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carmentxx's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
4.0
it is without a doubt that jeanette winterson is my favourite author. her dreadfully insightful and cutting commentary weaved in with shockingly funny humour is just too good to miss. considering she wrote this book in her early 20s it is quite clear that she was beyond her years. i will say i prefer the memoir though. there are many more fantasy/mystical elements in this book that i’m not so much of a fan of. i much prefer learning about the hypocritical, dysfunctional church family. the ending also could’ve been shaved. but overall, it’s a classic for a reason. id definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Child abuse
fearn3's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
disnelyse's review
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Child abuse
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
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
jselliot's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.0
Despite being such a short book, it was nevertheless a slow read for me. The vignettes that the main character distracted herself with - including the dalliance on the King Arthur cast - I mostly ended up skimming, because I read multiple of them and they seemed to bear little relevance to the main story. But the main story itself was compelling, so I kept reading. The path of the protagonist from start to finish was certainly fraught with her upbringing and trying to navigate adulthood effectively on her own, which wasn't at all aided by her mother's abuse. Being semi-autobiographical, though, I suppose the very nature of the story may be why the subject was never touched again. Self-edits to maintain a degree of privacy on one's thoughts and experiences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Child abuse
nannahnannah's review against another edition
3.0
I realize this is pretty much a classic, and I recognize that it's very well written and everything, but I never, ever want to read it again. In fact, I hated reading this.
I know the importance of autobiographical works by LGBT people, I do! But sometimes, as a wlw myself, reading accounts of so much nastiness happening to people like me is ... beyond depressing. Yeah, I get how meaningful and powerful these accounts are, especial for historical reasons, but I could barely get through this.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just couldn't handle more homophobia, or maybe I just couldn't handle reading about an abusive household like the one I grew up in, even if the circumstances are/were completely different. I don't know. I appreciate the book and the author's experiences (and how damn strong she was and still is), but I couldn't enjoy the book.
I know the importance of autobiographical works by LGBT people, I do! But sometimes, as a wlw myself, reading accounts of so much nastiness happening to people like me is ... beyond depressing. Yeah, I get how meaningful and powerful these accounts are, especial for historical reasons, but I could barely get through this.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just couldn't handle more homophobia, or maybe I just couldn't handle reading about an abusive household like the one I grew up in, even if the circumstances are/were completely different. I don't know. I appreciate the book and the author's experiences (and how damn strong she was and still is), but I couldn't enjoy the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Racism and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
nicnevin's review
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
dan13dean's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse