the passion

Through a heartbreaking history lesson on the Napoleonic wars to the seediness and magic of Venice (another favourite city of mine, just move past the sad, disheartening tourist tracks), the reader gets to follow the, at first, idealistic soldier/chicken cook Henri who worships Napoleon. In the indescribable coldness of winter Moscow enters Villanelle, the Venetian croupier who has had her heart stolen. Their story together begins as they make their way to Venice.

The Passion being far from my favourite book by Jeanette Winterson - that one is still unthreatened Powerbook - but her smooth writing, the deftness with which she moves from the extreme to the mundane, the poetry, the reality, the fantasy, the fairytale it is always a good read, an inspirational read, if not always an amazing one.

And you can always rely on that even if not the book, as a whole, is of the stunning kind, there are passages, quotes, thoughts that sticks, that is nothing less than beautiful, heartbreakingly so at times, in their simplicity and obviousness. I collect them and I treasure them. Because ever so often she has managed to put my (and to know that someone else feels and thinks like oneself is always comforting, don't you think?) thoughts to paper, in a beautiful way, and if not my thoughts provoking me to think and for that I salute her ~

- Every victory leaves even more resent, another defeated and humiliated people. Another place to guard, defend and fear.

- We are tepid people and our longing for freedom is our longing for love. If we had the courage to love we wouldn't value warfare as much.