63,438 ratings, 3.73 average rating, 3,229 reviews. I've been meaning to read this book for years. That is an ongoing problem with me that I am hoping to tackle this year! She has such talent, and is one of the most unique writers that I have ever had the privilege to read. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, “I seem to have run in a great circle, and met myself again on the starting line.”, “I have a theory that every time you make an important choice, the part of you left behind continues the other life you could have had.”. The world she has known, the world of the church, shuns such behaviour. ― Jeanette … The only thing for certain is how complicated it all is, like string full of knots. ‘A novel that deserves revisiting…Winterson maintains a balance of tone, a trueness of voice… It remains one of the finest things Winterson has written’ Observer I took them home and put them in my sock drawer, only taking them out on Thursdays for my bike ride down the street to piano lessons. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is a compelling novel about a young woman dealing with the pressures of conformity in a world that demands she be something she is not. How old should someone be before reading this book? Blurb. I miss God who was my friend. I miss God who was my friend. Naming is a difficult and time-consuming process; it concerns essences, and it means power. Book. A sad but also surprisingly comical exploration of a girl discovering her sexuality, throw in a very pious devout mother and a host of neighbourly church goers condemning homosexuality as a “sin” and you get a damn good book, the internal battle Jeanette has with her sexuality and her religious beliefs makes an interesting combination, with plenty of funny moments to lighten the mood. : “The Line of Beauty,” “The Mad Man,” On the Road,” &, of course, let us never forget “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”). Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is a compelling novel about a young woman dealing with the pressures of conformity in a world that demands she be something she is not. “Everyone who tells a story tells it differently, just to remind us that everybody sees it differently. The cake goes mouldy and they choke on what's left. The crossword clue "Author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" published 1 time/s and has 1 unique answer/s on our system. And well, itself. Naming is a difficult and time-consuming process; it concerns essences, and it means power. See all 7 questions about Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit…, 100 Best Lesbian Fiction & Memoir Books Of All Time, Laura Doan's essay 'Sexing the Postmodern', Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape, (PBT Decades BINGO) Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson - 3 stars, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson | Book Discussion, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit/Winterson/3.5 Stars. She just knows Jeanette is destined for great things: I found this book completely baffling from beginning to end. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit Quotes Showing 1-30 of 131. "Oranges is an experimental novel," says Jeanette Winterson in her thoroughly obnoxious introduction: "its interests are anti-linear...You can read in spirals." Struggling with distance learning? I would gladly read anything, with Winterson's name attached to it. You can salt your heart, or kill your heart, or you can choose between the two realities. Is this the way it was originally printed? We’d love your help. When I began reading it for the first time, I enjoyed it; Jeanette was a witty character, though a tad hard to relate to, and her life as a girl trying to break free of a small town is a story many of us can understand. Possible Answers From Our DataBase: WINTERSON. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985 by Pandora Press. deaddogsmoking. Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same-sex relationships, and religion. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit – And so I moved onto Winterson’s debut novella, a semi-autobiographical tale on her growing up in the north, raised by Pentecostal Christian adoptive parents, whilst coming to terms with her homosexuality. As an outsider in her rather comically tightly-knit religious community, Jeanette interweaves fable-like metaphors to better understand her mother’s absolute rejection of her sexual orientation. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is the story of a young Jeanette, named after the author, who is raised by an extremely religious mother and their cult of Christianity church. August 20th 1997 The world she has known, the world of the church, shuns such behaviour. By: Jeanette Winterson. I don't believe in censoring what kids read- if they're old enough to pick up books without pictures, and can manage the level of the vocabulary, let them get on with it. A quirky and warm-hearted tale of a girl, Jeanette, growing up in an evangelical household in England with a goal for her to become a missionary. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT * * * Jeanette Winterson is the author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, The Passion, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body, Art and Lies, Gut Symmetries, The World and Other Places and a collection of essays, Art Objects. I have already… Continue reading Oranges are not the only fruit Seemed quite scandalous when I first read it, but much sadder and more touching now. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. It is not possible to change anything until you understand the substance you wish to change.”, “I didn’t want to tell the story of myself, but someone I called myself. In Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Winterson knits a complicated picture of teenage angst through a series of layered narratives, incorporating and subverting fairytales and myths, to present a coherent whole, within which her stories can stand independently. The best you can do is admire the cat's cradle, and maybe knot it up a bit more.”, “The unknownness of my needs frightens me. The wonderful first third of the book had me completely hooked! Jeanette is gay. Some people say there are true things to be found, some people say all kinds of things can be proved. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. `It's all in the mind.”, “If I let them take away my demons, I'll have to give up what I've found.”. Anyone who strays from the path of virtue can find forgiveness for succumbing to temptations of the Devil. