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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I received a copy of this for review from NetGalley.
I remember being curious about this book for a long time; it's a shame it took a review copy for me to finally pick it up. A sadly large amount of people who are out, as I am, deal with the kind of sentiment expressed in the title even if not so overtly. So as someone who has to carefully navigate grandparents who think women mostly just need to get a husband and other relative's wilful ignorance, well, it struck a cord.
Beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but this memoir delivered regardless. It was at times vastly entertaining and often it was enlightening and thoughtful. There is a lot of personal philosophy in here, especially for survivors and those who feel isolated. There are a lot of very complex feelings, especially about family and the troubling love/hate dichotomy that can come from families like this. Winterson is an excellent writer and it was a joy to have her insight-- not just on writing, but on surviving and adapting and finding your way. Because ultimately she is a survivor trying to figure herself out. She's comfortable with herself, but not quite with her place in life and it makes for an interesting outlook. She even delivers a little insight into politics and legal difficulties as well as a bit about the times she grew up in general.
While I admit to having a bit of uncertainty about her views on adoption at first, I think it all works out quite well. She herself obviously has good reason to wonder about it and to reflect, it was just the early attitude of "all" adopted children feeling this way. By the end though, with her complete insights, I think it turned into a very satisfying take on the adoption story. (Disclaimer: I am not adopted myself, I just have a few friends who are and love their adoptive family; I, on the other hand, have an adopted extended family I care deeply about.)
Mrs. W still reminds me an alarming amount of the mother from [b:Carrie|10592|Carrie|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1166254258s/10592.jpg|1552134]. I'd love to know what Winterson thought of that book.
I remember being curious about this book for a long time; it's a shame it took a review copy for me to finally pick it up. A sadly large amount of people who are out, as I am, deal with the kind of sentiment expressed in the title even if not so overtly. So as someone who has to carefully navigate grandparents who think women mostly just need to get a husband and other relative's wilful ignorance, well, it struck a cord.
Beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but this memoir delivered regardless. It was at times vastly entertaining and often it was enlightening and thoughtful. There is a lot of personal philosophy in here, especially for survivors and those who feel isolated. There are a lot of very complex feelings, especially about family and the troubling love/hate dichotomy that can come from families like this. Winterson is an excellent writer and it was a joy to have her insight-- not just on writing, but on surviving and adapting and finding your way. Because ultimately she is a survivor trying to figure herself out. She's comfortable with herself, but not quite with her place in life and it makes for an interesting outlook. She even delivers a little insight into politics and legal difficulties as well as a bit about the times she grew up in general.
While I admit to having a bit of uncertainty about her views on adoption at first, I think it all works out quite well. She herself obviously has good reason to wonder about it and to reflect, it was just the early attitude of "all" adopted children feeling this way. By the end though, with her complete insights, I think it turned into a very satisfying take on the adoption story. (Disclaimer: I am not adopted myself, I just have a few friends who are and love their adoptive family; I, on the other hand, have an adopted extended family I care deeply about.)
Mrs. W still reminds me an alarming amount of the mother from [b:Carrie|10592|Carrie|Stephen King|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1166254258s/10592.jpg|1552134]. I'd love to know what Winterson thought of that book.
I remember the moment Jeanette Winterson entered my life. It was the summer of 1995, upstairs in a dusty used-bookstore called The Book Peddler in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin. I was lost somewhere in the philosophy stacks when my friend Anderla came over holding a paperback reverently in her hands.
“You have to read this,” she said.
I took the book from her. “Why?”
“We read it when I was abroad. It’s amazing. She never reveals the gender of the narrator. You have to read it so we can talk about it.”
That was all the selling I needed. I took Written on the Body downstairs, paid for it, and started my adoration of Jeanette Winterson that day. It was, undoubtedly, the best $2 I ever spent in my entire life.
Read More.
“You have to read this,” she said.
I took the book from her. “Why?”
“We read it when I was abroad. It’s amazing. She never reveals the gender of the narrator. You have to read it so we can talk about it.”
That was all the selling I needed. I took Written on the Body downstairs, paid for it, and started my adoration of Jeanette Winterson that day. It was, undoubtedly, the best $2 I ever spent in my entire life.
Read More.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
I am completely and totally overwhelmed! I have found a soulmate. Some of the things she´s written could have come from me (if I had had her skill...) Oh, how she writes about love, and loss, and loneliness. I cry even as I write this now. It´s amazing that she dared to write this book - she is so naked and vulnerable, but that is of course part of what makes it good literature. And the way she writes of what reading meant and means to her! And how she describes the feeling of security when being surrounded by books ( I know, know!)
This book was written for me! Thank you!
This book was written for me! Thank you!
Intenso e a tratti poetico, Jeanette Winterson indaga le continue contraddizioni dei rapporti familiari provando a trovare un senso alla propria infanzia, e al rapporto conflittuale con le due figure materne che l'hanno influenzata: la madre adottiva, bigotta e rigida al punto da sembrare un'invenzione, e la madre biologica che ha dovuto rinunciare a lei a sei settimane dalla sua nascita, ritrovata solo in età adulta, dopo varie difficoltà burocratiche. Affronta con naturalezza e profondità anche il dramma esistenziale legato all'accettazione di sé e alla necessità universale di provare e ricevere amore, sfogato insieme alla rabbia attraverso il mezzo artistico della scrittura.
The title is enough to grab anyone’s interest, isn’t it? I really have a thing for memoirs, regardless of the fact that they’re often truly painful reads - nobody is writing a memoir about a bland suburban life, of course. This one took a bit of a different tone while talking about equally shitty subjects. Winterson is very blunt and matter-of-fact in her writing, and it’s a style that really worked for me. Her story moves quickly, and has just the right amount of wit amidst dealing with some serious issues. The main negative for me is that I have not read her novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Looking back on it, it was dumb of me to read this one first, as this is the true story behind Oranges, and I think I would have enjoyed this one even more had I been more familiar with the situation.
Four stars to the first half, Two to the last, so I'll meet in the middle at three.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced