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beasreads111's review against another edition
2.0
Found the style of writing quite jarring and didn't have much love for the story. Felt the love of books and poetry was overdone and I couldn't relate. Generally a bit of an underwhelming read.
teaandpetrichor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
swaye's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful.
Jeanette Winterson will always and forever be my favourite writer. I love her. Her words have been such an important part of my life since I picked up The Passion at 17. Since then, I immediately head straight to the W's when entering any bookstore. In fact, I judge a bookstore based on whether or not they sell her books and so far I've read all but two. Her books almost always leave me in awe and have helped me understand myself. They have indeed formed a string of guiding lights in my life. They are like kindred spirits and they have made me feel less alone in the world, that I belong. I've read the covers off and devoured multiple copies of Written on the Body, my favourite book of all time, and her writing has profoundly shaped the way I think about life and love.
I feel incredibly blessed to have read this very raw, intimate account of her personal life. I'm so glad I decided to give it a second chance. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Having her tell the story changed everything for me.
I hope she knows and feels how loved she is. My life wouldn't be the same without her in it. I am so deeply grateful.
Jeanette Winterson will always and forever be my favourite writer. I love her. Her words have been such an important part of my life since I picked up The Passion at 17. Since then, I immediately head straight to the W's when entering any bookstore. In fact, I judge a bookstore based on whether or not they sell her books and so far I've read all but two. Her books almost always leave me in awe and have helped me understand myself. They have indeed formed a string of guiding lights in my life. They are like kindred spirits and they have made me feel less alone in the world, that I belong. I've read the covers off and devoured multiple copies of Written on the Body, my favourite book of all time, and her writing has profoundly shaped the way I think about life and love.
I feel incredibly blessed to have read this very raw, intimate account of her personal life. I'm so glad I decided to give it a second chance. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. Having her tell the story changed everything for me.
I hope she knows and feels how loved she is. My life wouldn't be the same without her in it. I am so deeply grateful.
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
No matter what, Winterson's prose will always hold a bit of my heart, a bit of my love.
teresapetralia's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
heathercottledillon's review against another edition
3.0
In this funny but often heart-breaking memoir, Winterson recalls growing up in a Protestant fundamentalist home with her adopted parents. Nothing was ever good enough for her mother, who raged with untreated paranoia and anxiety disorder. Her father was more mild but didn't want to get between Jeannette and her mother, so she had no one on her side when her mom locked her out of the house or called her a devil child. When Jeannette grew older and realized she was a lesbian, things became even more strained between her and her parents, who believed that homosexuality is a sin. As an adult, she eventually began searching for her birth parents, and in the process learned to love herself and trust other people to love her too.
Jeannette has a very interesting story, but for some reason I couldn't get into it. The narratives and themes seem all over the place, so I had trouble following it. Winterson does a really good job of bringing individual scenes to life and making them feel real, like we're right there with her, but the whole thing as a whole could have been arranged better, I think. I also felt like the author tries to be funny at parts that aren't really that funny, at least to me (but, to be fair, my sense of humor is, um, unique). Despite these complaints, I did enjoy this story after a while. As I said, Jeannette certainly had an unusual upbringing. Though my family is not as conservative as Jeannette's, I did grow up in a Southern Baptist Church and knew people who reminded me of Jeannette's relatives. I think she does a good job of pointing out the idiosyncrasies of fundamentalism without being unfair or whiny.
Jeannette has a very interesting story, but for some reason I couldn't get into it. The narratives and themes seem all over the place, so I had trouble following it. Winterson does a really good job of bringing individual scenes to life and making them feel real, like we're right there with her, but the whole thing as a whole could have been arranged better, I think. I also felt like the author tries to be funny at parts that aren't really that funny, at least to me (but, to be fair, my sense of humor is, um, unique). Despite these complaints, I did enjoy this story after a while. As I said, Jeannette certainly had an unusual upbringing. Though my family is not as conservative as Jeannette's, I did grow up in a Southern Baptist Church and knew people who reminded me of Jeannette's relatives. I think she does a good job of pointing out the idiosyncrasies of fundamentalism without being unfair or whiny.
savaging's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book about families and about writing. This is a book that sees that try as we might to escape the stupid, petty domestic circle, writing is stuck warp-and-woof in the threads of the nuclear family.
I thought this book was perfect. One day reading it I wrote on my arm the single word SENTENCES! I haven't been this excited about sentences since I discovered Camus. Winterson allows herself clear, hard pebbles of sentences. I'll say the overused word here: luminous. These sentences are luminous.
You won't think this book is perfect if you think 1)stories need a beginning, middle, and end; or 2)someone shouldn't put all their personal business out there for anyone to read (especially if it's a storm of emotional intensity).
Reading this book meant pulling on other peoples' sleeves, clearing my throat, saying Just, just listen to this:
I thought this book was perfect. One day reading it I wrote on my arm the single word SENTENCES! I haven't been this excited about sentences since I discovered Camus. Winterson allows herself clear, hard pebbles of sentences. I'll say the overused word here: luminous. These sentences are luminous.
You won't think this book is perfect if you think 1)stories need a beginning, middle, and end; or 2)someone shouldn't put all their personal business out there for anyone to read (especially if it's a storm of emotional intensity).
Reading this book meant pulling on other peoples' sleeves, clearing my throat, saying Just, just listen to this:
I have noticed that doing the sensible thing is only a good idea when the decision is quite small. For the life-changing things, you must risk it.
And here is the shock -- when you risk it, when you do the right thing, when you arrive at the borders of common sense and cross into unknown territory, leaving behind you all the familiar smells and lights, then you do not experience great joy and huge energy.
You are unhappy. Things get worse.
It is a time of mourning. Loss. Fear. We bullet ourselves through with questions. And then we feel shot and wounded.
And then all the cowards come out and say, ‘See, I told you so.’
In fact, they told you nothing.