Tournament of Books discussion

The Gap of Time: The Winter's Tale Retold, by Jeanette Winterson



About the Book
The Winter's Tale is one of Shakespeare's “late plays”. It tells the story of Leontes, King of Sicily, whose insane jealousy results in the banishment of his baby daughter, Perdita, from the kingdom and then the death of his beautiful wife, Hermione. Perdita is brought up by a shepherd on the Bohemian coast, but through a series of miraculous events, father and daughter, and eventually mother too, are reunited.

In Jeanette Winterson's retelling we move from London, a city reeling after the 2008 financial crash, to a storm-ravaged city in the US called New Bohemia. Her story is one of childhood friendship, money, status, video games and the elliptical nature of time. It tells in a hyper-modern way, full of energy and beauty, of the consuming power of jealousy on the one hand, and love, redemption and a lost child on the other.


About the Author
Jeanette Winterson, OBE (born 27 August 1959) is an award-winning English writer, who became famous with her first book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against conventional values.

Some of her other novels have explored gender polarities and sexual identity. Winterson is also a broadcaster and a professor of creative writing. Winterson was born in Manchester and adopted by Constance and John William Winterson on 21 January 1960. She grew up in Accrington, Lancashire, and was raised in the Elim Pentecostal Church. Intending to become a Pentecostal Christian missionary, she began evangelising and writing sermons at age six.

By the age of 16 Winterson had identified herself as a lesbian and left home. She soon after attended Accrington and Rossendale College, and supported herself at a variety of odd jobs while reading English at St Catherine's College, Oxford.

Winterson was made an officer of Order of the British Empire (OBE) at the 2006 New Year Honours "For services to literature".

She is a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Awards. Written on the Body won in the category of Lesbian Fiction in 1994, and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? won in the category of Lesbian Memoir or Biography in 2013. Additionally, Winterson's book Sexing the Cherry won the 1989 E. M. Forster Award.

Biographic Source: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanett...


Author's Website: http://www.jeanettewinterson.com

Review in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015...


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If you would like to chat about this book, or this author, here's a place to do so!

Happy reading!!

I started this book last night.
This is an ebook read for me.

I liked that the book started off with a chapter called "The Original" which is a nice high level summary of The Winter's Tale. This set me in the mood for reading the author's contemporary version.

I am about 42% through and cannot wait to get back to the book this evening.

is anyone contemplating a re-read (or 1st read) of The Winter's Tale? i also very much appreciated winterson's book opening with a summary.... but it kind of made me want to go back and reread the play! hahaha -- you know, because we don't have enough reading going on already! :)

beverly -- i am so glad you are keen to get back to the book tonight! i hope it continues to go well for you.

Jennifer wrote: "is anyone contemplating a re-read (or 1st read) of The Winter's Tale? i also very much appreciated winterson's book opening with a summary.... but it kind of made me want to go back a..."

I'm potentially judging this book and I haven't read The Winter's Tale and would feel bad if I didn't read it for background material. However, this adds one more book to read...

AmberBug wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "is anyone contemplating a re-read (or 1st read) of The Winter's Tale? i also very much appreciated winterson's book opening with a summary.... but it kind of made me ..."

I don't think you need to do that or worry about it one bit unless it sounds like fun, AmberBug. That kind of thinking kept me from reading The Hours for the longest time but a friend finally said, no, read The Hours first because you're enjoy Mrs. Dalloway so much more--he was right, because of reading The Hours first I finally got through my first Virginia Woolf novel and actually enjoyed it.

I imagine you'll be fine with the summary and that's why it's there, because pretty much no one has read A Winter's Tale and Winterson knows it!

poingu wrote: "AmberBug wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "is anyone contemplating a re-read (or 1st read) of The Winter's Tale? i also very much appreciated winterson's book opening with a summary.... but it..."

Thanks, that makes me feel better. This also makes me want to pick up The Hours, which has been hanging around on my bookshelf for a few years. Maybe I'll pick up Winter's Tale AFTER and see how that goes ;)

AmberBug wrote: "I'm potentially judging this book and I haven't read The Winter's Tale and would feel bad if I didn't read it for background material. However, this adds one more book to read ..."

i agree that reading the original play shouldn't feel required -- and the summary does a very good job in covering it off for readers!!

i hope my comment didn't cause you to feel you should read the play!! i am just a dork and probably doing it anyway, so thought there might be one or two others out there contemplating the same. i did not intend to add any pressure or unpleasantness to the process!!!

