Freddy and Fredericka

I loved it. I love Mark Helprin. It took a while for me to see the plot developing as the setup took a good couple hundred pages, but once you get through the setup -- which is hilarious if you just roll with it -- you get to the good stuff. My favorite thing about Helprin's books is the way he does......more

I don't know if it's just me, but novels seem to be necessarily depressing. They're always dark and brooding. They always seem to capture the very worst side of humanity. When someone can write something that's bright and cheerful and make it interesting I'm always impressed. This book is laugh out l......more

Reading this was a painful experience; I had a sore stomach and a stitch in my side from laughing so hard, not to mention vision blurred by tears of laughter running down my face. In addition, my partner of nearly 38 years, who is not known for his robust sense of humor, was looking at me strangely......more

I read Winter's Tale a few years ago, and thought it was beautifully if over- written, with a much too threadbare plot to hold up its many pages. Still, I liked it enough to pick up Freddy and Fredericka, which I began to read on a whim. Boy am I glad I did. My copy of the book claims in two places t......more

Woooo, doggy, this one was a dense one. A spoof on the British royal family, Freddy and Fredericka tell the story of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the title characters. They are next in line for the throne, and hopelessly ill-equipped for the weighty responsibilities, traditions, customs, and gr......more