SWAN LAKE

An elaborate expansion and transformation of the ballet, by the author of a critically acclaimed fantasy/novel for adults, A Winter's Tale (1983). Helprin goes well beyond the familiar story. His narrator—tutor/father-surrogate to the prince—tells the tragic tale to a small gift who proves to be another pivotal new character. Additions to the plot include the murder by Van Rothbart of Odette's parents and the possibility that Odile is the prince's half-sister. And though his telling has the powerful appeal of a stark fairy-tale world, Helprin sets it in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and eliminates the literal magical transformations. His language is rich, ornamented, and full of ideas and images that are difficult as well as amusing, a playful mixture of whimsy and irony probably of most interest to adults—though capable young people may also find it fascinating. Van Allsburg's 14 elegantly structured paintings, spare and luminous, extend the aura of a world of the imagination, outside time. The beautifully planned book also includes Van Allsburg's ornamental designs on every page. Sure to appeal to the carriage trade, this should also win a small following well beyond this year's fashionable popularity.