oranges are not the only fruit book review

She wanted to believe in God the way she was raised to and to be allowed to love women. Jeanette is left bereft and confused because, unlike myself, she still wanted her faith. Through these periodic fantastical tales combined with the more traditional narrative, we slowly see Jeanette fall in love with another girl at her church. It’s a coping mechanism that I think many people use but few authors put down on paper.

Some readers might be thrown by these, but I found them delightful. Winterson inserts various fantastical fancies of Jeanette’s that are clearly her way of trying to discover who she is and explore her options. (location 533)Īs the book moves from Jeanette’s early life to her adolescence the writing style changes a bit. But why was it so noisy? Most sins you did quietly so as not to get caught. I didn’t know quite what fornicating was, but I had read about it in Deuteronomy, and I knew it was a sin. Her observations on the Bible and religion in the early parts of the book before she realizes she is gay are hilarious, particularly to anyone raised in a fundamentalist faith. Whereas her mother is overbearing and negative, Jeanette is highly intelligent and witty. Jeanette (the character) is immediately immensely likeable. Given this statement, I choose to respect the author and view this as a novel, but potential readers may want to be aware of this element of the book. Winterson herself says that while this was inspired by her own childhood, it is the lite version. One interesting thing to note about this book is that no one can quite agree if it’s a novel or a memoir. Having been raised fundy myself (and left), I tend to find these leaving the faith stories highly relatable, and I knew the added queer element would just make it all the more interesting of a read for me. I picked this up when I heard that it’s a lesbian classic that simultaneously addresses being raised fundy. Her journey from differently religious to outcast young adult is chronicled here. Although she at first is different among her school chums for her beliefs, soon she becomes marked as different in her church for her homosexuality. Jeanette has the dubious distinction of being raised by one of the most vocal women in the fire-brand style Evangelical church in a small British town.

Oranges are not the only fruit book review