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53rd out of 683 books
—
2,747 voters
The Passion
Jeanette Winterson’s novels have established her as one of the most important young writers in world literature. The Passion is perhaps her most highly acclaimed work, a modern classic that confirms her special claim on the novel. Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French s...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
August 7th 1997
by Grove Press
(first published 1987)
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There is little I can say about this book that does not border on gushing, but I'll try. The Passion is perhaps one of the most amazing stories I have ever read. It is not so much a novel as a journey through the mind and soul of Henri and Villanelle, through the real and ephemeral Venice, through history and imagination. While containing a solid narrative, it delves into the psyche and spirit of the writer and her characters. Read it once and you are trapped. Read it twice and you gladly relinq...more
To my surprise? I'm kind of disappointed in it. The New York Times review of it says that it "dares you to laugh and stares you down." Unfortunately, I'm just laughing. She's trying so hard to be profound with these statements, and 9 out of 10 times it doesn't quite work. The book is filled with cliches and trite conclusions that are just so hackneyed (actual example: death and darkness are like each other...wow! Have you noticed that??) Her attempt to be Marquez fails quite badly, unfortunately...more
16 likes
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3.5/5
So this one had its good and its bad, places where the unconventional prose worked beautifully and other places where it ran off the tracks. Now, this kind of historical fiction, filled with magical descriptions of far off places that are so much more engaging than real life, was my all-consuming love during my high school years. I have returned to this genre with many more books under my belt, and a much more critical eye for faults.
The author enjoys her meaningful phrases, which were stre...more
So this one had its good and its bad, places where the unconventional prose worked beautifully and other places where it ran off the tracks. Now, this kind of historical fiction, filled with magical descriptions of far off places that are so much more engaging than real life, was my all-consuming love during my high school years. I have returned to this genre with many more books under my belt, and a much more critical eye for faults.
The author enjoys her meaningful phrases, which were stre...more
6 likes
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Three stars for the story, plus an extra star for originality and outstanding writing.
If you like quirky, give this little book a try. It's only 160 pages. It's an odd combination of historical fiction, magical realism, and humor, with some unconventional romantic elements tying it all together.
Henri is a cook/soldier for Napoleon Bonaparte. Villanelle is a bi-sexual, web-footed (yes, web-footed) boatman's daughter in Venice. She has some mystical powers and a penchant for gambling. Circumstanc...more
If you like quirky, give this little book a try. It's only 160 pages. It's an odd combination of historical fiction, magical realism, and humor, with some unconventional romantic elements tying it all together.
Henri is a cook/soldier for Napoleon Bonaparte. Villanelle is a bi-sexual, web-footed (yes, web-footed) boatman's daughter in Venice. She has some mystical powers and a penchant for gambling. Circumstanc...more
Wat een mooi, knap geschreven boek. En wat een fantastisch eind. Met “eind” bedoel ik in dit geval niet de laatste paar bladzijden maar het hele vierde deel. Naarmate ik met lezen vorderde, had ik al het gevoel weer een vier-sterren boek in handen te hebben. Het prachtige slot zorgde voor een vijfde ster. Een auteur waarvan ik zeker meer wil gaan lezen. Maar goed, waar gaat The Passion eigenlijk over.
Het boek bestaat uit vier delen. In het eerste deel vertelt Henri zijn verhaal. Hij heeft zich a...more
Het boek bestaat uit vier delen. In het eerste deel vertelt Henri zijn verhaal. Hij heeft zich a...more
Parts of this unusual read are dark fairy tales, parts are fantasy. I can not even approach conjuring with any sincerity an honest review of the scenes of violence, love, need, meals and fantasy as make up The Passion.
