New Bohemia. America. A storm. A black man finds a white baby abandoned in the night. He gathers her up - light as a star - and decides to take her home.
London. England. After the financial crash. Leo Kaiser knows how to make money but he doesn't know how to manage the jealousy he feels towards his best friend and his wife. Is the newborn baby even his?
New Bohemia. 17 years later. A boy and a girl are falling in love but there's a lot they don't know about who they are and where they come from.
Jeanette Winterson's cover version of The Winter's Tale vibrates with echoes of the original but tells a contemporary story where Time itself is a player in a game of high stakes that will either end in tragedy or forgiveness. It shows us that however far we have been separated, whatever is lost shall be found.
OPENINGI SAW THE strangest sight tonight.
WHAT I THOUGHTThe Gap of Time is a new version of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. I have no idea how close or different Winterson's novel is to Shakespeare as I've never read The Winter's Tale. The Gap of Time is a great read and hugely enjoyable. This novel ticks all the boxes for me; great characters, compelling plot and great writing. I loved the characters especially Perdita and Leo. The characters are fully formed, made of flesh and blood, fascinating and at time, deliciously messed up. Leo is my favourite. He's an awful person but compulsive reading. I really liked the plot in The Gap of Time. I found it compelling, sad but also happy as well. I loved the way Winterson blends myth and fantasy throughout the novel.