I am going to be reviewing The Gap of Time for a new litmag called Litbreak, which begins on-line publication in December. I decided I had better do my homework so I read the play. It was definitely worthwhile and enhanced my enjoyment of Winterson's novel immensely. With a good edition including summary and footnotes,(and there are many) it doesn't take long.

oh, that's good to hear, judy!! thanks for the encouragement! i am reading the pairs in order, so haven't started this particular pairing yet. :)

I concur that you do not need to read the play. If you want more info on the play beside what is given at the beginning of the book (I also wonder if Hogarth Shakespeare imprint will provide a summary for all of the books they will be publishing in this series).

If you know a little about Shakespeare's writing style/themes/characterizations I think it will also help in understanding how the author did this in the contemporary version.

But I am one who when I hear that an author's book is based on a classic I understand that the author will bring their own spin to the storyline and I just expect that some of the essence is there.

Up here in Canada there is a broadcast movie screening of the London production of "A Winter's Tale" next Thursday. It looks like it should be a pretty awesome production with Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench! I know that this is US Thanksgiving and am wondering if it is being broadcast a different night stateside, if at all.

That sounds great. Judi Dench is one of my favorite actors in the world! Thanks for the info.

Judy wrote: "That sounds great. Judi Dench is one of my favorite actors in the world! Thanks for the info."

No problem, I hope that it is playing in your area. I don't think I can make the show here. I wish they broadcast it more than once.

oh, that's awesome to hear, carol!! i am feeling the same way, and quite looking forward to the play. it will be a reread for me, but it's been a long, long time. :)

I remember balking at reading the classics when in school until we got to Shakespeare. The teacher wisely took us to a play before we read it. It was The Taming of the Shrew. I and the class was hooked on Shakespeare and relished all that we read. I so love his writing, storylines, characters.

So I completely understand about wanting to read or re-read any of his work.

Beverly wrote: "I remember balking at reading the classics when in school until we got to Shakespeare. The teacher wisely took us to a play before we read it. It was The Taming of the Shrew. I and the class was ho..."

Beverly, I've taught Shakespeare and Sophocles and Beowulf etc. to high school students and we always start as close as we can to the actual experience of these works as lived dramatic performed works of art, not words on a page. It's so great to see young people just -get- Shakespeare's vocabulary in context because someone just got stuck through with a poisoned sword or is lingering with a lover as the birdsongs change outside the window or whatever. No need for footnotes at all.

To digress all the way off the cliff here I want to link to a clip of my favorite Beowulf performance of all time, by Benjamin Bagby:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzmmP...

Also sadly because we promised AmberBug "No Sequels," now that I've read Gap of Time I do think the reading experience would be different if read in tandem with The Winter's Tale. Not necessarily a better reading experience, or required reading, but different.

There was another book like that this year that found added resonances when read in close proximity with its predecessor, The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, a novel that like Gap of Time is not a "sequel," but a deep familiarity with The Stranger would change the novel.

These sources of inspiration don't make either of these novels from 2015 "sequels" though and I also wonder if it's even fair to say a novel should be read in tandem with Shakespeare--it seems like something of an unfair advantage in our contest to include Shakespeare as a co-author!

I wouldn't say we are including Shakespeare as a co-author. Just as inspiration.

oh yes "co-author" was a bit of a joke but otoh it feels like a different enterprise to read and evaluate a book in close context with the work of another author. I'm thinking a lot about the way what I read before influences what I read next, though--so many connections that each of us brings to a book that are unique, and not just in our reading experience but also our life experience.

Just an off the wall example--I read one of our 16 books, Aquarium, immediately after another 2015 novel, Disgruntled by Asali Solomon, and somehow the mental picture I had for the young girl protagonist in Solomon's book wandered into my mental picture of the young girl protagonist in David Vann's book--in my head they are the same girl.

