Review by mars2k - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

mars2k 's review for:

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

4.0

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

Meandering. A bit obnoxious. Lacking something I can’t quite pinpoint.

I was tempted to give it a lower rating but it is readable and it’s not too long. I think it’s fair to call it mid.

CONTENT WARNINGS: psychotic levels of religiosity, references to missionary work, racism, classism, misogyny, lesbophobia, child abuse, sexual assault

Update May 2025: Reread for book club.

I previously rated this 3.0 stars (which is what my book club collectively decided on too) but I’m giving it 4.0 here because I liked and appreciated it more this time round. I no longer think of it as “meandering” as such (apart from the detours into fantasy); the novel has a pinball feel to it, bouncing from one idea to another to another. I also loved what the author/narrator had to say about the nature of storytelling (and life):

Everyone who tells a story tells it differently, just to remind us that everybody sees it differently. Some people say there are true things to be found, some people say all kinds of things can be proved. I don’t believe them. The only thing for certain is how complicated it all is, like string full of knots. It’s all there but hard to find the beginning and impossible to fathom the end.