Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Paperback – August 20, 1997

This is my first read of Lady Winterson's books, and I am looking forward to reading all of her material. This woman knows how to evoke much in a person, lesbian or not. Reminds me of my own awakenings as a young lady, through a girl's first girlfriend, losing her, etc. A great book! Aw, I'm a youthful 55, and single... A lonely lesbian remembering old loves, and hoping for a new love to grow old with. Anyway, Jeanette's writing warmed-up this old but loving heart. This book is a solid-gold-five! I love this book! - Viv in the lonely deserts of New Mexico

I read "Oranges are not the only Fruit" after reading Jeanette's other book "Why be Happy if you could be Normal?", because I enjoyed the other book. This one was not as entertaining and became rather tedious towards the end, but it had the same dogged determination to succeed which was a feature of "Why be Happy", and the same quirky sense of humour. I think this book placed too much emphasis on her struggles to come to terms with her lesbianism, whereas her childhood battles with adversity and her treatment by her cruel adoptive mother were to me the main obstacles she had to overcome - after being thrown out of the house and forced to sleep in a car and to support herself as a young teenager, she had already shown that she had impressive survival skills and an independent streak. It is not surprising that her experiences of rejection led to depression, and she describes her battle with mental illness with insight and frankness. A memorable book which stayed with me for a long time, and left me wanting to know more about her life story.

I always start w a content ratingIt's a YA book, but only for young teens if they are able to read thick, deep material.setting was early industrialized England and deeply religious- Pentecostal. No cursing or overt violence, though there was a constant feel of certain reality complete w difficult, complex and at times oppressive situations. No graphic but descriptions of nudity or sex beyond kissing. the book does coitus it certainly made the implication. It happened. Once w a much older women and a young teen. Yikes.The good first / but it comes w the badFantastic setting. Wonderfully researched and presented historically w a main character that is very well developed and engaging. The book had flashes of brilliance and was compelling on a deep level but interspersed in the story are added in stories which I assume are meant to add color and texture to the main story but that I found far too thick and did not care for. It disrupted flow and nearly made me set the book aside. The ending was not the usual fare, but I liked it alright and it fit w the book as this is not the usual story.End result.If I could do less than whole stars 3.75.Flashes of brilliance. Historically and religiously compelling / and so very well described and written. All of this broken up w extra story segments of distracting frustration. I liked the book. Liked the original and reasistic feel. Did not love it but I'm still glad I bought and read it

Sometimes I think it's a huge advantage for a writer to grow up in weird or even miserable circumstances. A normal, happy childhood produces normal, well-adjusted minds while misery and strangeness, while suffocating some, gives the putative writer not only an original outlook on life but also a lifetime of material to mine.Jeanette Winterson had a truly strange childhood and emerged as a truly talented writer with an original and authentic voice that is heard on every page of this poetic and compelling memoir.Winterson was adopted by a working class couple living in a poor town in northern England. Her father was a quiet, self-effacing man and is practically a non-presence in this book. Her mother dominates every page. A fundamentalist Christian and neglectful and sometimes cruel mother, she devoted herself wholly to her weird strain of Christianity. Winterson expected to follow in her path and became an enthusiastic evangelizer and preacher in her own right -- but her sexuality got in the way. Neither her mother nor her church could accept her lesbian identity and Jeanette was ultimately forced to leave the safety of the cult and find her own way.There is a dogged but subtle working class humor in this book but it is always tinged with sadness. Winterson never quite rejects her upbringing -- in some ways she seems to long for it in all its nuttiness. But she cannot go against who she is, nor can she regard herself as evil.Mixed into the narrative, full of colorful characters masterfully evoked, are poetic reworkings on fairy tales and legends that cast a light and a shadow on the story. Winterson has a real ear for dialogue which brings her northern folk to life.Much of my reading consists unfortunately of cookie-cutter books that are put together either well or not so well but ultimately nearly all turn out to be forgettable. This one is unforgettable.

I’ve read other Jeanette Winterson books and found them very engaging, but the digressions in this one, to me, were merely distracting. It was very hard to follow. The relationship with her mother seemed like two people always talking past each other, which happens and was believable. But I didn’t get the snippets of myths and stories and philosophy stuck in at random points. I would have liked to know more about how the central character grew and became her own person. I guess this book is just not my thing.