It is almost like a series of unbelieveable disconnected vignettes that the reader visits through a common hallway. I can't describe it except for to say that it is sort of like if Gabriel Garcia Marquez had an older sister who went on tour with the GratefulDead and heard these st...more
It is almost like a series of unbelieveable disconnected vignettes that the reader visits through a common hallway. I can't describe it except for to say that it is sort of like if Gabriel Garcia Marquez had an older sister who went on tour with the GratefulDead and heard these st...more
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I found this book gorgeous and compelling. I'm not a big reader of historical fiction, which I guess this is although the embellishments are fantastical. It takes place in the Napoleonic era, weaving together the lives of a French soldier and a web-footed Venetian girl. There is lust here, and passion (hence the title), with a healthy dose of the bizarre (if you loved GEEK LOVE, read this book). It's short at 160 pages. But it was luscious to start reading a book in the morning that I didn't wan...more
I don't even know where to begin with this, so I'll likely keep it brief. Basically all I can say is that Jeanette Winterson is officially my next obsession, that I'm absolutely thrilled that my adviser recommended her to me, and that this is one of the most invigorating novels I've read in a long time. Winterson reminds me a bit of Angela Carter here-not that they write in the same way, but in that they use magic and intertextuality in similar ways, and that each have a very blunt aesthetic tha...more
11 likes
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Apr 20, 2009
Stephen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who like nonfiction but struggle with its opposite number, literature.
Recommended to Stephen by:
A girl I knew ten years ago. She wrote the screenplay for "Love
Three readings of this slim tome in the past ten years do not yield a conclusion that each time it gets better, but it certainly holds up well.
This story of a peasant boy who cooks chickens for Napolean and the cross-dressing card dealer in a Venice, Italy casino is blessed with sparing touches of magical realism, informative research about the time and place(s)that are woven into the author's poetic prose, and a brand of contemplation about life's meanings and mysteries that cannot be taught....more
This story of a peasant boy who cooks chickens for Napolean and the cross-dressing card dealer in a Venice, Italy casino is blessed with sparing touches of magical realism, informative research about the time and place(s)that are woven into the author's poetic prose, and a brand of contemplation about life's meanings and mysteries that cannot be taught....more
Nov 06, 2007
Núria
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
los que tienen corazón o los que lo han perdido
'La pasión' es uno de esos libros que te hace volver a creer que los libros siempre son mejores que la vida. La novela se ambienta en la época de Napoleón, pero (por suerte para mí) no podría ser nada más alejado de una novela histórica. No hay una lluvia de datos históricos ni una descripción pelmazo de la sociedad de la época. Aunque sucede en un mundo totalmente real e histórico, no es el mundo real e histórico que nosotros conocemos. Es más bien un mundo fantástico y mágico. Hay un cura que...more
Nov 21, 2009
Korri
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
queer
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 Win...more
This book may have single handedly reignited my love of the written word. There were passages so beautifully written I would re-read them the moment I'd finished. Winiterson's writing is complex while still retaining whimsy and comedy. This book doesn't redfine passion, but adds a deeper definition and understanding of how passion is manifested, used and consummed.
