Jeanette Winterson

Meet ten of literature's most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world 'At that time I could not imagine what would become of me, and I didn't care. It was not judgement day, but another morning' This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by working-class evangelists in the North of England to be one of God's elect. Passionate, headstrong and shielded by her mother's grand disapproval of a sinful world, she seems destined for life as a missionary. And then she meets Melanie. At sixteen, Jeanette faces a world of uncertainty as she breaks from the church and her community for the young woman she loves. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a warm, witty and daring novel that gives voice to irrepressible desire. Meet ten of literature's most iconic heroines, jacketed in bold portraits by female photographers from around the world.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

biddy

Silly question. There are threads that help you find your way back, and there are threads that intend to bring you back. Mind turns to the pull, it's hard to pull away. I'm always thinking of going back. When Lot's wife looked over her shoulder, she turned into a pillar of salt. Pillars hold things up, and salt keeps things clean, but it's a poor exchange for losing your self. People do go back, but they don't survive, because two realities are claiming them at the same time. Such things are too much. You can salt your heart, or kill your heart, or you can choose between the two realities. There is much pain here. Some people think you can have your cake and eat it. The cake goes mouldy and they choke on what's left. 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.

I don't know how to answer. I know what I think, but words in the head are like voices under water. They are distorted. Hearing the words as they hit the surface is sensitive work. You will have to be a bank robber and listen and listen to the little clicks before you can open the safe.

'What would have happened if you had stayed?'

I could have been a priest instead of a prophet.

anaïs-fiona

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. I want someone who will destroy and be destroyed by me. There are many forms of love and affection, some people spend their whole lives together without knowing each other's names. Naming is a difficult and time-consuming process; it concerns essences, and it means power. But on the wild nights who can you call home? Only the one who knows your name.

lili🎐

i’ve always had a very complicated relationship with my mother so this book hits a bit close to home.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

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