The novel is structured into sections, with the titles of the first eight books of the Bible, from Genesis to Ruth, each section talking about the different phases of Jeanette’s life, from the age of seven. The novel is about Jeanette’s relationship with God, her beliefs and her difficulties to live up to the expectations of her mother whom she loves a lot. Though often called as ‘lesbian fiction’ (a description which the author herself condemns), the romantic interest is only a faint thread in the story. It can be categorised as a coming-of-age novel, the story of a girl who seems ‘different’ to many of her peers – both in terms of her religious upbringing and to some extent her sexuality.
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit is an autobiographical story with a number of themes. Oranges are not the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson She still loves God, but at fifteen she feels attracted to another woman resulting in a heavily disturbed heart of what is right and wrong. Due to pressure from the local welfare committee Jeanette is forced to join school, and she begins reading books, thus opening her eyes to a world beyond her mother’s teachings. She is fed on Bible scriptures and informed that schools are ‘Breeding grounds’ and neighbours and friends are ‘devils’. Oranges are not the only Fruit is the story of a girl named Jeanette, growing up in Northern England as part of a small evangelical Christian church in which her mother is one of the most important local figures. Her mother thinks she is the Chosen one from God Jeanette is beginning to fancy girls and she tries to define her relationship with her mother, God and self. I found myself always enjoyed these simple statements a lot throughout the book.Jeanette, the protagonist of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and the author’s namesake, pens down her life as an adopted child raised in Northern England and brought up on Bible Scriptures. For this I like the quote "My mother had painted the white roses red and now she claimed they grew that way". I especially enjoyed (view spoiler) Īnd I liked how she was able to show how people wanted things to be their way despite the fact was in the opposite direction.
The whole went to school and not fitted in thing was like a prelude for she discovered her sexual orientation. But once I got to the part she went to school, and had to deal with all the school teachers, things picked up for me. In the beginning of the book, when the characters discussed things from the Bible, I had hard time to figure things out (as I am not familiar with Bible at all).
But I often got lost during the stories from her imaginations in between. I finished the book today, and enjoyed it.Īs a autobiographic fiction, I felt so sad when reading it, heart broke by the fact that denied by her own community, no body to rely on, and even betrayed by friends.
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