Along with a love story comes hiliarous snipits of historcial text paried with fanciful imagery that builds a world matching the mas...more
Along with a love story comes hiliarous snipits of historcial text paried with fanciful imagery that builds a world matching the mas...more
Sep 19, 2007
Evan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes a story with imagined history and ideas of love
This book was also a one day read. The book is in four parts with basically two narrators, Henri, a young man from a small village who becomes a soldier and cook for Napoleon Bonaparte. He becomes friends with a midget and a defrocked priest. The other narrator is Villanelle, a young woman, who is much wanted but belongs really only to herself. At one point her heart is stolen by an older woman. She gets it back. In her youth, she sometimes dresses as a boy and works at a casino dealing cards an...more
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I tried reading Jeanette Winterson before and was put off for some reason, finding her a little sickly sentimental. After every one of my friends and colleagues who's reading tastes i admire badgering me to read her again and proclaiming their passion for her I read this. I was wrong, this is a beautiful, superbly executed book. She is anything but sentimental; wise, witty and romantic yes but without cliche or self-consciousness. Passion is somewhere between fear and death. There are passages t...more
A very well written narrative that begins from two very different perspectives that end up meeting and sharing even more bizarre adventures together. Each character is very well developed and compels you to think about what moves them. This book could be about many different things, perhaps about how war can change a person, perhaps about the meaning of home and seeking it in life, perhaps about how love can rob your heart and the quest to reclaim it. Or perhaps it's about how life is a game of...more
Read this book in two and a half days while traveling between Paris and Italy, a perfect setting to ingest Winterson's vivid rumination on the line between obsession and love. (Warning: This review may contain spoilers from here on out) This is my first introduction to Jeanette Winterson though I have orbited her books for years. The parallel stories she tracks through the turn of the nineteenth century from France to Venice to Moscow and back are both violent and delicate in their description o...more
This is a quick read, rather slight, but refreshing in Winterson's own original and inventive way. The story is set in the Napoleonic era, but although one of the two main characters serves eight years in Napoleon's army, it's not a historical novel in the strictest sense. Imagine a Garcia-Marquez sketch of 1805 Europe written by a 1990 woman. It's a War and Peace novella a la Anton Chekhov replete with magical realism; it's a "Barefoot Baronessa Munchausen," complete with a dwarf who tames Napo...more
Two readings of this slim tome in the past three or four years do not yield an assumption that in each reading it gets better, but it certainly holds up well...
With The Passion Winterson again moves firmly away from the traditional novel form — she mixes history and myth and fairy tales. The recurring line, “Trust me, I’m telling you stories” becomes Winterson’s refrain and leitmotif. Loaded with scriptural references and biblical allusions, Winterson mines the liminal space between passion and...more
With The Passion Winterson again moves firmly away from the traditional novel form — she mixes history and myth and fairy tales. The recurring line, “Trust me, I’m telling you stories” becomes Winterson’s refrain and leitmotif. Loaded with scriptural references and biblical allusions, Winterson mines the liminal space between passion and...more
I loved this book for it's imagination, soul, twists and turns, intrigue and skillful writing. Ah, well, it was more than that! I was beguiled with her writing, as lyrical as any opera. It is fiction, with a story woven about the days of Napoleon, his goals, his armies, his worshiping soldiers. It has plenty of balance, relationships, sexual surprises and love.
The day after I finished reading this, I was fortunate to see an interview of Jeanette Winterson by Bill Moyers on a DVD from the Eugen...more
Well, The Passion has left me in the same place as the other Jeannette Winterson novels I've read -- meh. With regard to this particular novel, while I enjoyed the descriptions of deep human struggle, especially in historic times (as I usually do), I thought Winterson overestimated my interest in the inner struggles of her characters. I often find this with her writing; the characters have exciting and visceral lives that are full of action, and those external lives tend to wrap me up in the hor...more
Earlier this week I finished reading The Passion (1987) by Jeanette Winterson. Many years ago I read one of Winterson’s later works Written on the Body and liked it so much I bought all of her other works I could find, then (as happens all too frequently) forgot about her. I’d see the books on my shelf and think about reading one, but then something else would catch eye.
Not too long ago Mary checked out 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. We were looking through it to see how 'literate' we...more
Not too long ago Mary checked out 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. We were looking through it to see how 'literate' we...more
This was the only book of my astounding Contemporary Literature class in college that didn't grab my attention upon first reading it. Having since been to Venice, and recalling that the novel's main setting was in the city of changing mazes, I decided to give it a second chance.
Thank God for maturity.
Although a small book that is encountered and dispatched quickly, Winterson includes many themes that are valuable in one's general appreciation of literature. As you may expect, the concept of Pass...more
Thank God for maturity.
