---
product_id: 22849726
title: "Ellis Island: And Other Stories"
brand: "mark helprin"
price: "$844"
currency: MXN
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.mx/products/22849726-ellis-island-and-other-stories
store_origin: MX
region: Mexico
---

# Ellis Island: And Other Stories

**Brand:** mark helprin
**Price:** $844
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Ellis Island: And Other Stories by mark helprin
- **How much does it cost?** $844 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.mx](https://www.desertcart.mx/products/22849726-ellis-island-and-other-stories)

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- mark helprin enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Not Hemingway-esque . . .
  

*by H***L on Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2018*

This collection includes two memorable stories (“The “Schreuderspitze”and “A Vermont Tale”),a few good ones and a number that are (at least to this reader) totally obscure. Mark Helprin is clearly a most gifted and versatile writer, but Hemingway-esque he isn’t. “Ellis Island and Other Stories”will appeal more to connoisseurs of literary style and descriptive passages than to those whose tastes run to the direct and spare.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Not a Good Jumping-Off Point
  

*by B***L on Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2000*

I have to preface my comments by stating that though I was dissappointed with this collection, I remain an ardent fan of Mark Helperin. A Soldier of the Great War is one of the most finely-realized novels of the past twenty  years. It's in many ways unfare to compare a writer's masterpiece with a  collection of short-stories written 25 years earlier. But simply as  someone making recommendations to other readers, I would suggest starting  with a writer's magnum opus and working one's way back from there. I'd  recommend reading The Brother's Karamazov before suggesting Poor Folk, for  instance, or Anna Karenina before the Kreutzer Sonata.What Ellis Island  represents is a writer still in the process of finding his footing. We see  in many of these stories the genesis of what will become the themes and  motifs that will preoccupy the mature artist. The characters are consumed  by romanticism and wanderlust, even the Vermont cranes who occupy a central  position in the collection. The writing is lyrical and quite often moving.  At times, however,it comes across as too consciously poetic, the metaphors  forced. While Helperin strives for Joycean epiphanies, his endings too  often come off as carelessly constructed fade-outs. This is particularly  true of "The Schreuderspitze" and "Martin Bayer." I  agree, however, with the reader who singled out "A Vermont Tale"  for praise. It stands out in this volume as a forerunner for the type of  controlled symbolism Helperin will later perfect. It really is, to use a  hackneyed term, a "haunting" tale.The title-piece of this  collection, "Ellis Island," was the source of my biggest  let-down. The narrator, who goes by several names (as the mood hits or the  situation dictates), is a thoroughly unsympathetic character, in my  opinion, and I really don't believe Helperin intended him as such. The  setting is turn-of-the century New York and "Moishe" (we'll call  him that to avoid confusion here) arrives at Ellis Island along with a  boatload of Jewish immigrants. When he is inspected, his odd demeanor  causes the agent to lable him as an anarchist and he is shunted off along  with other undesireables to be deported. He is saved from his situation by  a red-haired Scandinavian beauty who presents herself herself at an  opportune moment (for some reason couples are allowed more readily into the  New World than singles). When finally ashore in New York, Moishe sets off  on a series of improbable adventures (this is where the "magical  realism" comes in). He has a brief affair with a "beautiful"  artist's model (Helperin's characters never settle for plain-looking  women)and finally beds down and settles with a "beautiful"  seamstress. Finally he recalls the compact he'd made with the  "beautiful", red-haired Dane and returns to Ellis Island (and  here I don't want to spoil the ending for readers who haven't read it yet).  Suffice it to say, however, that the ending intentionally parallels the  ending of "A Vermont Tale," involving the loons. Let's also just  leave off by saying that the ending didn't "work" for me and left  me feeling that Moishe comes across as less than heroic, which Helperin  hasn't led us to expect.If this series of stories had been written by  an author for whom I had lower expectations, I would have awarded it 4  stars. My standards were set so high by "A Soldier," however,  that I had to settle on three. Definitely give his novels a try if you  haven't already done so.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Prelude to Great Works
  

*by E***Y on Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2001*

I am not a regular reader of short stories.  In general, I do not like them.  Still, as a Mark Helprin fan, this is one of his few works that I had not read.  I pressed on ... when I concluded the final story, Ellis Island, I felt completely satisfied with the journey.  If you've never read Helprin, I believe "Ellis Island" and "A Vermont Tale" are most representative of his longer works.  Each story will tempt you to read his novels, all of which are poetic magic.  As I read through these stories, I saw glimpses of each subsequent novel, particularly my favorite, "A Winter's Tale."  If you've read Helprin before, you owe yourself the time to read this collection.  If you are new to Helprin, this work will encourage you to read more.

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*Product available on Desertcart Mexico*
*Store origin: MX*
*Last updated: 2026-02-11*