Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Expressive
Insightful
Intense

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

The New York Times–bestselling author’s Whitbread Prize–winning debut—“Winterson has mastered both comedy and tragedy in this rich little novel” (The Washington Post Book World). When it first appeared, Jeanette Winterson’s extraordinary debut novel received unanimous international praise, including the prestigious Whitbread Prize for best first fiction. Winterson went on to fulfill that promise, producing some of the most dazzling fiction and nonfiction of the past decade, including her celebrated memoir Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?. Now required reading in contemporary literature, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a funny, poignant exploration of a young girl’s adolescence. 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. But as this budding missionary comes of age, and comes to terms with her unorthodox sexuality, the peculiar balance of her God-fearing household dissolves. Jeanette’s insistence on listening to truths of her own heart and mind—and on reporting them with wit and passion—makes for an unforgettable chronicle of an eccentric, moving passage into adulthood. “If Flannery O’Connor and Rita Mae Brown had collaborated on the coming-out story of a young British girl in the 1960s, maybe they would have approached the quirky and subtle hilarity of Jeanette Winterson’s autobiographical first novel. . . . Winterson’s voice, with its idiosyncratic wit and sensitivity, is one you’ve never heard before.” —Ms. Magazine
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Reviews

Photo of Anna
Anna @ann_omalia
4 stars
Jul 13, 2024
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isabelle@readsbyissy
3 stars
Jun 10, 2024
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kyli ^^@nekoylee
2.5 stars
May 8, 2024
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iris @irismli
5 stars
May 3, 2024
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p.@softrosemint
4 stars
Apr 23, 2024
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Kendall McClain@kendallmcclain
4 stars
Jan 29, 2024
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erika s@arikeee
3 stars
Jan 7, 2024
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Ed Kay@edk
4 stars
Apr 6, 2023
Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris
4 stars
Mar 12, 2023
Daring
Educational
Photo of Nota
Nota@notarein
5 stars
Oct 29, 2022
Expressive
Insightful
Meaningful
Photo of Ruby Long
Ruby Long@thinskinjones
Photo of Angbeen Abbas
Angbeen Abbas@angbeen
4 stars
May 23, 2022
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Raag Sudha@raagrambles
2 stars
Mar 11, 2022
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Flavia Louise@flaviaaalouise
4 stars
Mar 7, 2022
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Kwan Ann Tan@kwananntan
5 stars
Mar 3, 2022
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Risa C@risa
4 stars
Feb 28, 2022
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Astha Prakash@asthaprakash
4 stars
Jan 31, 2022
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Dorian Avers@doriavers
2 stars
Nov 17, 2021
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Carolina Lopes@carolina
4 stars
Sep 5, 2021
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Brook@brook
5 stars
Jun 9, 2021
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Sanne@sanneeeee
5 stars
Jul 17, 2024
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°dorothea°@dorothea
4 stars
Jun 2, 2024
Complex
Intense
Insightful
Photo of Milo
Milo@mossreads
5 stars
Feb 22, 2024
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Sage @sagexo
5 stars
Jan 22, 2024

Highlights

Photo of Syrina Akbari
Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 127
Photo of Syrina Akbari
Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 100
Photo of Syrina Akbari
Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 95
Photo of Syrina Akbari
Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 87
Photo of Syrina Akbari
Syrina Akbari@syrinaina
Page 87
Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris
Page 164
Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris
Page 108
This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of sharkie
sharkie@scyllalycoris
Page 92
Photo of barbora
barbora@marbora
Photo of barbora
barbora@marbora
Photo of Elke Maasbommel
Elke Maasbommel@theopenbook
Page 119