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. I want someone who will destroy and be destroyed by me.”, “There are many forms of love and affection, some people can spend their whole lives together without knowing each other's names. Our solution to your problem is right here: Best Answer: WINTERSON. I don't even know if God exists, but I do know that if God is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it.”, “Going back after a long time will make you mad, because the people you left behind do not like to think of you changed, will treat you as they always did, accuse you of being indifferent, when you are only different.”, “There is a certain seductiveness about dead things. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. I tried to write this review eight minutes before I was supposed to go to work. Pause Fun World. Synopsis: “Jeanette is a bright and rebellious orphan who is adopted into an evangelical household in the dour, industrial North of England and finds herself embroidering grim religious mottoes and shaking her little tambourine for Jesus. Key themes of the book include transition from youth to adulthood, complex family relationships, same-sex relationships, organised religion and the concept of faith. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. "synopsis" may … Laura Frahm 1,808 views This past October has been one of the busiest I’ve ever had. Innovative, intoxicating and tender, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" is a journey to the bizarre outposts of religious excess and an exploration of love. Find it here: Oranges are not the Only Fruit Synopsis (from Goodreads): This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God’s elect. This was an interesting book to read immediately upon finishing. Her mother works as an administrative. ”, “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. Episode 04. I couldn't tell if it was because I wasn't raised religious, I wasn't raised in England, or because I wasn't raised by lunatics. Winner of the prestigious Whitbread Prize for best first novel and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for best writer under 35, this modern classic has sold 100,000 copies in the United States. S19 E02. It's all there but hard to find the beginning and impossible to fathom the end. A quirky and warm-hearted tale of a girl, Jeanette, growing up in an evangelical household in England with a goal for her to become a missionary. Then when I meet someone I can write up the experiment and show them what they have to take on.”, “Everyone thinks their own situation most tragic. Her mother works as an administrative assistant for their church’s missionary society and pitches in directly for outreach efforts to convert unbelievers around England and for organizational support of revival meetings. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. It is a meditation on the nature of art and storytelling just … 29:15. This quote comes from the beginning of the first chapter of the book, Genesis, when Jeanette is describing her mother's character. Refresh and try again. That walls should fall is the consequence of blowing your own trumpet.”, “As far as I was concerned men were something you had around the place, not particularly interesting, but quite harmless. Refresh and try again. In spring 2009 I started my second year at university, the first year that I started reading literature. Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Aren't the Only fruit, was the latest book read by the IFN Book Club. Its main character, Jeanette, talks about her childhood growing up in a Fundamentalist Christian home, with an adoptive mother who isn't emotionally available and a father that hardly speaks. No. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit is part coming-of-age tale part Künstlerroman, or artist’s novel. It's an obscure genre, if you ask me. I don't believe them. I only mention this so I can make sure you know what quality shit you're getting when you shop here. Imaginative and mischievous, she is a born storyteller, teasing and taunting the reader to reconsider their worldview. I want Jeanette Winterson to be my friend! It's a standard semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story, interspersed with some sort of Arthurian malarkey. Revenge and Remorse. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is the story of a young Jeanette, named after the author, who is raised by an extremely religious mother and their cult of Christianity church. She discovers at a young age that she may be a lesbian but that is strictly forbidden by the church. You need a lot of patience for Jeanette Winterson's weird little Beowulfesque tangents, but if you can get past that, there are little gems of brilliant clarity scattered throughout. Adopted, raised in a strict, religious household by a mother who was severe and domineering, this novel is partly autobiographical. My bad. There are many forms of love and affection, some people spend their whole lives together without knowing each other's names. My reviews occasionally take longer than eight minutes to compose. Going back after a long time will make you mad, because the people you left behind do not like to think of you changed, will treat you as they always did, accuse you of being indifferent, when you are only different.”, “..to change something you do not understand is the true nature of evil.”, “It is not possible to control the outside of yourself until you have mastered your breathing space. It’s not a word people use very often, which confuses me, because there are different kinds of infidelity, but betrayal is betrayal wherever you find it. She was raised to … 25:07. Minus a few unnecessary side parts that didn’t feel cohesive to the story I enjoyed this a lot. She is well-behaved, a true believer comfortable with this goal. I don't even know if God exists, but I do know that if God is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it. This book was actually a compulsory read for my English course next year, I read it at the end of June, and enjoyed it a lot more than I did the other compulsory texts I was set to read. Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She is well-behaved, a true believer comfortable with this goal. Spitting Image bosses hold 'curious meeting' with ITV over how best to portray characters like Megha. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive." The first time I came across Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, was as a teenager in the early 90s.I stumbled upon the channel 4 tv adaptation, which Winterson also wrote the screen play for. