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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
A deeply affecting memoir, though uneven in the writing, sometimes profound, other times banal, occasionally repetitive and disjointed. Ultimatley, I found it honest, moving and thoughtful.
as always with this magnificently talented woman: groundbreaking, heartbreaking, and beautiful.
She describes one of the most horrific, emotionally isolating childhoods I could ever imagine, yet her survival and strength in adulthood leaves me with remarkable hope for devastated individuals struggling to get by in a sick society.
Beautiful memoir that covers some of the same ground as Oranges Aren't the Only Fruit, but in a more reflective, non-fiction way, and picking up where Oranges left off, and carrying Winterson's life forward into the present day. Well written reflection about her relationship with her adoptive mother, and her journey to find her birth mother, including a beautiful chapter on her battle with depression/despair/"the creature that lives within her," which includes writing such as this:
". . . making the ugly hurt part human again is not an exercise for the well-meaning social worker in us.
This is the most dangerous work you can do. It is like bomb disposal but you are the bomb. That's the problem - the awful thing is you. It may be split off and living malevolently at the bottom of the garden, but it is sharing your blood, eating your food. Mess this up, and you will go down with the creature." p. 172
Also, many great small moments about the trans-formative power of literature, such as:
". . . when people say that poetry is a luxury, or an option, or for the educated middle classes, or that it shouldn't be read at school because it is irrelevant, or any of the strange and stupid things that are said about poetry and its place in our lives, I suspect that the people doing the saying have had things pretty easy. A touch life needs a tough language - and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers - a language powerful enough to say how it is.
"It isn't a hiding place, it's a finding place." p. 40
And this:
"I did not realize that when money becomes the core value, then education drives towards utility or that the life of the mind will not be counted as good unless it proves reasonable results. That public service will no longer be important. That an alternative life to getting and spending will become very difficult as cheap housing disappears. That when communities are destroyed only misery and intolerance are left."
p. 140
Well done, Jeanette Winterson.
". . . making the ugly hurt part human again is not an exercise for the well-meaning social worker in us.
This is the most dangerous work you can do. It is like bomb disposal but you are the bomb. That's the problem - the awful thing is you. It may be split off and living malevolently at the bottom of the garden, but it is sharing your blood, eating your food. Mess this up, and you will go down with the creature." p. 172
Also, many great small moments about the trans-formative power of literature, such as:
". . . when people say that poetry is a luxury, or an option, or for the educated middle classes, or that it shouldn't be read at school because it is irrelevant, or any of the strange and stupid things that are said about poetry and its place in our lives, I suspect that the people doing the saying have had things pretty easy. A touch life needs a tough language - and that is what poetry is. That is what literature offers - a language powerful enough to say how it is.
"It isn't a hiding place, it's a finding place." p. 40
And this:
"I did not realize that when money becomes the core value, then education drives towards utility or that the life of the mind will not be counted as good unless it proves reasonable results. That public service will no longer be important. That an alternative life to getting and spending will become very difficult as cheap housing disappears. That when communities are destroyed only misery and intolerance are left."
p. 140
Well done, Jeanette Winterson.
Amazing. Reflective, touching, engrossing and affecting. The depth that Jeanette writes with analysing her relationship with her adoptive mother and how this has shaped her as a person is really affecting. With age Jeanette analyses yet never seems to judge. I highly recommend the audio book read by Jeanette herself.
This deeply personal and profoundly moving reflection on scenes from her life is also unerringly human - and, so, bears our flaws with compassion (an intellectual choice) and love (our deepest impulse).
I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, which is highly recommended.
I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, which is highly recommended.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Incredibly compelling story about healing, really relatable how she shared her thoughts even though we have a wildly different life experience. WOOWWWWW. Ended perfectly and love the coda, adding what lots don’t add
Wow. Jeanette Winterson writes with such integrity. Honest, painful, insightful, tender, and occasionally even funny. And of course engaging.
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced