Passionate and gritty, a coming of age novel with a difference
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A curious mixture of stories and semi-autobiography which come together to shape the life of Jeanette, the adopted daughter of a church-obsessed mother and a quiet, dominated father. Oranges are not the Fruit traces Jeanette teenage years, growing up in a northern town in a community in which she never quite fits, despite her talent for preaching and her wildly imaginative ideas. The structure of the novel, skirting and spiralling between an disjointed biographical narrative and other stories which shape Jeanette's development, suits perfectly what is a gritty discourse on the nature of personality, history and memory and the importance of perspective in developing all three. And at the same time, it's an engaging, if sometimes distressing, story too.
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Very well observed
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I remember watching Oranges are not the Only Fruit on the BBC, oooh, about 1990/91 and me and my fiancee were enthralled (Married 15 years since!). Having watched an excellent TV series, it took me till now, 2007 to read it as a book. As we watched in Oswaldtwistle, and now I read, in Brierfield, having lived here 17 years, it really spoke to me. The TV version, from what I remember, is an excellent adaptation of the novel, and the novel, absolutely superb. Almost Les Dawson-esque in its portrayal of Lancastrian, particularly East Lancastrianism, familial relations and its constituent claustrophobia. Having been brought up a Catholic and subsequently enthralled by the 'average' Pentecostal knowledge of The Bible (I felt ignorant when in the company of Pentecosts!) and now a secular being ... it brought it all home to me. Elsie Norris reminded me of my own grandmother, understanding and sensitive ...
I devoured this book, and kept wishing there were another two hundred pages to go. It captured so much for me ... Lancashire, christianity (in Lancashire), and the tenderness of youth ... and, as I said, so observant in its Lancashire humour, I laughed out loud to many pages ...
Excellent. I am sure it would be enjoyed by anyone, but if you were brought up a Christian, in the North, surrounded by strong women, and born in the 1960's, I GUARANTEE, you will love it.
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Sex, Religion & Great Writing
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It's all in the title. This is truely a masterpiece. Being a sort-of biography, the story tells that of Jeanette as a young girl, growing up in a stric religious society whilst having to cope with the struggles of having feelings for another woman.
Throughout the book the main character is faced with the troubles of defying a parental figure, the pains of unacceptance and of course the struggles of lesbianism. Anyone who has fought with the angst of coming to terms with sexuality will relate to this book greatly.
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Heartbreaking and heartwarming
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I would normally have stayed well clear of a book like this but it's amazing what you'll pick up on holiday when the only other reading material available is the dreaded Freddie Forsyth and Jeffrey Archer. So it went with me and despite having great reservations, I soon settled into this charming and unsettling tale and found it hard to put down.
The plot centres on Jeanette as she grows up in East Lancashire in a ferociously Christian fundamentalist sect and the relationships she has with friends, lovers and, most explosively, her mother. The results are often very funny and coming from the same part of the world I found the locations and many of the characters to be very real and recognisable.
Winterson writes from the heart when exploring Jeanette's yearnings to lead her own life and the rejection and resentment she receives from those closest to her and this is the special element in the book for me. It's about people and nothing more. No explosions, no car chases, no global conspiracies involving Freemasons or Knights Templar or any of that nonsense, just ordinary everyday people we all know, love and loathe.
Oranges are not the only fruit is a bittersweet tale that I greatly enjoyed and I've subsequently read it a second time. It's also a very short book, so if you're not sure about taking a step outside your literary comfort zone it really won't take you long to read it. Go on, taste something different.
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Oranges are not the only fruit
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I have just read a review of `Oranges are not the Only Fruit', which I found to be a poor attempt at criticising a fantastic novel. The review states that the characters' are not developed, however the context of the statement offered no explanation as to why? I have read the novel and found the characters to be developed as much as they needed to be, however they are complex and carry a number of personas all of which challenge modern concepts of the family unit and reflect a foresight into the devalued society in which we now unfortunately find ourselves. My review of the novel is one that supports the numerous attentions it received at publication and the TV drama that was a result of this work and the awards that it also won in my meagre opinion speak volumes! Buy it, and enjoy as it is truly fantastic literally work.
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Passionate and gritty, a coming of age novel with a difference
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A curious mixture of stories and semi-autobiography which come together to shape the life of Jeanette, the adopted daughter of a church-obsessed mother and a quiet, dominated father. Oranges are not the Fruit traces Jeanette teenage years, growing up in a northern town in a community in which she never quite fits, despite her talent for preaching and her wildly imaginative ideas. The structure of the novel, skirting and spiralling between an disjointed biographical narrative and other stories which shape Jeanette's development, suits perfectly what is a gritty discourse on the nature of personality, history and memory and the importance of perspective in developing all three. And at the same time, it's an engaging, if sometimes distressing, story too.
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Very well observed
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I remember watching Oranges are not the Only Fruit on the BBC, oooh, about 1990/91 and me and my fiancee were enthralled (Married 15 years since!). Having watched an excellent TV series, it took me till now, 2007 to read it as a book. As we watched in Oswaldtwistle, and now I read, in Brierfield, having lived here 17 years, it really spoke to me. The TV version, from what I remember, is an excellent adaptation of the novel, and the novel, absolutely superb. Almost Les Dawson-esque in its portrayal of Lancastrian, particularly East Lancastrianism, familial relations and its constituent claustrophobia. Having been brought up a Catholic and subsequently enthralled by the 'average' Pentecostal knowledge of The Bible (I felt ignorant when in the company of Pentecosts!) and now a secular being ... it brought it all home to me. Elsie Norris reminded me of my own grandmother, understanding and sensitive ...
I devoured this book, and kept wishing there were another two hundred pages to go. It captured so much for me ... Lancashire, christianity (in Lancashire), and the tenderness of youth ... and, as I said, so observant in its Lancashire humour, I laughed out loud to many pages ...
Excellent. I am sure it would be enjoyed by anyone, but if you were brought up a Christian, in the North, surrounded by strong women, and born in the 1960's, I GUARANTEE, you will love it.
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