Poingu, I like to think of my reading life as an adventure or journey that has an itinerary I only vaguely follow and no destination except increasing knowledge. The influences and connections between books never fail to excite and astound me. If it weren't for Jeanette Winterson, who I admire greatly, I would not have spent my time reading Shakespeare at this point in my journey but also would not have overcome my aversion to reading his plays. It IS all connected, isn't it?

poingu wrote: "Beverly wrote: "I remember balking at reading the classics when in school until we got to Shakespeare. The teacher wisely took us to a play before we read it. It was The Taming of the Shrew. I and ..."

Thanks so much for sharing this.
It shows how wonderful learning can be.

I finished this book last night.
Getting my thoughts together.

Yesterday in my favorite bookstore in Santa Cruz CA I came across a used copy of the UK version of Gap of Time--the white book with the red feather, instead of the out-of-focus white and blue clock on black background. The shape and balance of the UK book in my hands was completely different and I think I would have loved reading this book more instead of the US version. The US version is a weird skinny shape, and it feels slight, I guess because there are fewer pages and it weighs less. Normally I wouldn't think that a choice of print versions would change my reading experience--audio vs. ebook vs. paper book, yes, those do feel very different to me. But the UK version is more gorgeous in every way.

oh - i have a lovely canadian hardcover edition -- with the red feather. it is a gorgeous edition. i definitely notice this in books - i love to feel quality and it's a bonus when coupled with great design! :)

so i finished reading winterson's book last night and i quite enjoyed it! i have shakespeare's play lined up so may dip into that tonight, or this weekend. (though i did begin my re-read of Sweetland, last night, so i may be engrossed in that one.)

Here are some of my thoughts.

I was excited when I learned about the Hogarth Shakespeare series as I so enjoyed reading and watching Shakespeare’s plays when in school and was interested in what contemporary writers would do “reimaging” his works.
I think it was a good choice to start off with Jeanette Winterson’s “The Gap of Time”, a cover version of “The Winter’s Tale. This is one of the lesser known plays so I was hoping there would be less nitpicking over how the story was different from the original.
What I was looking for was the essence of Shakespeare along with the essence of the contemporary writer to be allowed to be put their stamp on their version. I certainly got that and more.
I was immediately drawn into the storyline and every time I had to put the book down I was anxious to get back to it.
I enjoyed the drama (and Shakespeare did love his “drama”) and the humor and how when I was in the midst of a scene – there was often this sentence/information that would make me stop and think about it. That is what I remember liking about Shakespeare you would be deep into what was going on and/or laughing and a statement would bring you back to reality.
I liked how Jeanette Winterson added her trademark grittiness and bluntness to the storyline.
I enjoyed the Shakespearean references that were included in the storyline.
And certainly how – Winterson had the character speak the line and then added “It crossed Cameron’s mind that this was a perfectly good sentence-adjective, noun, verb. Not Shakespeare certainly, but adequate.”
I so appreciated that for a couple of hours when reading this book I was engrossed with what was going with the characters and did not care what was happening in the real world.

See, now, I didn't see it as Winterson's "let's wrap this up in a big fat happy package" as much as Shakespeare's, who does exactly the same thing in The Winter's Tale, which is one of the things that makes it such a problem play. I really liked what she did with it, and gives me great hope for the Folger Shakespeare project, which so far is head and shoulders above the pretty awful Austen project offerings.

Just finished a reread of this tonight. Tomorrow I will write my review for Litbreak. Then I can speak freely here. Bottom line: I am pretty much in awe of what JW did with the play. Bringing the story into modern times but staying with Shakespeare's sentiments about jealousy, power, love, time, and forgiveness. I can't imagine writing a retelling of a famous author's work but she walked the line extremely well in my opinion.

Judy wrote: "Just finished a reread of this tonight. Tomorrow I will write my review for Litbreak. Then I can speak freely here. Bottom line: I am pretty much in awe of what JW did with the play. Bringing the s..."

Can't wait to hear your thoughs.
I felt the same way as you did but you said it so wonderfully.

The Gap of Time is back on my mind now because I'm reading an ARC of Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson, with great pleasure, and also with the same reverberant connections being made in my head with the Shakespeare play.

