Reviews

The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson

parasolcrafter's review

i think im just not the target audience for this book. its not bad, its just DEFINITELY not my style

silverjennydollar's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

birdwatching's review

3.0

Hit and miss for me - parts were exquisite with imagery, dialogue and ideas, and other parts were less successful and I got dragged down by the basil exposition. I think Jeanette Winterson really excels at depicting the endings of things. In the Stone Gods there are some gorgeously sad moments where the world is disintegrating but there is a singular, transcendent experience of love. It brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. There are also some important political points about the current state of the world (environmental destruction, rampant capitalism).

claudcon's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

vsb's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

a siren call, a lullaby, a year in review report, a call to arms to lay down our arms, an ode, a farewell and a greeting. my favourite book

djerome's review

challenging dark reflective sad

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

breadandmushrooms's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

brisingr's review

5.0

2nd read: 10-13th May 2021.
Now that I am not as confused about what's going on (and with some Winterson history and theory backing up my brains), this novel is really not subtle at all in its absolutely understandable critique of capitalism. I love what it set out to do, I love how it has done it: the usual beautiful writing style of Winterson, the running themes across really wonderful characters, and all the heart and hurt as an undercurrent for a lesson for humanity.
I was scared that a reread might bump this down from being a favourite, but nope. This novel still absolutely shines for me, it gave me all I could want from a cautionary tale that is already under-way.

1st read: 7-8th November 2018.
"Love is an intervention.
Why do we not choose it?"

Beautiful and so desperately needed at the moment. A cautionary tale that is important and valuable and humane and touching. It had everything I love in a story, and it had enough truth to scare me and enough hope despite repeating wrongness and messiness that it made sense.

otterlost's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

laurasauras's review

2.0

I found it heavy-handed on the allegorical stuff, which left me feeling kind of condescended to, and couldn't connect with any of the characters. The emphasis on the cycle was interesting, gotta love me some queer romance, but I really had to push myself to finish it.