In this tale of passion, Jeanette Winterson contrasts two characters, bringing into view the shaded nuances of differing sides of passion. Henri is a boy from the French countryside; his people are slow to love, lukewarm. He lacks confidence and represents innocence. It takes the fire of Napoleon’s war to stir his passion, but when stirred, it will adhere him to Napoleon’s side for eight long years and lead to the fateful winter of 1812. Nearly a million soldiers and civilians are left dead with...

"In that house, you will find my heart. You must break in, Henri, and get it back for me.' Was she mad? We had been talking figuratively. Her heart was in her body like mine. I tried to explain this to her, but she took my hand and put it against her chest. Feel for yourself.” The Passion is the story of Henri, a young Frenchman sent to fight in the Napoleonic wars. It is also the story of Villanelle, a red-haired Venetian woman, daughter of a boatman, born with webbed feet. Their paths cros...

Forgive me for saying this, but there are very few books these days that I truly fall in love with, and Jeanette Winterson's *The Passion* might just be one of them. And to think it sat on my shelf for years before I finally picked it up! *The Passion* is like Angela Carter meets Beryl Bainbridge, though it lacks the raunchy humor you find in those women's books. It's not humorless, but it treats its subject—love—with real gravitas. Is love worthy of such seriousness? I guess I tend to think the...

4.5 stars“Somewhere between fear and sex passion is. Passion is not so much an emotion as a destiny.”Reading Jeanette Winterson’s prose is like soaking in the most luxurious bath. It’s warm and sensuous and leaves me feeling a bit light-headed once I’ve finished. It’s difficult to describe her writing. The one word that comes to mind immediately is magical. Of the four pieces I’ve read so far, the plot seems secondary to the prose, until I’ve finished. Then all of a sudden I’m able to see the be...

Gambling isn't a vice; it's an expression of what makes us human. We all gamble. Some do it at the casino, others in life. You play, you win, you play, you lose. You play. Jeanette Winterson is one of those authors who constantly surprises me. *The Passion* is my favorite so far (update: that was before reading *Sexing the Cherry*, which I found even more fascinating). There's something magical in the way she weaves the stories of her characters, showing different angles of the central theme: p...

"Lovers aren't at their best when it really counts. Mouths go dry, palms sweat, conversation falters, and all the while your heart feels like it's about to beat its way right out of your chest. Lovers have been known to actually *have* heart attacks. They drink too much because they're nervous and then can't, you know, *perform*. They eat too little and faint right when their desperately wished-for moment arrives. They forget to pet the cat, and their makeup starts sliding off. And that's not ev...

Into the Dark“A blind pedlar… never spilt his stew or missed his mouth the way I did. ‘I can see,’ he said, ‘but I don’t use my eyes.’”I recently ate unknown food, served in total darkness, by blind waiters. It was an intense and disorienting experience. Boundaries break down: you touch the stranger who guides you to your seat, talk to invisible people sitting beside you (how un-British!), can’t judge or be judged by looks or clothing, and are tempted to eat with your fingers, despite the cutler...

‘You play, you win, you play, you lose. You play.’For over a decade, I’ve called this novel a favorite, and upon rereading it, I've not only reaffirmed that statement but also discovered new depths and enjoyment beyond my already heartfelt appreciation for Winterson’s work. 'The Passion' is an incredible epic in miniature, weaving together the fates of Henri, a soldier in Napoleon’s army, and Villanelle, a Venetian gambler and the daughter of a boatman, all within under 200 pages of prose that s...

Jeanette Winterson occasionally appears on BBC political debate shows, and she's like a laser beam of common sense. Coming from a decidedly rad-lesbian perspective, she cuts through the nonsense and is a joy to listen to—maybe Germaine Greer's punkier younger sister. But in her books, she really goes off on one, as we say in Britain: to go off on one (Brit; colloq.) to suddenly become very angry and start shouting or behaving violently, as in He went off on one because he thought I was threat...

There's little I can say about Jeanette Winterson's *The Passion* that doesn't sound like pure, unadulterated gushing, but I'll give it a shot. *The Passion* is quite possibly one of the most incredible stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It's less a novel and more a journey – a visceral trip through the minds and souls of Henri and Villanelle, through the real and dreamlike Venice, weaving through history and imagination. While the narrative is compelling, it truly dives deep into th...