Boating for Beginners [Paperback]

If you read the author's remarks on her own webpage, then ÒBoating forBeginnersÓ is supposed to be a pot-boiler, written for the money inthe time of dearth before her ÔOranges are not the only FruitŐ finallysaw the light of day. Should this be true, then Ms. Winterson is evenmore talented than I had given her credit for. The book is a riot,truly funny, the kind of sarcasm that may kill a religion, and is muchmore effective as an antidote than the most elaborate production oflearned scholarship ever could hope to achieve ...Of course there aresome purely British insider jokes, and since we are at it letŐs givethe media a bit of a flak too. It is the wonderful world of glitteringtears and hallelujah-burgers from Genesis all the way to the latesttelevangelists. Praise the Lord! (And it is true: you CAN get yourorgasms in a supermarket.) Ms. Winterson sparkles with angular twistsand turns and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ideas and jabs, butto the readers pleasant surprise, it all falls into place, and a realstory among ÒrealÓ people develops Đ characters we recognize, even inthis warped apparition from a parallel universe. Talent, fantasy andthe language, if an author has this, and Ms. Winterson has it inabundance, then even potboilers turn out to be a delight to read Đ infact it may even turn out better than more ambitious projects where anauthor can be a tat too conscious of what she or he is trying todo. (Yes, you guessed it, I am thinking of Ms. WintersonŐs ÒGutSymmetries.Ó) For the seeker of Ôprofound ideasŐ: the book developsthe premise: ÒWhat would happen if we took Northrop Frye seriously andused his method as a prescription of how to write narratives?Ó Need Isay more? Anyway: it was a pleasure to look into the workings of arare talent. If this book really had been produced in such a haste, asMs. Winterson claims, than it is the most transparent sample from herworkshop so far Đ and I must say, the most appealing, despite hertremendous ÒSexing the Cherry.Ó If you like Douglas AdamsŐÒHitchhiker,Ó then you are in for a treat, because this here is waybetter, and a good starting point to explore Ms. WintersonŐswork. Thing is: the book is only sporadically available in the US. andWintersonŐs own US-publisher doesnŐt even mention its existence. Why?You tell me! What a shame. END

Jeannete Winterson is a genius when it comes to crafting a story. Her extremely wicked satire at religion and its mass market culture are evident in this book. Having read all of her current works, Boating For Beginners is a treat. Its a mesching together of the worst of our modern world and the typical story of Genesis. I cannot understand why more people do not know about this book, and why Winterson does not mention it. For it is indeed a treat to read. There is not the symbolism found in "Written on the Body", but there is the witty mind of Winterson. A MUST READ !

The story of Noah and the flood...told from an entirely different perspective, including rhinestone roller-skates, an orange demon, angels addicted to romance novels, and a transvestite...not to mention that giant ice-cream/black forest gateau concoction! Less intense than most of her later work, but beautifully written and an ton of fun to read!