
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Jeanette Winterson(Author)
Vintage (Publisher)
Published on 4. September 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-09-959818-3 (ISBN)
Description
'Like most people I lived for a long time with my mother and father. My father liked to watch the wrestling, my mother liked to wrestle; it didn't matter what'
This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts.
At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy and tender, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession.
'Witty... extraordinary and exhilarating' The Times
'She is a master of her material, a writer in whom great talent abides' Vanity Fair
'Many consider her to be the best living writer in this language... In her hands, words are fluid, radiant, humming' Evening Standard
'A novel that deserves revisiting' Observer
'A wonderful rites-of-passage novel' Mariella Frostrup
This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts.
At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy and tender, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession.
'Witty... extraordinary and exhilarating' The Times
'She is a master of her material, a writer in whom great talent abides' Vanity Fair
'Many consider her to be the best living writer in this language... In her hands, words are fluid, radiant, humming' Evening Standard
'A novel that deserves revisiting' Observer
'A wonderful rites-of-passage novel' Mariella Frostrup
Reviews / Votes
She is a master of her material, a writer in whom great talent abides * Vanity Fair * Many consider her to be the best living writer in this language... In her hands, words are fluid, radiant, humming * Evening Standard * 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 * Still extraordinary, still brilliant * Metro * Even at a time when so many good and interesting novels are coming out, hers stand out as performances of real originality and extraordinary promise -- John Bayley Wonderful rites-of-passage novel... where the author's blossoming Sapphic nature leads her to eschew her mothers proffered favourite -- Mariella Frostrup It is very funny, with an Alan Bennett sort of humour, beautifully written, quirky and likely to cause much tuttutting in conservative quarters * Daily Mail * This lesbian coming of age story set in northern England doesn't seem to have aged a bit * Independent * An instant classic -- Rosemary Goring * Herald * You'll find everything you need to know about mustering the courage to embrace your true self and live life without fear in Winterson's hugely engaging semi-autobiographical novel -- Mariella Frostrup * Sunday Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
178 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-959818-3 (9780099598183)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Book
03/2025
Vintage Classics
€21.50
Available immediately

Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Book
07/2024
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€13.00
Available immediately

Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
Book
10/2021
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€13.00
Available immediately

Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit
E-Book
11/2009
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€8.99
Available for download
Person
Jeanette Winterson CBE was born in Manchester. She published her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, at twenty-five. Over two decades later she revisited that material in her internationally bestselling memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?. Winterson has written thirteen novels for adults and two previous collections of short stories, as well as children's books, non-fiction and screenplays. She is Professor of New Writing at the University of Manchester. She lives in the Cotswolds in a wood and in Spitalfields, London.