- Paperback: 160 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Publishers Con (May 26 1988)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0871131633
- ISBN-13: 978-0863580420
- ASIN: 0863580424
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,725,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Jeanette, the protagonist of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and the author's namesake, has issues--"unnatural" ones: her adopted mam thinks she's the Chosen one from God; she's beginning to fancy girls; and an orange demon keeps popping into her psyche. Already Jeanette Winterson's semi-autobiographical first novel is not your typical coming-of-age tale.
Brought up in a working-class Pentecostal family, up North, Jeanette follows the path her Mam has set for her. This involves Bible quizzes, a stint as a tambourine-playing Sally Army officer and a future as a missionary in Africa, or some other "heathen state". When Jeanette starts going to school ("The Breeding Ground") and confides in her mother about her feelings for another girl ("Unnatural Passions"), she's swept up in a feverish frenzy for her tainted soul. Confused, angry and alone, Jeanette strikes out on her own path, that involves a funeral parlour and an ice-cream van. Mixed in with the so-called reality of Jeanette's existence growing up are unconventional fairy tales that transcend the everyday world, subverting the traditional preconceptions of the damsel in distress.
In Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Winterson knits a complicated picture of teenage angst through a series of layered narratives, incorporating and subverting fairytales and myths, to present a coherent whole, within which her stories can stand independently. Imaginative and mischievous, she is a born storyteller, teasing and taunting the reader to reconsider their worldview. --Nicola Perry --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
Raised by an oppressively evangelical mother, Jeanette grows up a good little Christian soldier, even going so far as to stitch samplers whose apocalyptic themes terrify her classmates. As she dryly notes, without self-pity or smugness, "This tendency towards the exotic has brought me many problems, just as it did for William Blake." Jeanette would have remained in the fold but for her unconventional desires; though she can reconcile her love of women with her love of God, the church cannot. It could have been a grim tale, but this first novelwinner of England's Whitbread Prizeis in fact a wry and tender telling of a young girl's triumphantly coming into her own. Highly recommended. Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Autobiographical masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Paperback)
Jeanette Winterson's 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' is a moving, dramatic story about a lesbian girl growing up in a small English Pentecostal community, which at times is likened to a cult. The somewhat autobiographical writing depicts attitudes towards gays in the 80's, more so within religious communities. It's a brilliant novel. Although not as fantastical as her others, it's definitely worth a read for fans of Winterson's work.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
genius at work,
By A Customer
This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Paperback)
imagine someone decided to just do something completely different. write an autobiography, as an individual. break the mould. tear down the barriers of prose and poetry. play around with time cycles. throw in some fairytales to remind the reader that fantasy and reality are completely interchageable concepts. pose some good questions about sexuality, whilst we're there. social influences on individual identity. creativity. sanity..perhaps? interested? go and read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Language as Art,
By Lesbian Reader (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Paperback)
Winterson's first novel is a compelling story that presages her talent for finding themes that aren't last year's, or even today's, but cut the edge of tomorrow.No less importantly, it's the first look at a word smith of the finest calibre. Every word has import and can build, nuance by nuance, into breathtaking metaphors that only emerge after you've finished the book and find yourself thinking about it. I like to read Winterson out loud, because hearing words and reading them are two different experiences. This book is a must read because the true high art of lesbian-themed writing is found here.
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