Played by Maggie Smith, who captured her every infuriating nuance, you could almost smell her...

I like to think how many readers are going to admire the courage of this book, revel in its fierce colours, its boisterousness, humour and tremendous pizzazz, and take delight in its generosity of spirit.

His usual seamless blend of the realistic and fantastic.

Two Years, Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights blends Arabian myth, history and sci-fi into a whirlwind fable.

Rollicking, lyrical and very enjoyable tale.

A powerful indictment of religious violence.

Great fun.

Sensational… it is unlike not only anything you may have read by Rushdie but by anyone anywhere.

The dark delights that spring from his imagination in this novel have a spellbinding energy that has marked the greatest storytellers since the days for Scheherazade.

Rushdie writes with a happy exuberance.

Fans should be satisfied and newcomers bemused, then enchanted, by the wordsmithery on show.

Two Years, Eight Months And Twenty-Eight Nights blends Arabian myth, history and sci-fi into a whirlwind of a fable.

A mesmerizing modern tale about worlds dangerously colliding, the monsters that are unleashed when reason recedes, and a beautiful testament to the power of love and humanity in chaotic times.

A joyous, fractured fairytale with a cast of thousands and a darkly glittering heart.

Will no doubt be read for generations to come.

Salman Rushdie described a battle between Islamic jinn for a 21st-century Earth.

An energetic return to form pitting reason against religious zeal

Magic realism squared […] the most madcap fun you’re likely to have in a book this year.

I love, love, love the Rushdie – I think it’s my favourite of his… The fantasy elements are just magical and, of course, it’s gorgeously written.

An apocalyptic battle between reason and unreason, good and evil, light and darkness, with all the bells and whistles of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Not only a beautifully written satire-as-fairytale but the subject matter is bang on trend… That Rushdie should still be writing so potently and still be continuing to push back the frontiers, when he could easily pull up a deck chair and languish on the frontiers he already owns is wonderful, inspirational and profoundly (but only in the best way) terrifying… 10/10, Master.

Ambitious, smart and dark fable that is full of rich and profound notions about human nature.

The Gap of Time takes nothing away from The Winter's Tale. If anything it might add to it, or at least to its resonance and mystery. It is an impressive achievement, especially as Winterson manages the contradictions of comedy and tragedy in a way which suits both their modern likelihood and their moral implications

A witty retelling.

Her new story retains the essence of Shakespeare, but filters his comedy and sentiment through feminism and technology.

Filled with her wit and seriously thought-provoking ideas, Winterson’s writing is a pleasure… This is a well told, beautiful, magical and wonderfully evocative story which resonates with our contemporary lives.

Vibrates with echoes of Shakespeare’s original.

Ambitious.

There is a lovely, lilting cadence to the novel… Stylishly done…. Winterson manages against the odds to keep us gripped.

Winterson is on sparkling form in this highly intelligent and daringly imaginative reworking of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale... Witty, clever and bold.

Winterson is incapable of being dull, and The Gap Of Time is a fitting addition to her uniquely inventive catalogue.

She deftly captures all the magic and raw emotion of the original.