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alannah_m's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aimeesbookishlife's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. A very good take on the original, but there were a few sections that felt clunky and awkward; it seemed like certain events only happened because they were in A Winter's Tale and the author didn't want to leave them out, but they didn't really fit in this newer version. Overall though, I enjoyed it a lot and found it hard to put down.
amycrea's review
4.0
I haven't read them all, but of the Hogarth Shakespeare series that I've read, this is the best so far.
dawnlizreads's review against another edition
4.0
Your enjoyment of this book will probably depend on how much you know of The Winter's Tale. I knew the very basics, so the idiot's guide at the beginning did help. But then again, it almost spoiled the book for me - because I knew what was going to happen, I was looking for it and got a little bored on occasion waiting for it happen (when I should have just been enjoying Winterson's unique prose). Had I skipped the recap bit, I might have enjoyed it more because I could have read it as a "normal" story (ie. not know what was going to happen). On the flip side if you know The Winter's Take well, you might enjoy reading how Winterson had modernised the tale (particularly some of the original's more fantastical elements) and how she has interpreted the characters.
Mind you once I learnt to just to enjoy Winterson's writing, I really started to like the book. For me, she's definitely one of those authors whose books - not matter what the content - I tend to lap up. Actually, she seems to have a bit of a habit of writing books to a particular theme. She's also written The Daylight Gate for Hammer Horror (read & loved) & Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Hercules (on "to read" list) for the Cannongate Myth series. You get the impression she likes a project (no bad thing)!
Mind you once I learnt to just to enjoy Winterson's writing, I really started to like the book. For me, she's definitely one of those authors whose books - not matter what the content - I tend to lap up. Actually, she seems to have a bit of a habit of writing books to a particular theme. She's also written The Daylight Gate for Hammer Horror (read & loved) & Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Hercules (on "to read" list) for the Cannongate Myth series. You get the impression she likes a project (no bad thing)!
colorfulleo92's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I'm not fond of the original story and even tough this is slightly more enjoyable I'm not in love with it either. But I liked the way Jeanette Winterson corporate the original story into this yet making it more like her own work
blubberbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Bogen starter ud med en kort fortælling om den oprindelige historie, hvilket er en fordel for sådan en som mig, der med skam må berette, ikke at have læst de oprindelige skuespil af William Shakespeare.
I den oprindelige historie møder vi kongen af Sicilien, Leontes, og dronningen, Hermione. Derudover Leontes’ ven Polixenes. Hermione er gravid, men Leontes er fuld af overbevisning om at barnet ikke er hans, men tværtimod hans ven, Polixenes. Da barnet kommer til verden, sender Leontes det bort og efterlader Hermione til vanære.
I “Tidens kløft” udfyldes kongens rolle af Leo som er finansmand. Dronningen er en berømt fransk sangerinde, MiMi. Leontes’ ven Polixenes er Xeno, en speciel mand, der designer computerspil. Historien er den samme; Leo og MiMi er gift og de har sammen sønnen Milo. Hun venter parrets andet barn, men Leo er fyldt af jalousi og overbevisning om at barnet ikke er hans, men Xenos. Intet tyder dog på at han har ret, men da barnet kommer til verden, sender han hende alligevel på tværs af atlanten ud af deres liv, for at hun kan ende ved ham, han mener, er hendes far.
Det ødelægger MiMi og hun holder op med at synge.
Der vil altid være for og imod det at genfortælle/nyfortolke en klassiker. Jeg har, som nævnt, ikke læst det oprindelige skuespil, og mangler derfor noget sammenligningsgrund, men for mig fungerede det udmærket. Jeg synes, der er blevet fortalt med stor respekt for det oprindelige værk, og historien matcher meget godt, det oprindelige udsnit, vi får lov at læse.
Sproget er levende og fortællingen flyder bare afsted. Forfatteren fortæller forrygende og som læser bliver det aldrig kedeligt eller langtrukkent. Der er mange aspekter i romanen som man kan fordybe sig i at tænke over, og mange temaer at tage fat på, bl.a. det overskyggende om tilgivelse.
I den oprindelige historie møder vi kongen af Sicilien, Leontes, og dronningen, Hermione. Derudover Leontes’ ven Polixenes. Hermione er gravid, men Leontes er fuld af overbevisning om at barnet ikke er hans, men tværtimod hans ven, Polixenes. Da barnet kommer til verden, sender Leontes det bort og efterlader Hermione til vanære.
I “Tidens kløft” udfyldes kongens rolle af Leo som er finansmand. Dronningen er en berømt fransk sangerinde, MiMi. Leontes’ ven Polixenes er Xeno, en speciel mand, der designer computerspil. Historien er den samme; Leo og MiMi er gift og de har sammen sønnen Milo. Hun venter parrets andet barn, men Leo er fyldt af jalousi og overbevisning om at barnet ikke er hans, men Xenos. Intet tyder dog på at han har ret, men da barnet kommer til verden, sender han hende alligevel på tværs af atlanten ud af deres liv, for at hun kan ende ved ham, han mener, er hendes far.
