This story by Mark Helprin explores the theme “the price of fame”. An ageing impresario reflects on how he transformed a contented young laundry worker into the greatest opera singer in the world. He has just come across an innocent young street performer who could be even better, and faces a dilemma. Although his first discovery has found fame and fortune, he is unhappy about how it affected her. Should he immediately launch his excited new find into stardom, or insist that she takes time to consider the consequences? Other themes include entrepreneurship, responsibility, regret, compassion, redemption, art and beauty. More…
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The Schreuderspitze
In this story by Mark Helprin, a grieving German photographer finds a unique way of getting over the accidental death of his wife and son. Two years after the accident, he disappears without trace. Leaving his lodgings and photographic equipment behind, he relocates to a small, remote town in the Alps. There, he decides to become a mountain climber and ascend the dangerous Schreuderspitze peak alone. He trains hard, teaches himself how to climb from books, buys the necessary equipment, and “succeeds” in a most unusual way. Themes include loss, grief, escape, isolation, a quest, dreams vs. reality, renewal. More…
A Vermont Tale
In this story by Mark Helprin, two children from a distressed marriage are sent to live for a period on their grandparents’ idyllic Vermont farm. One night, they are frightened by the call of two Arctic loons. To calm them and perhaps provide hope about their parents, the grandfather tells a tale about two loons. The story is an allegory of his marriage, with themes of love, infidelity, separation, despair and reunion. Unfortunately, we learn later that the story’s “happily ever after” ending does not match reality. Themes of the frame story include natural beauty, childhood innocence, appearance vs. reality. More…