Winterson writes poetry disguised as prose. This book won't be everyone's cup of tea and isn't a great place to start reading her work (unless you've read a lot of Anais Nin). That said, it's a beautiful novel. The language and imagery are exquisite. The musings and insights span so many domains (medicine, science, history, philosophy....) and explore so many ideas (grief, lust, fear, uncertainty, loss...). This is a book to take slowly and savour.

Three stars because I like it but I don't think it has universal appeal. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys poetic interpretations of every day life, surreal conversations between lovers, and descriptions of science that read like magic realism.