Although a small book that is encountered and dispatched quickly, Winterson includes many themes that are valuable in one's general appreciation of literature. As you may expect, the concept of Pass...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This is by far one of the most phenomenal, surreal, gratifying reads in comtemporary world literature. It is the twisted, tangled love story of Henri and Villanelle, two wayward, androgynous 19th century vagabonds who find their destiny in a post-Napoleonic Wars Venice. One of my favorite parts of this book is Winterson's description of Venice:
"There is a city surrounded by water with watery alleys that do for streets and roads and silted up back ways that only the rats can cross. Miss your way,...more
"There is a city surrounded by water with watery alleys that do for streets and roads and silted up back ways that only the rats can cross. Miss your way,...more
The Passion is the first Jeanette Winterson book that I've read, and I'm already itching to get ahold of her other work. When dealing with subjects like war, prostitution and unrequited love, it's easy for authors to take a heavy-handed approach, but there is no melodrama here. Winterson's written voice is calm and eloquent as she unravels the story of two paths crossing during the Napoleonic Wars. She explores the subtleties that distinguish adoration, love and passion, in scenes full of quiet...more
I went back and forth between giving this book two and four stars and finally landed on four because I think it achieved what it was trying to do. It was a novel of true obsession and I would argue that passion was never really found.
This is a novel of lust and obsession, with war, gambling, sex and Napoleon as the major players. There are two narrators who are there to tell the story. Some may disagree with me on this point, but I think the real main characters in this book are the items I lis...more
This is a novel of lust and obsession, with war, gambling, sex and Napoleon as the major players. There are two narrators who are there to tell the story. Some may disagree with me on this point, but I think the real main characters in this book are the items I lis...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This book took a little while to take off, but in the ending it was great. The whole first half I was waiting for Henri and Villanelle to meet in some great dramatic way, but when they finally do, it was hardly what I expected. Jeanette Winterson's diction was strong and truly took you back to the time period of the Napoleanic wars. Especially great was when Winterson discribed Henri's love for Napolean as it slowly morphed into a deep hatred when Henri realized men in his counrty were dying wit...more
Stuck inside my UW library copy of the book was a light blue, unlined index card, with slanted capitol letters: "For me you've rendered other men dull and other destinies mediocre..."
When I began reading The Passion, I thought this quote was a beautiful way to explain the changes that occur after you fall in love.
When I finished the book, I re-read it and thought "dull" and "mediocre" are pretty benign criticisms after the intensity of Winterson's expressions- and ah, ha! The quote is not actua...more
When I began reading The Passion, I thought this quote was a beautiful way to explain the changes that occur after you fall in love.
When I finished the book, I re-read it and thought "dull" and "mediocre" are pretty benign criticisms after the intensity of Winterson's expressions- and ah, ha! The quote is not actua...more
Vacillated between three and four stars.
PROS
Wonderful setting
Great characterization--I thought it was so awesome how the two characters sounded totally different and I also really liked seeing them through each others' eyes, because it revealed aspects of each that weren't clear from the individual POV but also fit together with it, like a good puzzle.
Kind of eerily clean writing
Bravely took on romantic love with very little...cynicism?
Henri is adorable. I thought the last section from his POV s...more
PROS
Wonderful setting
Great characterization--I thought it was so awesome how the two characters sounded totally different and I also really liked seeing them through each others' eyes, because it revealed aspects of each that weren't clear from the individual POV but also fit together with it, like a good puzzle.
Kind of eerily clean writing
Bravely took on romantic love with very little...cynicism?
Henri is adorable. I thought the last section from his POV s...more
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Novelist Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester, England in 1959. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, published in 1985. She graduated from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and moved to London where she worked as an assi...more
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“Whoever it is you fall in love with for the first time, not just love but be in love with, is the one who will always make you angry, the one you can't be logical about.”
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296 people liked it
“The body shuts down when it has too much to bear; goes its own way quietly inside, waiting for a better time, leaving you numb and half alive.”
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Jul 24, 2012 05:06pm