About this title: From the frozen Russia of Napoleon's campaign, to the canals of Venice, this novel journeys through curious waterways of war and chance, where destiny and the heart cannot be forgotten - nor passion which is to be found somewhere between fear and sex passion, somewhere between God and the Devil. Jeanette Winterson is author of "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" which was winner of the 1985 Whitbread First Novel Award.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Vintage Intl ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780679724377ISBN:0679724370
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. Vintage International (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Grove Press
Date published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780802135223ISBN:0802135226
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Grove Press
Date published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780802135223ISBN:0802135226
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Date published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780140108316ISBN:0140108319
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"It takes a very creative mind to switch us from one setting to another. The book is no longer in our home at the moment so I cannot flip and recall details. I do recall that I was confused in the beginning but then things started to fall into place and by the end of the story - a very good ending so I thought- I indeed found the book to be a 'good read'.
I am new to 'goodreads' but thought that I would contribute by adding the books that I have read over the past year. It's a bit difficult to write a review months later. I remember enough about all of these books. They were 'good reads' or 'worthwhile reads' in my humble opinion. I am attempting to discuss what stood out for me."
"I can't do Jeanette Winterson justice. In keeping with her fairy tale allusions and magical realism, I will say that she has a Midas touch with whatever subject matter she takes up. This novel is comprised to two separate but intertwining stories set during the Napoleonic wars. Frenchman Henri has passion for Napoleon and Venetian croupier Villanelle has a passion for gambling and her lover. But there is so much more to it than that... There are echoes of Italio Calvino's Invisible Cities in Winterson's account of Venice's mysterious, convoluted waterways--a metaphor for journeys of the heart.
To those reviewers who have commented on the repetition in this book, may I suggest that Villanelle's name is more than a whimsical touch for what lover has not endlessly, obsessively recalled her beloved's words or actions?"
"The epigraph is very important: "You have navigated with raging soul far from the paternal home, passing beyond the seas' double rocks and now you inhabit a foreign land. -Medea"
It foreshadows the "raging soul" of passion and, when it sours, obsession, the movement away from the "paternal"--not only of God and the more present, and vivid self-anointed God, Napoleon, but also of the narrative itself (this was definitely not written by some dead white man!), the doubling to come--the double, intertwined narrative, and the foreign, the exile, the quest, the reaching beyond a boundary.
This novel lends itself to re-readings, for it is a very precisely crafted work, like a villanelle with all its poetry and repetition. Some things I noticed on the second time around: all sections end with a New Year; you can only, truly understand/place the voice of the narrative when you arrive at the end; characters echo each other throughout; Henri and Villanelle, ultimately, choose the same fate with their loves; the difficult to intone refrain: "I'm telling you stories. Trust Me." must be both believed and not believed.
Favorite line:
"And if she had lived alone in that elegant house when I first met her? Perhaps, I would never have sensed other lives of mine, having no need of them."
If you enjoyed this book, try Djuna Barnes' "Nightwood.""
"I am a Jeanete Winterson fan but I have to admit i have mixed thoughts regarding "The Passion." It is a well-written book and the perspective is quite original as far as I've read. I loved the depiction of Napoleon's wars; it is obviously a female outlook on the foolishness of leaders who start endless and absurd wars where no one is the winner. The parrallel between war and gambling is brilliant:"You play, you win. You play, you lose. You play". That's the essence of life, actually. I also liked the description of Venice and the atmosphere which surrounds this place. Winterson gave it a magical touch; i've almost come to believe that it was the best choice to set a story about love and passion. So the setting is a very powerful character, I can say the most powerful and the best-depicted character in the novel. Henry and Villanelle have not fascinated me. Henry is rather weak, that kind of person who lacks passion and vigour and that is why he becomes obsessed with people who are strong-willed and able to feel and live strong passions. First, he follows Napoleon and, when the emperor disappoints him, he follows Villanelle but this one disappoints him, too, because she cannot love him the way he wanted. Henry is not the passion of her life. As far as passion is concerned, I was expecting more. A more violent passion, maybe something similar to "Wuthering Heights". What kind of love story are we talikng about if Villanelle states clearly that she feels fraternal love for Henry and how powerful is Henry's passion if he gives up on her when he realizes she does not want to marry him?"
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