The Passion (Winterson, Jeanette Winterson, Jeanette) Paperback – August 7, 1997

Perhaps all romance is like that; not a contract between equal parties but an explosion of dreams and desires that can find no outlet in everyday life. Only a drama will do and while the fireworks last the sky is a different colour. -Jeanette Winterson* * *Henri, a poor country boy joins the French military to follow his passion: Bonaparte. His tour of duty takes him on Napoleon's marches, and one is treated to an inside of look at being a soldier in Bonaparte's army. Napoleon's passion for fighting has him take his armies into Moscow. Concurrently, a woman gives birth to a child in Venice. The child's father is a Boatman, and those children, according to legend, can walk on water. The child turns out to be a girl, but is nonetheless a Boatman's Daughter. She has a passion for gambling, and meets the love of her life and finds another passion, in the process losing her heart. After her heart has been broken, she marries a cruel, fat Frenchman and exults in his passion for debasing her. Her destiny takes her to Moscow, where she meets Henri. Henri's passion for the Boatman's daughter proves to be no small thing in his own destiny.Set in magical, eternal cities, encompassing a time which captivates the imagination, and written in beautiful prose, this work is emminently readable, and entirely riveting. There are beautiful heart-stopping phrases worth quoting on every page -- words which, by their beauty, make this spellbinding tale a lyrical journey of discovery. There are many kinds of passions in this piece, and following each to its end, and savoring each as it comes, is a bittersweet and very poignant experience. Do it! Highly Recommended!

The prose is quite lovely, she obviously has a gift with the language that I envy. The story itself is not really the point. It only exists to drive the characters from one jewel of insight to the next. Normally I hate "concept books" like that, but either I am getting older and wiser, or this book is that good. One thing that helps is she does not fall into the trap that many authors do when writing concept focused novels in making her characters utterly unlikable. It really doesn't matter how illuminating your prose is if it is coming from the mouths of characters the reader cannot relate to. The characters are likable, even if the main characters who trade narration speak with the same "voice". The voice is so lovely, you forgive them for that just as you forgive the author the lift from T.S. Elliot.It kinda falls short of true, "Wow!" though. I think that part of that is the fact that like many writers, she has fallen into the trap of over processing emotion in order to make it beautiful. In doing so she looses emotion's raw edge. She becomes detached from it. When the characters talk about love and passion and pain you understand it, but you don't feel it. It's beautiful, but not evocative.Something else I realized that bothered me about this book. The author keeps referring to how happy country people are because they are "simple" with simple lives. Being raised in a township of less than a thousand people, I can honestly say that that is not the case. Just because one does not work in an office and change jobs every three years that does not mean their lives are more "simple". I can tell you that all the facets of human relationships are just as prevelant in the rural areas as they are in town. The only difference is the older generations don't talk about it the way city folk do. I can also point to the fact that while many of the older generation (born at the beginning of the 20th century) may not have had beyond a 9th grade education, most of them continued to read and educate themselves their entire lives. Some of them are more well read than people that claim to be among the literati. The only difference is they have not a professor telling them how to interpret what they read, so often you end up having some very interesting discussions with them.So maybe the author should not be trying to speak for country people and the beauty of their "simple lives" because I think I can guarantee as far back as the 19th century, they probably were not that simple. It actually kind of smacks of the "noble savage" condescension.But still, worth a read even if that isn't your sort of thing. This was really not my sort of thing, but I am glad I read it.

Originally I ordered this book for a class and was dreading reading it. But, as I read the story swallowed me whole and really made an impact. This story is unlike so much I have read, I highly recommend this book for anyone and everyone. I don't want to say too much about the plot because you need to read it to fully appreciate what happens and whats going on. I will say this: It is a story about Passion, love, infatuation, how people steal your heart and never give it back. It is not a "romance novel" that you buy for 99 cents at a dollar store, its a very real story that is about all different kinds of love, not just romantic. This story is historical fiction but written like fantasy. Great characters and an amazing plot. If I could read this again for the first time, I would.

Lovely language. Often like abstract poetry. Didn’t enjoy the book. But some of the images were gorgeous. More words more words

This novel is set during the Napoleonic wars, an era that provides a fascinating backdrop, a lot of interesting historical details, and a ground-level look at the French army’s suicidal advance into Russia. This is a love story that isn’t your traditional romance. One character is in love with an ideal that slowly erodes as he follows Napoleon into Russia. The other is in love with a mysterious woman who literally captures her heart. The novel drifts between allegory, concrete facts, whimsy, and dash of surrealism. The main characters are fantastic, and the supporting cast are an intriguing rogues gallery, but what sets it apart for me is the beautiful writing. I literally could not put this down.

The first half felt half-hearted to me, but if you hold out until the second part, the mythos and emotive bombshell that is Jeanette Winterson will appear. Even her most blaise writing is better than most authors' finest, but she really lets it out later. Great historical romance, with all the usual delights. Not as extraordinary as Written on the Body or Sexing the Cherry, but still up there in my opinion.