A Soldier of the Great War

By: Mark Helprin

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 31 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

On his last long walk, septuagenarian war hero, deserter, and professor Alessandro Giuliani shares his past with an illiterate young factory worker, spinning a remarkable tale of heart-stopping escapes, of loves unrequited and won, of madmen, dwarfs, and mafiosi. But overshadowing all is his most miraculous and terrible adventure, the Great War: a surreal parade of horrors that devastated and defined Alessandro, yet enabled him to experience fully the magic and beauty of the absurd human comedy called life.

©1991 Mark Helprin (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Extraordinary....a vast, ambitious, spiritually lusty, all-guzzling, all-encompassing novel." ( The New York Times Book Review)
"A rousing tale....riotous energy and sustained brilliance....Helprin lights his own way, in his ownsingular direction." ( Time)
"A gripping, poignant and universally relevant moral fable." ( Publishers Weekly)

Third time read

I read the book shortly after it was published. A few years later I read it again to see if it would hold up. It did. Fast forward me and my youngest son who is 25 started working long hours in a vehicle together. We started listening to audible. Since I loved everything about the book, I suggested we listen to “ a soldier of the Great War” together. Long story short we did and he agrees with me the best audible book of all time and I personally believe it to be in the top 5 books period of all time. I highly highly recommend this book

Highly Recommend

I have read this as a print book and enjoyed it; the audio is good too.

really good

wonderfully narrated and a great story. i learned a lot about European history and culture, was intrigued by the story, and encouraged by the worldview of the main character. His belief in God as the logical conclusion and conviction based upon the beauty of creation and the love that one experiences between family members and between husband and wife. i really appreciated that, as it is my conviction as well. the story is believable and the end, like that of an Italian film or realism novel.

Beautiful in every way

One of the great reads of my lifetime. Story, characters, word choice, imagery, humor, thought provocation, action, inspiration, love... This book has it all!

A must read(listen)

One of my all time favorite books. Mark Helprin is brilliant in his detailed storytelling. Title might suggest it's all about the war but there are several stories going on.
The reader Colacci is a bit overly dramatic at times but I gave the performance a 5 Star nonetheless.
I HIGHLY recommend this work.

Transported

I will say only this. I was given a perspective quite unexpected. I reveled in every cadence and quiet nuance. Thank you author.

wide-ranging brilliance

this book is long, but certainly not too long because it is brilliant. I knew very little about Italy in the first world war, which is the background for a book that's about much more than war or this particular war. what is about is hard to describe other than to say it's about life and what one thinks along the way. The beginning is the deceptively slow and I could imagine a reader abandoning the book at the outset this would be a very big mistake.

Best book I have ever listened to

A continuous adventure told with amazing sensitivity! This is my second listening over the last ten years and I'm glad I came back.

Outstanding

War, art, love, philosophy. All the great elements even together in a charming story. Helprin is one of the greats .

Painting with words

This was one of the most incredible books I have ever had the pleasure to experience. The word imagery is superlative and the story so carefully crafted that it is an amazing work of art. Few writers ever approach the author's powerful use of language in their works.