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marippe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
"What is it about intimacy that makes it so very disturbing?"
The parts of the book I liked, I really liked, but a lot of it is not that interesting.
I feel like the religious detail about her mother was excessive, I understand why a lot was written, to prove how religious her mother was, but it lost my interest.
Sometimes there's strange tangents, such as a metaphor with the prince, and it'll cut away from the things I was finding more interesting.
"Quite suddenly I turned and kissed her. We made love and I hated it and hated it, but would not stop."
Miss Jewsbury??? What! How old is that woman??? sleeping with a teenager? LOL??? I had to reread it so many times to check that she did in fact sleep with her... Damn,,,
I know sis is closeted but lets not sleep with teenagers that view you as a teacher ya?
"As far as I was concerned men were something you had around the place, not particularly interesting, but quite harmless." HAD ME CACKLINGGGGG.
The parts of the book I liked, I really liked, but a lot of it is not that interesting.
I feel like the religious detail about her mother was excessive, I understand why a lot was written, to prove how religious her mother was, but it lost my interest.
Sometimes there's strange tangents, such as a metaphor with the prince, and it'll cut away from the things I was finding more interesting.
Miss Jewsbury??? What! How old is that woman??? sleeping with a teenager? LOL??? I had to reread it so many times to check that she did in fact sleep with her... Damn,,,
I know sis is closeted but lets not sleep with teenagers that view you as a teacher ya?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, and Homophobia
poolofbees's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’ll start by saying I’m in an extraordinarily biased position as a lesbian who was raised evangelical and relates deeply to many parts of this book.
This might be a new contender for my new favorite novel. I was moved a lot by Jeanette’s story and the blunt, almost terse way she narrated it. It’s compelling, bold, and often even funny. Jeanette is the type of teenage girl who is unwilling to lie for others, especially unwilling to lie to her readers. Her story is not cut and dry, and my favorite parts of the book were the ones when she was doubting, missing God as her friend, questioning who she could have been. I found many of the lines memorable and striking and you can trust my copy of the book is properly highlighted throughout. I was especially intrigued by the various fantastical fairytales inter-spliced with the main plot; it reminded me somewhat of parables in the Bible. A lot of them seem random at first glance, but, with deeper study, carry metaphorical meaning and parallels Jeanette’s life. I was a little surprised by how quickly the book moves through her life, jumping years at a time and then ending rather suddenly. I also would have liked to see more of how her relationship with Melanie developed as it seemed to happen rather hastily and without much explanation of what drew the two together in the first place. I feel like I got much more understanding of their relationship after being separated by the church, rather than before, although this seems to be a purposeful choice. The book is less about Jeanette’s teenage lesbian romances and more about the dangerous power of the church wielded through her mother. Most of all, it’s about choices: the choice between religion and identity, family and self, destiny and free will, past and future, and the question of if the choices you make really matter at all, or if you’re simply stuck in the cyclical nature of time, meeting yourself at the starting line over and over again.
This might be a new contender for my new favorite novel. I was moved a lot by Jeanette’s story and the blunt, almost terse way she narrated it. It’s compelling, bold, and often even funny. Jeanette is the type of teenage girl who is unwilling to lie for others, especially unwilling to lie to her readers. Her story is not cut and dry, and my favorite parts of the book were the ones when she was doubting, missing God as her friend, questioning who she could have been. I found many of the lines memorable and striking and you can trust my copy of the book is properly highlighted throughout. I was especially intrigued by the various fantastical fairytales inter-spliced with the main plot; it reminded me somewhat of parables in the Bible. A lot of them seem random at first glance, but, with deeper study, carry metaphorical meaning and parallels Jeanette’s life. I was a little surprised by how quickly the book moves through her life, jumping years at a time and then ending rather suddenly. I also would have liked to see more of how her relationship with
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Death
balfies's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Absolutely masterful command of language, imagery, and pithy emotion in this autofiction by Jeanette Winterson, who is fast becoming one of my favourite writers. Winterson outlines beautifully the carnivorous insular world of evangelicalism and explores how that upbringing limits the queer imagination. This is a gorgeous, essential queer classic for a reason.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Death
mold_munchr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've really struggled writing about how this book made me feel. It's a lot of things, and I dont know if I'd describe it as beautiful or nice in any way, and yet reading this book meant a lot to me. So much of the story felt as though someone had entered my mind and took all my experiences, and then set them 30 years earlier in another country - which I think speaks to just how universal a queer story of religious bigotry is. It made me cry. The fantasy passages especially just hit close to home for some reason, and Winterson's use of biblical imagery was beautiful and added so much to the story (though these elements might be hard to follow if you haven't had a lot of exposure to hardcore christianity).
Mostly, though, it's a story about a complex mother/daughter relationship. I really appreciated how female-centred it was (I kept forgetting Jeanette even had a father) - this book just isn't ABOUT men, so why should they take up a significant amount of space in the writing?
This review falls short of describing this book, I don't know how to encapsulate how it made me feel. It is the realization of an experience I've struggled to put into words so many times, and somehow she pulled it off.
Mostly, though, it's a story about a complex mother/daughter relationship. I really appreciated how female-centred it was (I kept forgetting Jeanette even had a father) - this book just isn't ABOUT men, so why should they take up a significant amount of space in the writing?
This review falls short of describing this book, I don't know how to encapsulate how it made me feel. It is the realization of an experience I've struggled to put into words so many times, and somehow she pulled it off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Racial slurs
nicnevin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A semi-autobiographical account of a life of a child brought up in an extreme religious background and the backlash she received when her lesbianism was discovered, I couldn't put it down. I found my mind wandering through on the fairy tale aspects - I was vastly less interested in those than the actual story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Outing, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Toxic friendship
garynoplastie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Death, and Homophobia
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Vomit
orlagal's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Misogyny, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
demo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
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