This novel of history and fantasy weaves together the Napoleonic wars and the mysteries of Venice, punctuated by the stories the characters tell about themselves and others. Quite enchanting.

Magical realism set in wartime, told with a delicate lacing of philosophy, religion and perfectly-flawed romance. I can't recommend this book highly enough. ( )

The Passion, like so many of Winterson's books, feels like it will break your heart because it is so startlingly intimate, beautiful in a candidly biographical way that is wrenching to read. The biographies are of two very similar people, both looking and resisting their lost loves that continually burn away everything that is left of the protagonists. ( )

What to say about this book . . . it is one of the very few to which I haven given 5 stars. Needless to say, I absolutely loved it.

The Passion is an amazingly imaginitive, truly magical, and very thought provoking book. Winterson's writing is fluid, lyrical and sensuous, and the whole story is crafted quite brilliantly. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, it has Napoleon as a minor character only. The two major characters are Henri, one of Napoleon's soldiers and his chicken chef, and Villanelle, the daughter of a Venetian boatman. It begins in France, moves to Venice, then Russia in the heart of winter, and back to Venice. The descriptions of Venice "a living city" are extraordinarily vivid; you can feel yourself gliding down the dark icy canals and tunnels into the hidden interior of the city.

It is a book about passion, as the title says. About passion for an ideal, and transferred to an idealised leader. About passion in a sensual as well as a sexual sense, and also in a romantic sense. About the price one may be required to pay for feeling that passion. It is also about love, loving and being in love and "giving your heart away". About what we value and what we are prepared to risk.

The quality of this book, and of Winterson's writing is astounding. Having said all that, you will still have no idea what it is actually about and what she is saying until you have read it.

Just read it. ( )

Well, I guess I am not a fan of magical realism! I had heard raves about Winterson's work, so I picked up this novel to give her a try. While I enjoyed it and agree that it was well written, there was nothing here that left much of an impression on me, aside from the coldness and ugliness of war. I agree with the reviewer who seemed to feel that the merger of Henri's and Villanelle's stories didn't quite work, and that the author seemed much more interested in the latter. ( )