Det ødelægger MiMi og hun holder op med at synge.
Der vil altid være for og imod det at genfortælle/nyfortolke en klassiker. Jeg har, som nævnt, ikke læst det oprindelige skuespil, og mangler derfor noget sammenligningsgrund, men for mig fungerede det udmærket. Jeg synes, der er blevet fortalt med stor respekt for det oprindelige værk, og historien matcher meget godt, det oprindelige udsnit, vi får lov at læse.
Sproget er levende og fortællingen flyder bare afsted. Forfatteren fortæller forrygende og som læser bliver det aldrig kedeligt eller langtrukkent. Der er mange aspekter i romanen som man kan fordybe sig i at tænke over, og mange temaer at tage fat på, bl.a. det overskyggende om tilgivelse.
carolinevaught's review
3.0
Across the Bookiverse
I can't compare this to Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, because I haven't read the original play.
The Gap of Time is a new age retelling of A Winter's Tale.
It tells a great story about a wealthy, successful man who gets jealous of his wife and his best friend. It gets to the point where he suspects that his wife is pregnant with his friend, Xeno's, baby. The man, Leo, sends his baby daughter, Perdita, away from him and MiMi (his wife) to Xeno, because he assumes that since Perdita is Xeno's daughter, he should be with his daughter.
I thought that this was a very interesting story, but it lacked the excitement and action that I usually like to see in the books I read.
I can't compare this to Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, because I haven't read the original play.
The Gap of Time is a new age retelling of A Winter's Tale.
It tells a great story about a wealthy, successful man who gets jealous of his wife and his best friend. It gets to the point where he suspects that his wife is pregnant with his friend, Xeno's, baby. The man, Leo, sends his baby daughter, Perdita, away from him and MiMi (his wife) to Xeno, because he assumes that since Perdita is Xeno's daughter, he should be with his daughter.
I thought that this was a very interesting story, but it lacked the excitement and action that I usually like to see in the books I read.
marybo01's review against another edition
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
The book begins with a summary of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale so for anyone like me who is unfamiliar, you are given enough information to know how well the adaptation has been done.
The book gets suddenly emotional at times but on the whole it was an easy, light read that was very reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed with how clever the Shakespeare adaptation had been done. It is a story of people, and how complicated it is when the layers to a person conflict with one another. I liked how Winterson was able to keep a level of realism when setting this outlandish story in the modern world. It made it easier to get invested in the characters.
The book gets suddenly emotional at times but on the whole it was an easy, light read that was very reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's Hag-Seed with how clever the Shakespeare adaptation had been done. It is a story of people, and how complicated it is when the layers to a person conflict with one another. I liked how Winterson was able to keep a level of realism when setting this outlandish story in the modern world. It made it easier to get invested in the characters.
bookherd's review
3.0
The Gap of Time is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, set in 2013 England, Louisiana, and Paris. It follows the play pretty faithfully, but adds details--like what the boyhood friendship between the two "kings," Leo and Xeno, was like. The parts of the book dealing with those two have an atmosphere of twisted melancholy. Xeno designs games, and the one he is working on involves Dark Angels who are trying to thwart human efforts to find the thing that will allow them to save the world. MiMi (Leo's "queen") is a torch singer whose inspiration is a poet who dreamed of an angel who fell into the courtyard of a building and couldn't free himself because to do so would have destroyed the building and its occupants. Leo is an egocentric, violent business tycoon who is kept barely in line by his business manager, Pauline.
By contrast, the life of Perdita is pretty sunny. Her adoptive father and brother love her and she has a simple, but good life. She has unanswered questions about her origins, though, so it is clear that the life she has lived with Shep and Clo can't continue the way it has been. But knowing that the end of the story restores the lost child to her family, I feel much sorrier for Winterson's Perdita than for Shakespeare's. This is not a family situation I would wish on a bright young woman.
I liked this book for its rich detail, its atmosphere, the interesting way it adapted the older story to tell a new one. I had a hard time putting stock in the happy ending, though, since the rest of the story was so dark. Surely this family's problems can't be healed easily?
By contrast, the life of Perdita is pretty sunny. Her adoptive father and brother love her and she has a simple, but good life. She has unanswered questions about her origins, though, so it is clear that the life she has lived with Shep and Clo can't continue the way it has been. But knowing that the end of the story restores the lost child to her family, I feel much sorrier for Winterson's Perdita than for Shakespeare's. This is not a family situation I would wish on a bright young woman.
I liked this book for its rich detail, its atmosphere, the interesting way it adapted the older story to tell a new one. I had a hard time putting stock in the happy ending, though, since the rest of the story was so dark. Surely this family's problems can't be healed easily?