Helprin\\\'s prose is masterful and, in certain passages, breathtaking, transcendent. Follow Allesandro\\\'s odyssey through the beauty that was Italy when the world was still young, skirt the edges of World War I as it was fought on the alpine borders, to find yourself at the end, inexplicably moved by the graceful and elegant telling of this magnificent tale.

A terrific read and a timeless masterpiece of English literature.