From Powells.com
Powell's anniversary list: 1971-2021
Staff Pick
Trusting that truth was better than fiction, I first picked up Winterson’s memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? It’s wonderful, but Winterson’s wry take on her Pentecostal childhood made me eager to reencounter the same themes and characters in novel form, where she could play outside the dictates of lived experience. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit didn’t disappoint. It’s rich and playful, blending autobiography with fairy tale to explore how a young girl’s sexual awakening disrupts her family and faith, and how she uses storytelling to build herself a world nuanced enough to contain her multitudes. Recommended By Rhianna W., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for best first fiction, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a coming-out novel from Winterson, the acclaimed author of The Passion and Sexing the Cherry. The narrator, Jeanette, cuts her teeth on the knowledge that she is one of God's elect, but as this budding evangelical comes of age, and comes to terms with her preference for her own sex, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household crumbles.
Review
"An explosively imaginative writer." The London Free Press
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"She is a master of her material, a writer [of] great talent." Muriel Spark
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"Many consider her to be the best living writer in this language." Evening Standard
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"The most interesting writer I have read in twenty years." Gore Vidal
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"A striking, quirky, delicate, and intricate work . . . Winterson has mastered both comedy and tragedy in this rich little novel. . . . Winterson's great gift is evident." The Washington Post Book World
Synopsis
Winner of the Whitbread Prize for best first fiction, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a coming-out novel from Winterson, the acclaimed author of The Passion and Sexing the Cherry. The narrator, Jeanette, cuts her teeth on the knowledge that she is one of God's elect, but as this budding evangelical comes of age, and comes to terms with her preference for her own sex, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household crumbles.
About the Author
Born in Manchester, England, Jeanette Winterson is the author of seventeen books, including the national bestseller Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and The Passion. She has won many prizes including the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the E. M. Forster Award, and the Stonewall Award.