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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
I thoroughly enjoyed Winterson's memoir, in which she mainly recounts her childhood years. There were bits that really surprised me, facts I had absolutely no idea about. I knew that "Oranges are not the Only Fruit" were biographical to some smaller extent but it seems that the books practically is about her life. Even though her early years were so grim and messed up, she continued loving life. And I know that it sounds so trivial but her love of life has nothing to do with the cloying, blind sweetness of certain self-help books. She just makes herself despite everything, she is self-contained - like a cat.
This definitely sheds some light on her writing, and I have been a fan of her writing for a decade now. Jeanette Winterson's novels are definitely "their own thing", unyielding but at the same time make you feel welcome. This memoir is no different in that respect. It is beautiful, it is simple, it is sincere as hell. I am really glad I finally got around to reading it because: 1) I haven't read anything by Winterson for a couple of years and my last encounter ("The Stone Gods") was rather unsatisfactory - perhaps I should reread it, 2) reminded me of all of her wonderful books that I read such a long time ago and that in the past made me (despite everything). Perhaps I should reread them all.
4.5 stars.
This definitely sheds some light on her writing, and I have been a fan of her writing for a decade now. Jeanette Winterson's novels are definitely "their own thing", unyielding but at the same time make you feel welcome. This memoir is no different in that respect. It is beautiful, it is simple, it is sincere as hell. I am really glad I finally got around to reading it because: 1) I haven't read anything by Winterson for a couple of years and my last encounter ("The Stone Gods") was rather unsatisfactory - perhaps I should reread it, 2) reminded me of all of her wonderful books that I read such a long time ago and that in the past made me (despite everything). Perhaps I should reread them all.
4.5 stars.
Jeanette Winterson was long overdue for a memoir and she didn't disappoint. Her non-fiction writing, like her fiction, has a sort of non-linear feel even if it is chronological. Not being able to find the compass on her stories is what gives them an ethereal feel and, for the reader, a sense that you are only along for the ride. It's what I love most about her writing, no being able to figure it out.
This is a slice of her life across the singular topic of being adopted. That sounds so simple, but no one is better equipped to express the exquisite agony and beauty of this topic from childhood, with her severe, evangelical adopted mother, to the present meeting her biological mother and family. Nothing about it is simple, nothing is expected. I am not adopted, but I suspect that her take on it might be different to those who are.
She refuses to make a simple syrup of her experiences and so takes us all to a foreign place where there is no separation between emotions and thought, where feeling and thinking happen simultaneously and equivalently and the mess that is. It sounds complicated, maybe overly so, and it is. That's life.
This is a slice of her life across the singular topic of being adopted. That sounds so simple, but no one is better equipped to express the exquisite agony and beauty of this topic from childhood, with her severe, evangelical adopted mother, to the present meeting her biological mother and family. Nothing about it is simple, nothing is expected. I am not adopted, but I suspect that her take on it might be different to those who are.
She refuses to make a simple syrup of her experiences and so takes us all to a foreign place where there is no separation between emotions and thought, where feeling and thinking happen simultaneously and equivalently and the mess that is. It sounds complicated, maybe overly so, and it is. That's life.
Emocionante, personal, oscuro y desgarrador. Palabras que definen muy bien este libro.
Espero hablar pronto de este libro en www.navegandoentrelibros.cl
Espero hablar pronto de este libro en www.navegandoentrelibros.cl
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
My Recommendation: This was a fascinating read. It had been on my shelf for so long that I'd forgotten why I'd purchased it. I'm glad I'd previously read some of Winterson's work as it gave me the connection and at minimum prepared me for some of the abuse and neglect that Winterson actually experienced as a child. I truly enjoyed the way Winterson weaved her childhood in poverty, the search for her birth mother, and her relationships as an adult and teen into a beautiful story through literature. I really should read more of her works.
My Response: I picked this book up way back in November 2014 because I'd been hearing great things about it and remembered enjoying Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in undergrad (and still languishing on my TBR shelf).
I only read this at this moment in time because a few months ago I created a spreadsheet of all the books on my TBR shelf that were under 250 pages that randomly spits out a book title so when I had a bit of a gap or wanted to actually make progress on my shelves I had an easy tool to select a book.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
My Response: I picked this book up way back in November 2014 because I'd been hearing great things about it and remembered enjoying Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit in undergrad (and still languishing on my TBR shelf).
I only read this at this moment in time because a few months ago I created a spreadsheet of all the books on my TBR shelf that were under 250 pages that randomly spits out a book title so when I had a bit of a gap or wanted to actually make progress on my shelves I had an easy tool to select a book.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
This is a bit of an odd memoir. I've never read anything by Jeanette Winterson but I know of her and, of course, of [b:Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit|20800223|Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit|Jeanette Winterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1412530068l/20800223._SY75_.jpg|1411520], so when this was picked for our book club, I was intrigued.
