Reviews

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson

thepolybrary's review

4.0

This was a charming reworking of Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale." Some points surprised me, at first striking me as a bit more twisted than Shakespeare...but oh yeah, we're talking about Shakespeare, who didn't give a damn about political correctness and loved pulling out all the dark, twisted depths of the human heart for all to see.

khorswe's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sheena_00110101's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I like Winterson's writing but thought the modern twist was a little groan inducing. If anything, just a reminder that I find Shakespeare's plays a hot mess. 

lookhome's review

3.0

I was going to write a review but see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1536382900?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1 instead.
Though I enjoyed the novel, I acknowledge its faults and I think there were a few problems with some of its narrative leaps.
Overall it's a solid read that serves its purpose well. I am now most intrigued by The Winter's tale and plan on getting my hands on a copy in the near future.

alexandra_avital's review

4.0

It’s good but it could have been better. Leo, Xeno, and MiMi were fairly well developed but Perdita and Zel just felt flat. It was a beautiful interpretation of the play and well executed it just felt like there was room for improvementZ

phoebep14's review against another edition

i felt so repulsed by the characters i couldn’t continue. i guess i disliked the plot too 

jdsatori's review

3.0

This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (quite a psychologically barbaric tragedy). I liked it, once I stopped trying to compare the two. And there's a supernatural feel to it, like an echo of American Gods, even though that's not an element here. Good, short read.

rootyjoh's review

I for some reason could not get into this book at all. I got almost all the way through it, wondering the whole time why I was still reading and it what I was missing. I normally love Jeanette Winterson, so I'm leaning towards thinking the fault is mine not hers, but this just didn't do it for me.

katarinabee's review

3.0

Good, but not great. Worthwhile if you like Shakespeare adaptations.

hyperashley's review

4.0

When I first started reading Shakespeare in high school I felt like most high school students felt—confused. I don't think I ever had the chance to read The Winter's Tale before so this was very interesting to me. I'm not usually a fan of retellings but I really enjoyed this one. I actually look forward to more Shakespearean retellings in the future, particularly MaCbeth.

Since I never read the play before this I don't know if I can really judge it well enough but that could be a good thing. I would say it's a good thing because I can't compare them. I thought this was a good book, it held my interest all the way to the end, it slipped a little at the end. The ending was a little confusing but I incorporated that more with it being Shakespearean than anything else. (Don't kill me for thinking that.)

The characters were interesting. It was easy to like and dislike them and it was easy to tell who the villain was. They made it easy to read because they played so well off of each other. Leo was an ass but that's a given and I didn't like the rape scene. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what made him snap and go crazy but I think that was just how he was. Mimi didn't deserve that and I wish she had a bigger part in the story. Along with Xeno and Zel, I liked them so much but they only had small(ish) parts.

Perdita was a strong girl, especially after hearing everything about her early years. It was a pretty crazy story and I don't think I could have handled it, at least not the way that she did. I also don't think I would have gone to find my biological dad after having such an amazing dad already. She should have just left it alone and looked for her mom instead.

I recommend this to anyone that enjoys Shakespeare or that just enjoys a good suspenseful read.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."