Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
Parliamoci chiaro, l'edizione è veramente bella: copertina meravigliosa, come ogni Mondadori è curata, ma da un'idea completamente sbagliata al lettore di turno. Pone il focus, come si vede dalla citazione dietro la copertina, sulle relazioni omosessuali di Jeanette, quando non è affatto il punto della faccenda. Mi chiedo perché gli italiani hanno sempre problemi su questo fronte, faranno i finti tonti apposta?La Winterson vuole focalizzarsi sul rapporto con sua madre, su una fanatica religiosa che non accetta in nessun modo l'orientamento sessuale di sua figlia. Denuncia in generale il fanatismo religioso, ma nello specificio l'impedimento della madre nel comprenderla, nell'apprezzarla nella sua intima natura senza guardarla come se fosse il demonio, la maman non riesce a capire che non ci sono solo le arance, ma anche le banane, le fragole e i mandarini (bbòni).Eppure questo tema centrale è poco approfondito, c'è un senso di riservatezza ingiustificabile. Il fatto che Jeanette sfiori solamente l'argomento della sua omosessualità mi va bene, dato che non è ciò su cui vuole fare davvero luce, ma non è giustificabile la sua reticenza quando si tratta dell'argomento per cui hai voluto scrivere un libro. Sembra che il timore dell'autrice per la madre rieccheggi ancora in queste pagine, e come ostacolo nell'esprimersi completamente.Non si va mai fino a fondo, gli elementi vengono solo sfiorati, quasi ci fosse una sorta di imbarazzo nel buttare tutto fuori. La madre e la sua intolleranza, va bene, la figlia e il suo timore, la sua dipendenza inconscia, va bene. Però non si sonda mai nel dettaglio, nel cuore della faccenda, nei sentimenti più veri dei protagonisti. Rimane quasi un racconto a mo' di cronaca, una versione blanda e un po' timida di qualcosa di più profondo. Perché? E' una vera e propria mancanza a livello professionale (clemenza, è il suo esordio), o c'è veramente una sorta di pudore? Sono cose di famiglia? Vero, ma è di questo che tu vuoi parlarmi, non ha senso nasconderti. Anche gli inserti biblici e non fra un episodio narrativo e l'altro, che sì, aiutano, ma non si inseriscono elasticamente, perfettamente, naturalmente, morbidamente (se volete che vada avanti..) nella storia. A volte sono chiaramente metafore delle scelte di Jeanette e sua madre, a volte sono veri e propri elementi sostitutivi, che sinceramente mi hanno fatto crescere un certo disappunto. Perché l'idea di scrivere un libro e lasciare che altri - la Bibbia, o la storia di Parsifal ad esempio - si sostituiscano alla tua voce durante il racconto, non la capisco proprio. Sì, fa figo, fa intelligente, ma non è meglio che tu stessa mi dica il tuo percorso? Mi sembra più vero. Tutti questi inserti appesantiscono a volte, e allontanano il lettore dalla protagonista.Ha uno stile lineare, semplice ma efficace, ha un effetto perfino rilassante. L'ironia inaspettata della prima parte è un elemento adorabile, sembra quasi voler tenere allegro il lettore prima della perdita dell'innocenza di Jeanette. Non condanno questo libricino, perché nel suo piccolo è un esordio assolutamente dignitoso, nonostante le sue imperfezioni abbastanza evidenti. Andrò a vedere come si è evoluta la Winterson nei libri successivi, tipo Scritto sul corpo.
You need a lot of patience for Jeanette Winterson's weird little Beowulfesque tangents, but if you can get past that, there are little gems of brilliant clarity scattered throughout.For me, this bit redeems all the boring parts:"But where was God now, with heaven full of astronauts, and the Lord overthrown? I miss God. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. I still don't think of God as my betrayer. The servants of God, yes, but servants by their very nature betray. I miss God who was my friend. I don't even know if God exists, but I do know that if God is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it. I have an idea that one day it might be possible, I thought once it had become possible, and that glimpse has set me wandering, trying to find the balance between earth and sky. If the servants hadn't rushed in and parted us, I might have been disappointed, might have snatched off the white samite to find a bowl of soup. 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 can 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 call you home? Only the one who knows your name. Romantic love has been diluted into paperback form and has sold thousands and millions of copies. Somewhere it is still in the original, written on tablets of stone. I would cross seas and suffer sunstroke and give away all I have, but not for a man, because they want to be the destroyer and never the destroyed." (can't remember what page)
What do You think about Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit (1997)?