This is a memoir in two parts. The first is about her childhood, from her earliest memories all the way to her time at Oxford. This first part was a bit strange in that some horrible things happen to Jeanette but she tells it in a really detached sort of way. She makes it funny, yes, but the way she says it is so matter-of-fact that, every now and then, I got a bit of a shock. I imagine this is more obvious in the audiobook, where she has a similar tone throughout the whole first part of the book. She's quite blunt and she doesn't shy away from anything that happened, and I suppose that's what makes it so bearable to read when such awful, sad things are happening to her.
The second part, after a brief interlude, is essentially present day, and Jeanette's journey to finding her birth family, her mother, specifically. This was much more raw to listen to. You start to hear the emotion more in her voice, and it feels more urgent. I was actually surprised to find out that Jeanette had decided to search for her birth mother after spending so much of her life accepting that she wouldn't. You can tell it was a big turning point for her emotionally to go through this journey.
One thing I found really interesting is the way she speaks about her adoptive parents. She calls her adoptive father her dad, but her adoptive mother is always Mrs Winterson. Every now and then, she calls her 'Mum' in dialogue, but she is always 'Mrs Winterson' when being referenced. Their relationship was obviously very complicated but I always felt that, in the end, she felt that Mrs Winterson was her mother, so it's strange to see her referred to by her name instead. I'll be interested to see what discussion this opens up in book club!
I definitely recommend this one. This was a really unique memoir and Jeanette Winterson is a good storyteller, in my opinion. The audiobook is great, I loved listening to her accent, it's so soothing to hear a fellow Northern voice.
This is a memoir in two parts. The first is about her childhood, from her earliest memories all the way to her time at Oxford. This first part was a bit strange in that some horrible things happen to Jeanette but she tells it in a really detached sort of way. She makes it funny, yes, but the way she says it is so matter-of-fact that, every now and then, I got a bit of a shock. I imagine this is more obvious in the audiobook, where she has a similar tone throughout the whole first part of the book. She's quite blunt and she doesn't shy away from anything that happened, and I suppose that's what makes it so bearable to read when such awful, sad things are happening to her.
The second part, after a brief interlude, is essentially present day, and Jeanette's journey to finding her birth family, her mother, specifically. This was much more raw to listen to. You start to hear the emotion more in her voice, and it feels more urgent. I was actually surprised to find out that Jeanette had decided to search for her birth mother after spending so much of her life accepting that she wouldn't. You can tell it was a big turning point for her emotionally to go through this journey.
One thing I found really interesting is the way she speaks about her adoptive parents. She calls her adoptive father her dad, but her adoptive mother is always Mrs Winterson. Every now and then, she calls her 'Mum' in dialogue, but she is always 'Mrs Winterson' when being referenced. Their relationship was obviously very complicated but I always felt that, in the end, she felt that Mrs Winterson was her mother, so it's strange to see her referred to by her name instead. I'll be interested to see what discussion this opens up in book club!
I definitely recommend this one. This was a really unique memoir and Jeanette Winterson is a good storyteller, in my opinion. The audiobook is great, I loved listening to her accent, it's so soothing to hear a fellow Northern voice.
Life + art is a boisterous communion/communication with the dead. It is a boxing match with time.
4.5 stars. I mean, do I even have to say it? I adored this so much. There's been a few times where I've experienced the joy of reading the exact right book at the exact right time, and I was glad to rediscover that joy/pain again with this book. Reading it was truly an experience. Winterson's writing is delicious, piercing, stunning, everything that is wonderful and relatable and sometimes horrible for being so relatable. If a line wasn't striking me with its beauty, it was bowling me over for being a carbon copy of some precise emotion I've had before. This was beautiful, but it was also skilled in a way I just... I loved it so much. I can't remember the last time nonfiction affected me like this.
A tough 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.
The book recounts parts of Winterson's youth as an adopted child in 1970s Northern England; her fraught and deeply complicated relationship with her mother; coming into herself and growing as a person; her career and depression and mental health; her later searches for her biological mother. Motherhood is definitely one of the major themes, and how Mrs. Winterson's influence and shadow played a part in Jeanette's life. But I loved the book all the more for all the little things; all the small ruminations and thoughts and her experiences with love, coming out, industrialisation, writing, poetry, the education system, the importance of reading yourself as fiction as well as fact, her hometown, her relationship with mental illness and how she copes with it. There were so many fantastic nuggets in this. Apart from a small section near the end that was very slow, I felt like I was continuously being whammied by this book. I keep saying it but god. It's SO good.
I don't reread nonfiction much, but this begs to be experienced again. What a book.
All my life I have worked from the wound. To heal it would mean an end to one identity — the defining identity. But the healed wound is not the disappeared wound; there will always be a scar. I will always be recognisable by my scar.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
abusive parent, parental rejection, domestic violence, homophobia, suicide ideation and attempt.
Best read in the context of her other books. The truth is sadder, stranger, and harsher than fiction. It was self-indulgent at times, as memoirs can be. Her language is delightful, even so.
Beautiful book. Such an interesting take on life, love, family. The adoption angle was really interesting and I loved the way she explored it and the complex relationship with her adoptive mother.