Book Review, The Gap of Time

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, which explores themes of jealousy, love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

I eagerly began reading this novel because I thoroughly enjoyed a previous book in the Hogarth Shakespeare series (Vinegar Girl, a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew). However, it would have been wise if I’d considered whether I’d want to read a retelling of A Winter’s Tale.

Given that the play revolves around Leontes’s misguided belief that his wife is having an affair and pregnant with a child that isn’t his, I should have considered how that might be handled by a modern writer. And the truth is that the novel is much more sexually explicit than I am comfortable with, particularly in the first third. I would have set the book aside, except that I received the novel in exchange for a review and felt obligated to finish it.

Aside from the graphic nature of the novel, it was beautifully written. At times, even lyrical. Though there were some occasions when the novel felt disjointed (the play has the same nature), the pacing is quite good and propels the reader through the text. 

I received this novel in exchange for an honest review.