Review by oliveslittlelibrary - Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

oliveslittlelibrary 's review for:

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

4.0

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A coming-of-age novel about a young woman and the dissonance between two of her major defining characteristics: her faith/belief in God and her queerness. The running question throughout this novel is whether it is possible for these two identities to ever coexist; in attempting to answer this question, Winterson examines the outer relationships of her protagonist, as well as her inner world, and how these continually separate and intersect. I thought the usage of oranges as a kind of metaphor for singularity throughout this novel was really smart- especially with the title "Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit" essentially answering the guiding question of this novel: yes, it is possible to have both God and queerness. It is only the people around you that make you think you cannot have both.

There is a lot to examine in this book and it sits at a solid four stars for me. The writing was beautiful, some parts tugged at my heartstrings more than others, and the overall concept is really interesting. The focus on religion is much more prevalent than the focus on queerness, and part of me wished we could have read more about the protagonist's queer experiences. Nonetheless, this is a really interesting and overall gorgeous novel.

Content Warnings