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit analysis - Duration: 14:16. A tub of lycopodium powder, and I will sprinkle it on to my needs and find out how large they are. Jeanette Winterson is masterful in the way she captures her readers. I do now know how huge they are, or how high they are, I only know that they are not being met. This, Winterson’s first uber-acclaimed novella, is philosophical and entertaining and funny, part autobiography and part soaring flight of fancy. Thinly-veiled memoir of the author's youth growing up with a religous nutter of a mother and a father whose character was subsumed entirely by his monster of a wife's. It is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl who grows up in an English Pentecostal community. I loved her writing style, and I found her narrator very engaging. : “The Line of Beauty,” “The Mad Man,” On the Road,” &, of course, let us never forget “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”). N arratively, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is built on a particular irony - a contradiction in which it takes some sly delight. It's an obscure genre, if you ask me. deaddogsmoking. Some people think you can have your cake and eat it. I want someone who will destroy and be destroyed by me. That’s what I’ll find. Learn the important quotes in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and the chapters they're from, including why they're important and what they mean in the context of the book. And so when someone tells me what they heard or saw, I believe them, and I believe their friend who also saw, but not in the same way, and I can put these accounts together and I will not have a seamless wonder but a sandwich laced with mustard of my own.”. I still don't think of God as my betrayer. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit. “But where was God now, with heaven full of astronauts, and the Lord overthrown? The previous year was mainly random, generic courses like sociology, psychology, philosophy, computer fundamentals, statistics, and so on... Having read and adored, Jeanette Winterson's Booker-shortlisted take on A.I in. This story is about a young lesbian girl, trying to navigate her way through a family, a background, and an era that refuses to recognize her, refuses to recognize her sexual identity and accept her as she is. She tapped her head. This is a damn good book, first class story telling that you wouldn't expect to find in a first novel. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God’s elect. Jeanette is gay. Only the one who knows your name.”, “In the library I felt better, words you could trust and look at till you understood them, they couldn't change half way through a sentence like people, so it was easier to spot a lie.”, “She must find a boat and sail in it. There is much pain here. Only a conviction that what she wanted could exist, if she dared to find it.”, “I don't know how to answer. “Tipping the Velvet” was disappointingly bland, although racy in parts and historically accurate, but it still felt a tad conventional. 4:13. The servants of God, yes, but servants by their very nature betray. “And when I look at a history book and think of the imaginative effort it has taken to squeeze this oozing world between two boards and typeset, I am astonished. Zealous and passionate, she seems seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts. Quotes from Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. It was totally out of my comfort zone, totally beyond anything I had ever experienced, and I was absolutely fascinated by it. I slipped them on and flexed my fingers, amazed at how nicely they fit. “I seem to have run in a great circle, and met myself again on the starting line.”. Perhaps the event has an unassailable truth. Jeanette Winterson OBE is the author of ten novels, including Oranges are not the Only Fruit, The Passion and Sexing the Cherry; a book of short stories, The World and Other Places; a collection of essays, Art Objects as well as many other works, including children's books, screenplays and journalism. Tag: oranges are not the only fruit monthly wrap up October Wrap-Up. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. If the servants hadn't rushed in and parted us, I might have been disappointed, might have snatched off the white samite to find a bowl of soup. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts. by Grove Press. Goodreads: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit . Jeanette's mother is a fundamentalist Christian and dominants Jeanette's life. She managed to inject so much humour into some really sad circumstances and tell and charming and engaging story. Anyone who strays from the path of virtue can find forgiveness for succumbing to temptations of the Devil. Her ability to stay true to herself and her god without any sourness in her heart even when rejected so harshly made me feel even more angry for the whole hypocrisy of it all. The mother believes that homosexuality is a sin and tries everything she can to dispossess her daughter of that sin. I have an idea that one day it might be possible, I thought once it had become possible, and that glimpse has set me wandering, trying to find the balance between earth and sky. (The Guilty Alibi). Our Teacher Edition on Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit can help. Police Squad! All Quotes Oranges are not the only fruit - Jeanette Winterson You know when there are super famous books that you know you should read because reading is your thing, but you still never actually get around to it? Quotes By Jeanette Winterson. An unassuming coming-of-age tale about love, religion, and repression. She discovers at a young age that she may be a lesbian but that is strictly forbidden by the church. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. It won’t complain. No guarantee of shore. “Tipping the Velvet” was disappointingly bland, although racy in parts and historically accurate, but it still felt a tad conventional. Four solid stars. By betrayal, I mean promising to be on your side, and then being on somebody else’s.”, “It is not the one thing nor the other that leads to madness, but the space in between them.”, “I miss God. There were friends and there were enemies. Oranges are not the only fruit, a book ruined by its author. I am always on the look out for LGBTQA+ books and yet, here is one of the most famous ones and I’ve only just read it. Part 2 of 3. deaddogsmoking. I miss God. Jeanette retells the story of her life beginning when she is seven years old and living in England with her adoptive parents. Only the one who knows your name.”, “If you think about something for long enough,' she explained, `more than likely, that thing will happen.'