-haired professor, still tall and proud, finds himself unexpectedly on the road with an illiterate young factory worker. As they walk toward Monte Prato, a village seventy kilometers distant, the old man tells the story of his life. How he became a soldier. A hero. A prisoner. A deserter. A wanderer in the hell that claimed Europe. And how he tragically lost one family and gained another.

The boy is dazzled by the action and envious of the richness and color of the story, and realizes that the old man's magnificent tale of love and war is more than a tale: it is the recapitulation of his life, his reckoning with mortality, and above all, a love song for his family.

This e-book includes a sample chapter of IN SUNLIGHT AND IN SHADOW.

More books from HMH Books

Cover of the book Webster's New World Punctuation by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Testing Guide by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Princess Bride by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Dead of Night by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Stolen Lake by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Boris and the Worrisome Wakies by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Genius Wars by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Pyramid by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Talking to Dragons by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book How to Swallow a Pig by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book The Versions of Us by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Search and Spot: Go! by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book This World We Live In by Mark Helprin
Cover of the book Men in Dark Times by Mark Helprin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy