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Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
  

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Paperback)

by Jeanette Winterson (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

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.

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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
5 star:
 (15)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars genius at work, Oct 17 2001
By A Customer
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.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Language as Art, Nov 10 2001
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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2.0 out of 5 stars Moldy oranges are not the only smell that stink around here, July 13 2001
By A Customer
I just finished this book, and although it was a rather solid start for Winterson, I would recommend that you skip her early stuff and go straight to her masterpeice Written on the Body. I found Oranges to be rather dry and not completely formulated. However if you do find yourself with it in your hand, I do highly recommend page 170.
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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Fruits and Fruitcakes. Who Let the Kooks Loose?!?
This is a book that many call "sensitive", "witty", and "insightful". How about calling it what it really is... Fruitcake City! Read more
Published on Mar 29 2002 by Dipper Lips

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Fruit Diversity
How do we access rapture? What comprises a revelation? Take every book you've ever read advertised as a 'coming of age story' or as a 'tale of sexual awakening' and recycle 'em... Read more
Published on Jun 7 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive but flawed debut from a fresh new voice
Jeanette Winterson is a fresh new voice in what the book business would call "alternative literature" and "Orange Is Not The Only Fruit" (OINTOF), her... Read more
Published on Jun 2 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Fruitbasket Upset
"People like to separate storytelling which is not fact from history which is fact. They do this so that they know what to believe and what not to believe. Read more
Published on April 2 2001 by Elderbear

4.0 out of 5 stars Smells like citrus
Winterson's quirky first novel is a blend of autobiography, fiction, and fable. The main character, Jeanette, grows up in a firmly religious household and seems destined to become... Read more
Published on Mar 18 2001 by blissengine

5.0 out of 5 stars The Creation of Reality
This novel has often been criticised as Winterson's best now that she has gone on to write several powerfully experimental novels. Read more
Published on Feb 13 2001 by Eric Anderson

4.0 out of 5 stars oranges
This novel was a little slow to start, but once i got into it, i couldn't put it down. Growing up in an obsessively religious household, Jeannette Winterson writes about life as... Read more
Published on Jan 19 2001 by Melissa L. Hutchins

5.0 out of 5 stars Sinfully delightful marriage of tragedy and comedy
Yo, Shakespeare was England's master of both tragedy and comedy, but Winterson brings both to the present in a post-modern autobiographical story that is no lightweight... Read more
Published on Nov 30 2000 by jerome

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Autobiography!!
This novel was an excellent, powerful piece of literature. Ms. Winterson did a great job, telling her story and connecting it with "fantasies". Read more
Published on Nov 7 2000 by Reginald

4.0 out of 5 stars AN INSPIRED FIRST NOVEL
Jeanette Winterson's first novel is a comical, moving look at an adopted child growing up in the midst of religious fanatics. Read more
Published on Sep 22 2000 by Shadow Woman

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