When I read reviews of both these novels-based-on-Shakespeare-plays it's clear people don't know what to make of them. Should they be reviewed as stand alone novels? Or should they be read as adaptations, and judged for how wittily or aptly they transform the source material? What are these books, anyway? Depending on how reviewers decide to categorize them, as novels or adaptations, they next decide whether the work meets the criteria for that category or not.

For The Gap of Time the confusion is all the more confusing because people don't know what to make of the original play, either. From the Independent:

Shakespeare's late play The Winter's Tale mingles fairytale coincidence with psychological realism so unapologetically that some people have always found it hard to take. Not so Jeanette Winterson, whose new novel is a modern rewriting of the story which pays tribute to its imaginative riches and message of human hope and redemption.

I think my own expectations and decisions about what Gap of Time is supposed to be unnecessarily colored my reading of the novel. Also, I think Jeannette Winterson can love The Winter's Tale because she doesn't categorize the play and then blame it for not perfectly fitting that category.

poingu wrote: "... I'm reading an ARC of Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson, with great pleasure, and also with the same reverberant connections being made in my head with the Shakespeare play."

This is so good to hear! I am eager to read the others in the series as they are released as I enjoyed Winterson's so much.

poingu wrote: "The Gap of Time is back on my mind now because I'm reading an ARC of Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson, with great pleasure, and also with the same reverberant c..."

I agree with what you have said.

Because of reviewers having different expectations on how to review books "based on" other books, I had decided for me - what I wanted to see was did the author keep to the "essence" of the book. I expected the author to also be true to themselves and their writing style and hopefully I would get a little twist to the original story.

I probably liked The Gap of Time a little more than you did as I thought the Winterson met my criteria.

And then I also just plain liked the story. Which I think is another criteria to add to the complications of reviewing a book that is a retake. How did you feel about the "original" I think also comes into play.

Glad you are enjoying Shylock Is My Name as I have been looking at an ARC sitting on my shelf calling my name. But decided that I am going to finish with the alt-TOB books first. I can be such a fickle reader about what I am going to read next.

Beverly wrote: "I had decided for me - what I wanted to see was did the author keep to the "essence" of the book. I expected the author to also be true to themselves and their writing style and hopefully I would get a little twist to the original story.."

Yes, I like these criteria. I think I read Gap of Time too quickly. I also have come to believe that the best way to read this series is to begin with reading or re-reading the play and then immediately read the novel after it. For me that was certainly the best way of reading Pym at least and I never would have understood the genius of that novel if I hadn't just read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

That said I'm diving into Shylock is My Name headlong, not taking my own advice to read The Merchant of Venice again first.

My review of The Gap of Time is now on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

poingu wrote: "Beverly wrote: "I had decided for me - what I wanted to see was did the author keep to the "essence" of the book. I expected the author to also be true to themselves and their writing style and hop..."

I am going to read a summary of The Merchant of Venice before I delving into Shylock Is My Name . I know that's cheating in some ways.

Beverly wrote: "
I am going to read a summary of The Merchant of Venice before I delving into Shylock Is My Name . I know that's cheating in some ways. "

that's ok--i watched the Lawrence Olivier version while doing my paperwork today--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EGBK...

oh, and I totally went out and bought the UK edition of The Gap of Time: The Winter's Tale Retold that I've been coveting every time I went into my independent bookstore, since it's so much more beautiful than the US version...it was still there today so I nabbed it and now I'll definitely need to give it a languid-er read than last time.

Did anyone check this out as an audiobook? I'm wondering if it would be hard to follow or do well as a performance.
I'm trying to sneak more altTOB's in before Jan and figured car rides would eke out an extra book or two! Open for suggestions! (Already read Delicious Foods so I'll wait on that one which sounds (ahem) pitch perfect!)

Just finished The Gap of Time and I am so grateful to this group. You gave me the push I needed to pick this up . I just loved Winterson's take on this play.

Amy wrote: "Did anyone check this out as an audiobook? I'm wondering if it would be hard to follow or do well as a performance.
I'm trying to sneak more altTOB's in before Jan and figured car rides would eke o..."

This one's pretty good on audio although maybe a bit trickier to follow than some others might be. Girl/Gun, Udala, Sweetland, and Star Side are also excellent on audio. I would avoid Landfalls on audio--good narrator but poor editing of dubbed-in corrections.

Thanks Jan!