You might look at the title of this book and think that it is about the ballet Swan Lake. You would be entirely wrong. Swan Lake, by Mark Helprin, combines the classic legend of a prince bound by the structures of society and a mysterious girl who lives by a lake (and just might have an air of the supernatural about her) with a historical context to make a riveting tale filled with alternating humor and deep insights into the human soul.
This version of the story takes place in an Eastern European country and is told by an old man who used to be a secret agent for the emporer. The emporer has died and the nobleman Von Rothbart aspires to take the country from the true heir, the prince. The prince has fallen in love with a girl he met while hunting, Odette, who is really an exhiled princess. But once the prince returns to the palace, Von Rothbart and his misstress, the Empress, successfully seduce the prince with the decadent world of parties, women, and luxury. Odette waits in the woods, pregnant, not realizing that the man she once loved has sold his soul to the world and forgotten her...unless a stubborn old man and an army full of assasins can make him remember the swan lake.
This breathtaking novel is a quick read, so you have no excuse not to read it. If you love a sweeping romantic epic filled with looming mysteries, lush, seductive settings, and heroes who are thouroughly confused as they try to sort out their life, then you need to read this book!
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