Winner of the Whitbread Prize for best first fiction, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a coming-out novel from Winterson, the acclaimed author of The Passion and Sexing the Cherry. The narrator, Jeanette, cuts her teeth on the knowledge that she is one of God’s elect, but as this budding evangelical comes of age, and comes to terms with her preference for her own sex, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household crumbles.
Jeanette Winterson's semi-autobiographical novel is one of the most beautifully written story of a middle-class girl struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, creativity, passion vs. her family/society's inflexible "formed opinions". The story of the persecution of a girl because of her sexual preference (in this case, lesbianism) is not new. It's how Ms. Winterson presents her story. Fresh. Alive. Witty. Funny. Heartbreaking at times. Imaginative. Almost like you were holding a piece of someone's soul in your hands rather than merely a book. I noticed that one reviewer mentioned that the book's sexual nature is vulgar. I do not find this so. Even if it is, so what? Life is vulgar. Only those fond of sweeping the dirt under the carpet so that it stays out of sight (or those who drive lesbian girls from their house/church and pretend they don't exist) will disagree with the innate vulgarity of all life. This book is the antidote for that kind of sanitized thinking. This book exposes that sanitized Christian middle-class thinking is weird, almost alien when observed sanely by a third party standing on the outside. This book celebrates life. Read it.
Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester and read English at Oxford, during which time she wrote her first novel, the Whitbread award winning Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit. Tanglewreck, Jeanette's first novel for children, was published to great critical acclaim in 2006. In the same year she was awarded an OBE for services to literature.
- 半自传体成长小说，讲述女主人公性觉醒历程
- 宗教狂热家庭与个人性取向的激烈冲突
- 颠覆传统叙事，融合圣经典故与童话隐喻
- 关注女性主义与LGBTQ+议题的读者
- 喜爱诗意语言与意识流风格的文学爱好者
- 对宗教文化、身份认同及成长创伤感兴趣者
- 强烈建议阅读英文原版以领略独特文风
- 注意书中圣经典故与童话隐喻的象征意义
- 理解作者对历史记忆与遗忘的哲学思考
- 文笔细腻诗意，情感浓烈且充满力量
- 深刻探讨信仰、性取向与自我接纳
- 中文译本难以完全传达原著的语言魅力
本导读基于书籍简介、目录、原文摘录、短评和书评生成，不等同于全文精读。
- "我渴望有人暴烈地爱我至死不渝，明白爱和死一样强大，并永远站在我身边。我渴望有人毁灭我并被我毁灭。世间的情爱何其多，有人可以虚掷一生共同生活却不知道彼此的姓名。命名是艰难而耗时的大事；要一语中的，并寓意力量。否则，在狂野的夜晚，谁能把你唤回家？只有知道你名字的人才能。"
- "别无选择，并不意味着失落。可是，狗被埋在洁净的土里，而我埋葬的东西却自行掘墓而出，黏湿阴冷的恐惧，危险的想法，还有我暂时抛却、留待日后在处理的重重阴影。我不能一劳永逸地抛却他们，总有一天我会想起来，会去面对。但并不是所有黑暗的地方都需要光明，我必须记住这一点。"
- "我久久凝视着她，思忖我们之间怎么会有感情。可当她离开我时，我简直以为自己得了毒血症。我无法原谅她。她似乎把一切都忘光了。这让我想狠狠地摇醒她，想把自己的衣服当街剥光然后大喊一声：“还记得这个身体吗?” 时间是最厉害的杀手，人们遗忘，厌倦，变老，离去。她说，用历史的眼光看，我们之间其实也没多少事。可是历史是打满结的线，你最好只是欣赏，说不定还能再打上几个结呢。历史就是摇摆的吊床、赌徒的游戏、猫咪的摇篮。 她说，那些感情都死了，那些她曾经对我的感情。死掉的东西也有某种诱人之处。死掉的东西，你尽可虐待、篡改、重新涂上颜色。她大笑一通，说我们大概是用完全不同的眼光看待发生的那些事。她又笑了，说用我的视"
- "背叛有很多种，但背叛永远是背叛，不管何时何地。"
- "我知道自己再怎么争取也没用了，所以没再说什么。等到安全的时候，我会让自己的情绪一泄而出。眼下，我必须坚硬且冰冷。"
- "我很想知道，嫁给猪的那个女人有没有读过这个故事（美女与野兽）。要是她读过，肯定会失望得痛心疾首吧。还有我的比尔叔叔，他可恐怖了，浑身都是毛，可你看野兽变成王子的插图就会发现，王子根本就不该有吓人的体毛。 我慢慢地合上书。很明显，我已跌跌撞撞地走进一桩可怕的阴谋。 世界上有很多女人。 世界上有很多男人。 如果你嫁给了一头野兽，该怎么办？ 亲吻他们未必次次有效。 而且，野兽狡诈多端。他们会伪装自己，变得像你我一样。 就像《小红帽》里的狼外婆。 为什么以前没人告诉我？莫非以前没人知道？ 莫非整个地球上的女人们全都嫁给了野兽，而全不自知？"
- "他走了一圈又一圈，终于明白了无价真理：悲喜交替，没有终点"
- "我知道自己再怎么申辩也没有用了，所以我没再说什么。我会找个恰当安全的时机，让自己的情绪一泻而出。眼下，我必须狠下心肠，像大雪覆盖的大地雪白而坚硬。"
The Covenant Of Water
The Accusation
The Voyeur’s Motel
Gaddafi's Harem
War Dances
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks