From Publishers Weekly
Helprin's narrator writes his "memoir" as an old man, reviewing an extravagant and occasionally perilous life spanning many of the major events of the 20th century. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
An old man climbs hills to find solace in viewing the ocean and to write a memoir for his young son (which he stores in an "antproof case"). His story moves forward in jagged fragments, with memories leading to memories-not sequentially, but leapfrogging through a dramatic life as World War II ace, investment banker, murderer, and more and looping back upon one another. As in a portrait by Picasso, the truth of his life is revealed through wildly distorted features. Helprin (A Soldier of the Great War, LJ 4/15/91) returns to his themes of love and redemptio, once again creating a tale that is rich in imagery and juxtaposes the irreverence and faith, foolishness and brilliance, of a 20th-century Don Quixote. Highly recommended.--Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll., Davidson, N.C.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
An antproof case is a meticulously crafted trunk that even the tiniest of insects can't infiltrate, a handsome antique emblematic of what was once good and true in the world, at least to the inexhaustible, idiosyncratic, wise, tender, hilarious, and poetic narrator of Helprin's spellbinding novel. This unnamed and utterly charming octogenarian is writing his meandering and episodic autobiography in a secluded mountain retreat across the bay from Rio de Janeiro and instructs us, with amusing regularity, to "please return the previous pages to the antproof case." And we would, if we could, because we wouldn't want to lose a single sheet of this magical and transcendent story. Our feisty memoirist, who claims to have been educated in a Swiss mental institution after killing a man on a New York train and to have been one of the world's richest men, a war hero, an ardent lover, and a master thief, is a veritable Scheherazade, spinning one mesmerizing but highly unlikely tale after another. As his energetic and entertaining narrative progresses, an odd fact emerges: this health-conscious adventurer vehemently believes that coffee is evil, a peculiar obsession that we eventually learn has deep roots and profound consequences. Helprin has a great gift for meaningful, dazzlingly detailed description as well as a nimble sense of humor and a keen perception of life as a jumble of the holy and the profane, a chaos that can only be tamed by the power of love. Donna Seaman


Book Description

From Mark Helprin, acclaimed author of A Soldier of the Great War and A Winter's Tale, comes a miraculous song of the twentieth century.In a mountain garden in Brazil, an old American is writing his memoirs, placing the pages carefully in his antproof case. As he reminisces we learn he was a World War II ace who was shot down twice, an investment banker who met with popes and presidents, a multimillionaire, a man who was never not in love. He spent his adolescence in an insane asylum in Switzerland; he was the thief of the century, a murderer, and a protector of the innocent. And all his life, he waged a valiant, losing, one-man battle against the world's most insidious enslaver: coffee.


About the Author
Mark Helprin is the author of A Dove of the East and Other Stories,Refiner's Fire,. Ellis Island and Other Stories,Winter's Tale and Memoir from Antproof Case.He has been honored with the Jewish Book Awardand the Prix de Rome for his works.He lives in upstate New York.

ANNOTATION

From the bestselling author of A Winter's Tale and A Soldier of the Great War comes a work of astounding prose. Helprin combines adventure, satire, flights of transcendence, and high comedy with memories of a place that no longer exists to tell the story of a man who, in the face of the world's cruelty, refuses to stop loving.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An old American who lives in Brazil is writing his memoirs. An English teacher at the navel academy, he is married to a woman young enough to be his daughter and has a little son whom he loves. He sits in a mountain garden in Niteroi, overlooking the ocean, and carries with him a Walther P-88. As he reminisces and writes, placing the pages carefully in his antproof case, we learn that he was a World War II ace who was shot down twice; an investment banker who met with popes and presidents; a multimillionaire; and a man who was never not in love. He was the thief of the century, a murderer, and a protector of the innocent. In his adolescence he spent years in an insane asylum in Switzerland. And all his life, he waged a valiant, losing, one-man battle against the world's most insidious enslaver: coffee. Mark Helprin's astounding prose combines adventure, satire, flights of transcendence, and high comedy with vivid and poignant memories of a Hudson Valley and New York City that no longer exist.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly