Winter's Tale

I have no illusions that this novel isn't flawed (to say nothing of its author) but I've loved it beyond reason since the first time I read it, and every time since. The best word I have for it is “luminous”: every sentence, every character is radiant, filled with light. It's vast and grandiose and full of magic and strangeness and sentimentality, and I find new things in it with every rereading. The romances, the passions of the characters, the courage of the white horse, the visions of the city and its machines, even the beauty of winter; it all moves me deeply and seems imbued with meaning. There are parts that have always made me cry and parts that I want to read aloud to those I love the most. There are scenes I feel so vividly and so deeply that it's almost as though I experienced them myself. To me, it's a work of genuine spiritual significance.