I was hooked on this within a couple of pages. Winterson’s writing style is definitely unique, sparse yet beautiful, and surprisingly informal. It seems closer to spoken English than prose, as if someone truly is just telling you a story.

And what a story! I loved the descriptions of Venice, a fairy tale world where anything and everything can happen – from people literally losing their hearts, to boatmen walking on water.

I ended up waking up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I picked up this book and read the entire thing in one sitting. (It’s 160 pages, so not an amazing feat.) I definitely recommend this. It’s totally engrossing and worth a second read for me, because of the beautiful writing style.