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The Daylight Gate Jeanette Winterson 9780099561859 Books

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The Daylight Gate Jeanette Winterson 9780099561859 Books

Didn't enjoy this book at all. I had fairly high expectations, because I'd read a number of positive reviews of it, but I'm honestly kind of baffled by all the praise. The sentences were all very short and to the point, which might work for some people, but left me wanting way more atmosphere. There were a lot of characters introduced, & I had a hard time telling them apart. There were also an awful lot of very detailed descriptions of gross/gory things, which is very much not my cup of tea.

Giving it two stars rather than one only because I did want to find out how it wrapped up & I read the whole thing. But I did come really close to giving up on this one.


Tags : The Daylight Gate [Jeanette Winterson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A wonderfully atmospheric, intricating woven, magical modern-day tale of the Pendle Witches. The animosity and anger betwen the accused and the accusers -- which tore the community apart in the seventeenth century -- is still going strong today. The animosity and anger between the accused and the accusers -- which tore the community apart in the seventeenth century -- is still going strong in the present day. A couple go to Pendle and the woman is caught up in the legend that has haunted the area for centuries.,Jeanette Winterson,The Daylight Gate,Hammer,0099561859,Fantasy - General,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction Fantasy General

The Daylight Gate Jeanette Winterson 9780099561859 Books Reviews

This was recommended on NPR and I found it ok but not as outstanding as promised by the breathless reviewer. I really felt it was more of an outline for a proposal for a novel. The characters were a jumble. Some were introduced, not fleshed out at all, and then forgotten until hauled out again for a confusing purpose. Others were introduced and then, towards the end, seemed to be given a greater reason for their existence at the behest of an editor. I might read this in longer form if that ever happens but this 'preview' has not encouraged that outcome.
.....set in the 1600's around the witch trials in England. The Daylight Gate tells the tale about Alice Nutter and the Demdike clan both accused of witchcraft and then sentenced to die. It was disturbing and gruesome to read how those accused were treated and tortured. Alice Nutter was a strong woman who stood here ground though and ultimately died on her town terms. I found her deep love for both Elizabeth and Christopher to the best part of the book. I like that it was based on historical fact and found it to be a very quick read.
I was disappointed in this book. I had heard the recommendation on NPR like many others here. The subject matter intrigued me, and I was hoping for a much more in-depth experience. Winterson's strength as a writer is that she keeps the pace moving, and that momentum in itself is almost -- and I emphasize "almost" -- enough to keep you engaged. But the characters were not fully developed enough to get me interested in what was going to happen to them. Furthermore, there was so much lingering on the gory details (literally) that I found myself wanting to skim over those parts. I did finish it, as it was a short read, and I was hoping it would get better along the way. But the ending was abrupt and seemed a bit pointless. I was left wanting a book that was promised (by the NPR review and by the intriguing premise) but not delivered.
I wanted to like this book more than I did, and I wanted it to be more than it was. There *is* a lot here to like, but ultimately Winterson's inconsistency with the supernatural elements of her story and the protagonist's character left me frustrated.

An author who chooses to include witchcraft, alchemy, and demonic bargains in her story as things with actual power can't just dribble them through the plot as dramatic episodes. There should be deeper and more potent consequences. Winterson depicts at least a couple of her stereotypical ragged band of desperate, impoverished 'witches' as people who can actually wield magic. Ugly magic. Complicated magic. But apparently they only do so when it serves the plot -- not prior to the action of the story to actually improve matters for themselves or hurt their enemies. A spirit or two makes an appearance, but fades away and is ignored thereafter.

Alice Nutter, the central character, is a woman of independent means, intelligent enough to study alchemy and build a prosperous business. She loves deeply, and has had both a woman and a man as lovers -- one of the best aspects of the story. She knows that both witchcraft and alchemy can be potent tools. And yet, though her own life and the lives of the two people she loves are threatened, she acts as if she has only her wits to save her. Which is ironic, because she should be smart enough to see that the obsession and desperation of those around her cannot be reasoned with. There is also a point when she commits an act of clever, ruthless self-defense, but never displays that aspect of her character again.

Finally, there is a prophecy which the author takes care to build up and then undercuts.

The writing style is strong and vivid. The characters are interesting. The relationships are believable. The peril is real. I worried about the characters, got angry at them, loved some of them.

This should have been a much deeper, more complex, and more magical story. The characters have so much potential, but they have been left to skitter around on the surface of a hodgepodge world.
I've read a few books by Jeanette Winterson, all of them quite good. What I've enjoyed about her writing is her abstract and fluid style. When I'm reading her works, I sometimes have to assume I'm not exactly getting it and do a little backtracking.

However, this was not the case with The Daylight Gate. Although the book wasn't at all bad, it didn't have the trademark Winterson brilliance I've grown accustomed to (evidenced by my being able to red it in record time). She told a good story, bringing to life the horrors of the first witch trials in all their gore and barbarism, all very well done and a great concept. Unfortunately, it only felt like I was reading half a novel. Something was missing. There was no counter for the violence, the obscene, and the supernatural. Without much description about the ordinary and mundane, I found it very difficult to suspend reality and consider that some of the fantastical could be plausible.

Overall, it's an entertaining and interesting book and worth the time. Just don't expect it to be great like a lot of her other works. This one does fall a little short.
Didn't enjoy this book at all. I had fairly high expectations, because I'd read a number of positive reviews of it, but I'm honestly kind of baffled by all the praise. The sentences were all very short and to the point, which might work for some people, but left me wanting way more atmosphere. There were a lot of characters introduced, & I had a hard time telling them apart. There were also an awful lot of very detailed descriptions of gross/gory things, which is very much not my cup of tea.

Giving it two stars rather than one only because I did want to find out how it wrapped up & I read the whole thing. But I did come really close to giving up on this one.