Winter's tale is a series of connected vignettes taking place in Manhattan and upper state New York, spanning more than a century. It is really an ode to a fictionalized version of New York City, from its slums to the homes of its movers and shakers. It is the tale of the search for the perfectly just golden city, that New York is (unbeknownst to most of its inhabitants) striving to become.Winter's Tale is a maddening book. Helprin is an extremely gifted writer and individual passages are a delight to read. But the story meanders over its 600 pages. There is no coherent plotline. All I can say is that it took me 6 months to wade through it. It is long and it is dull.