Not only does the story meander across time (65 million years ago, 1774 and a post-WWIII environment called "The Wreck") but also the love stories intertwine and morph throughout the time changes. Winterson's own disenchantment with our inability to save our Earth or ourselves is a constant theme, and although hope is always present, the reader certainly feels that Winterson believes we are following an ironically set pattern of cause and effect that continues to worsen.

Each time-period in the book provides revealing and frustrating blueprints of the behavior and the selfishness of humankind, which can be quite depressing when our daily news is full of global warming, famine, and third-world nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, even the constantly scary, often lyrical words with which Winterson evokes possibilities gives the reader a renewed sense of planetary evolution, and the potential improvement and betterment of human nature. A clever and yet unsettling book, it is a great read, forcing us, through Winterson's carefully crafted storyline, into facing an uncertain future with a definite hope and faith in the human experience. ENJOY!