Oranges are not the only fruit is a beautifully told story about a young girl, Jeanette, coming to terms with her sexuality in a Pentecostal community. Each chapter title is taken from the old testament, and so the story begins with Genesis. Jeanette ‘s adoption is depicted like a scene from the nativity, as her mother 'followed a star until it came to settle above an orphanage, and in that place was a crib, and in that crib was a child.'The young Jeanette is not allowed to attend school as it is a ‘breeding ground’, and she learns what she can from home.'I learned that it rains when clouds collide with a high building, like a steeple, or a cathedral; the impact punctures them, and everybody underneath gets wet. This was why, in the old days, when the only tall buildings were holy, people used to say cleanliness is next to godliness. The more godly your town, the more high buildings you’d have, and the more rain you’d get.'In the chapter Exodus, Jeanette does eventually go to school but it is not what she imagined, and she struggles to connect her religious upbringing with the demands of her school. Jeanette’s school days were full of disappointments,fighting and feeling like the outsider. Her mother does not care about her daughters schooling as she is preparing Jeanette to be a missionary and for a long time that was what the young Jeanette believed she was to become. One day Jeanette meets Melanie and she begins to develop feelings for her which at first she does not understand. The two girls begin a friendship which blooms into relationship and this cause major problems for Jeanette, whose mother abhors ‘unnatural passions’.In the introduction,author Jeanette Winterson writes thatOranges is a threatening novel. It exposes the sanctity of family life as something of a sham; it illustrates by example that what the church call love is actually psychosis and it dares to suggest that what makes life difficult for homosexuals is not their perversity but other peoples.Oranges is a wonderful novel; sensitively told, funny and beautifully written. It is a 5/5 without question.
—Leanne (Booksandbabble)
The descriptions of the main character's social marginalization during her youth due of her mother's religious fanaticism are most enjoyable to read. This is because the writing succinctly expresses the dire situation with exquisite undertones. The text bites and caresses the story, a harsh enough story for the reader to want to see some glimpses of compassion from time to time. The character of Jeanette is obviously a person with above average intelligence. She tragi-comically struggles to adapt the tortuous adult visions of demons and sin to which she's been exposed to her grade school environment by way of handcraft projects, and it goes without saying, without success. I read half of this book before I decided to go back and reread it again. The second half of the book covers the period of transition when Jeanette realizes that she's homosexual, thus a sinner, and must then be cast out of her family home. She gives an insight into the psychological letting go of identity, letting go of another's power over a person by falsely empowering the victim, casting what goes for caution to the wind and taking risks. Risks that involve being homeless and rejected. Her courage is courage through intelligence and hunger to find the truth within her story.
—Persephone Abbott
I hated this book, but let me first tell you why it earnt that star. At the very start of this edition, the author (if i remember correctly, it could be someone else asked to comment on her work)clearly states that this book is not and was never intended to be a run-of-the-mill teenage christianity vs sexuality novel. Oh the irony! That's PRECISELY what this book is. Utterly uninspiring, so awfully generic, plainly written...dreadful, in a word. Even the random, nonsensical snippets dotted throughout the book won't sway me. The book is also a classic example of another pet hate of mine...nothing happens in it. Nothing at all. It's a total waste of time. Just because a book is about something contraversial, doesn't mean that it's automatically a Must Read or relevant. Even the ending was pointless, we end up where we started and not in a good way either.And i don't know why it's important, but the lack of sex seems like it should be a let down. But to end on a good note, at least the bloody thing is a short read!!
—Helena
