Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

I remember first picking up this book at the local bookstore and thinking......oh my gosh, how many pages is this?  After looking through it, I soon found out it was in fact 748 pages.  Not 748 pages with large print and an easy to read flow.  This seemed to be 748 pages of poetic and extravagant wording, which was exactly what it turned out to be.

Peter Lake didn't always make the right decisions,  but on one day, making a poor choice, such as robbing someone, ended up being just the right choice.  While attempting to Rob the house of the Penn family, Peter meets the love of his life Beverly Penn.  His breath is taken away and all else no longer matters.  Peter and Beverly's romance blossoms and their love story enfolds.  Unfortunately Beverly is sick and eventually Peter has to say goodbye.

What transpires after this is rather complex.  You see, for  reason, Peter Lake lives a long time after this.  We are talking over 50 years.......but he doesn't age at all.  This along with many other characters and their complex connections to Peter Lake,his past,  and his infamous white house,  make for a quite complicated novel.

Mark Help in did a beautiful job giving so much imagery to this novel, but it distracted me from the plot. I felt that I read as if I was waiting for more to happen and was unimpressed in the end.  The author left up most concepts to the imagination of the reader, which could be considered a positive thing.   It truly depends on your preference.

I don't regret reading it as it challenged me to read one of the most difficult books I have  ever read.  As a reader,  challenging yourself to try new genres and reading more complex text will only help you be a more well rounded reader,  which for me is the goal.