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marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Did I love this book? Yes. Did I understand this book? Far from it. Brilliant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
danidamico's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit es una novela coming of age bastante particular, en la que seguimos la infancia y adolescencia de Jeanette, adoptada por una mujer evangelista Pentecostal en en norte de Inglaterra que la cría con el objetivo de que al crecer sea misionera y viaje por el mundo esparciendo el mensaje de dios. Desde su niñez, la narradora es considerada problemática por hacer preguntas, por cuestionar desde la curiosidad todo aquello que la rodea en un mundo que busca sumisión. El libro trabaja mucho con la relación entre la protagonista y su madre, una mujer muy complicada que cree que el mundo se divide entre el bien y el mal, y que sólo acepta las cosas según su propio punto de vista. A medida que va creciendo, la situación se vuelve difícil para Jeanette porque se da cuenta de que es lesbiana, algo que su madre, sus vecinos y los miembros de su iglesia no aceptan.
Winterson se basó en varios aspectos de su propia vida para escribir esta novela, que fue su debut en los 80s. Queda claro que debe haber sido un proyecto muy personal para ella, es un texto que está marcado por una enorme empatía hacia la protagonista y por una fuerte pasión a la hora de narrar esta historia. Es el primer libro de la autora que leo, pero se nota que tiene un estilo muy propio, una forma de describir y de estructurar el relato que se sale de lo común. Su estilo me resultó bastante atractivo, aunque tal vez por momentos me descolocaba un poco. Por ejemplo, a lo largo de la novela se van intercalando breves leyendas o mitos que de algún modo se relacionan con la historia principal, pero a veces me resultaban un poco confusos o tediosos, ya llegó un punto en el que comencé a leer muy por arriba esos fragmentos. También me llamó la atención cómo se narran (o casi no se narran) momentos claves de la vida del personaje, que son mencionados al pasar o muy rápidamente. Entiendo totalmente que eso es una decisión artística de Winterson, pero me hubiera gustado poder acceder más en ciertas escenas.
En fin, no es un libro que pase a formar parte de mis favoritos, pero me gustó y disfruté la lectura. La voz que construye la autora es muy original, con una sensibilidad especial y cierto extrañamiento en el modo de observar y comprender el mundo.
Winterson se basó en varios aspectos de su propia vida para escribir esta novela, que fue su debut en los 80s. Queda claro que debe haber sido un proyecto muy personal para ella, es un texto que está marcado por una enorme empatía hacia la protagonista y por una fuerte pasión a la hora de narrar esta historia. Es el primer libro de la autora que leo, pero se nota que tiene un estilo muy propio, una forma de describir y de estructurar el relato que se sale de lo común. Su estilo me resultó bastante atractivo, aunque tal vez por momentos me descolocaba un poco. Por ejemplo, a lo largo de la novela se van intercalando breves leyendas o mitos que de algún modo se relacionan con la historia principal, pero a veces me resultaban un poco confusos o tediosos, ya llegó un punto en el que comencé a leer muy por arriba esos fragmentos. También me llamó la atención cómo se narran (o casi no se narran) momentos claves de la vida del personaje, que son mencionados al pasar o muy rápidamente. Entiendo totalmente que eso es una decisión artística de Winterson, pero me hubiera gustado poder acceder más en ciertas escenas.
En fin, no es un libro que pase a formar parte de mis favoritos, pero me gustó y disfruté la lectura. La voz que construye la autora es muy original, con una sensibilidad especial y cierto extrañamiento en el modo de observar y comprender el mundo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Colonisation and Sexual assault
wrinnola's review against another edition
Too rich for my blood. This book was too hard for me to read, as the first couple chapters focus on the main character’s religious upbringing in a triggering way. I want to come back to it someday, but I just can’t read it right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry
maxinesf's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Outing
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Sexual content
violetamity's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Lesbophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Toxic relationship
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
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
As it is, I can't settle, I want someone who is fierce and will love me until death and know that love is as strong as death, and be on my side for ever and ever.
Heart-wrenching and special.
Heart-wrenching and special.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Racial slurs
ollie_again's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.5
The difficult thing with classics is that I expect to be blown away in some way or another. And if I am not impressed, utterly immersed or getting some impressive mental whiplash, I don't really care for what I'm reading. The problem for me with Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is that I've never struggled with religion, as I was never religious. I didn't grow up in a religious family (extreme or not) nor was I ever surrounded by people who did. That is not a strive against the book itself, if I was only reading books that align with my own experience I would read pretty boring stuff with no room for expanding my horizons. What I'm trying to say, is that though the religious influence and struggles of the main character were the highlight of the book, I wasn't pulled into the story at all. The second fold of this is that the book is written during the third wave of feminism, there are hints at the specific strain of lesbian feminism of that time, and it goes without saying, that I was born after all that and my own ideas and ideologies lie somewhere completely different.
Putting all that aside, I did not really jive with the writing style either and while I liked some passages, the fairy tale intermission was baffling at best and I land somewhere in the middle ground for the rating of this book.
Putting all that aside, I did not really jive with the writing style either and while I liked some passages, the fairy tale intermission was baffling at best and I land somewhere in the middle ground for the rating of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Moderate: Racial slurs and Emotional abuse
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