Scan barcode
A review by margaret21
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
3.0
I feel a little mixed about this book. I loved much of it. Winterson's re-interpretation of the consequences of a husband's unreasonable and unstable jealousy, and its back-story is a vivid page-turner. The story of how his child, whom he believes to be the result of an adulterous liaison between his wife and best friend, ends up in the care of a small-time pianist is similarly engaging. As is the tale, moved on 16 years, of the 70th birthday party for the piano player, now successful bar owner.
The characters are believable, the dialogue lively, the debt to Shakespeare obvious. Then we moved on to a long sequence involving a computer game devised by the husband's best friend, and at that point I lost interest.
Moving on to Act V Scene 1 as it were, and the story moves on apace. There are wonderful tales-within-tales of Leo (the husband) as powerful property developer. But as with the Winter's Tale itself, coincidences and unlikely events pile in on the story, and suddenly, it's over.
I remember being similarly baffled by the play itself when I read it for A Level, so this somewhat hurried ending, tying up every possible loose end is hardly Winterson's fault.
Maybe I owe it to Shakespeare and to Winterson to have a more dispassionate look at both their interpretations of the story's final act.
And don't be put off. This is a good read, and a provocative story, well told.
The characters are believable, the dialogue lively, the debt to Shakespeare obvious. Then we moved on to a long sequence involving a computer game devised by the husband's best friend, and at that point I lost interest.
Moving on to Act V Scene 1 as it were, and the story moves on apace. There are wonderful tales-within-tales of Leo (the husband) as powerful property developer. But as with the Winter's Tale itself, coincidences and unlikely events pile in on the story, and suddenly, it's over.
I remember being similarly baffled by the play itself when I read it for A Level, so this somewhat hurried ending, tying up every possible loose end is hardly Winterson's fault.
Maybe I owe it to Shakespeare and to Winterson to have a more dispassionate look at both their interpretations of the story's final act.
And don't be put off. This is a good read, and a provocative story, well told.