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
Review
PRAISE FOR MEMOIR FROM ANTPROOF CASE"A prize performance . . . A funny, extravagant, prodigal piece of writing . . . rapturous and melancholy . . . its power never flags."THE NEW YORK TIMES"Splendidly entertaining . . . Joyce and Nabokov could produce verbal astonishments as readily. Not many others come to mind."TIME
From the Back Cover
"Splendidly entertaining . . . Joyce and Nabokov could produce verbal astonishments as readily. Not many others come to mind." --"Time "
An old American sits in a mountain garden in Brazil, writing his memoirs. 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, and a man who was never not in love. 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.
In this novel, Mark Helprin s astounding prose combines adventure, satire, flights of transcendence, and high comedy ina "memoir" of a man whose life reads like the song of the twentieth century.
"Extravagant, daring . . . full of unexpected jolts of laugh-out-loud comedy . . . Helprin is one of the most ambitious novelists of our day." --"The Washington Post Book World"
Stunning . . . [Helprin] speaks with the tongues of angels. "San Francisco"" Chronicle"
Educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford, Mark Helprin served in the Israeli army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of "Refiner's Fire, A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Winter's Tale, A Soldier of the Great War, Ellis Island and Other Stories, The Pacific and Other Stories, " and "Freddy and Fredericka. "He lives in Virginia."
About the Author
Mark Helprin was educated at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford and served in the Israeli Army, Israeli Air Force, and British Merchant Navy. He is the author of, among other titles, A Dove of the East and Other Stories, Refiner’s Fire, Winter’s Tale, and A Soldier of the Great War. He lives in Virginia.
