Mixed in with the so-called reality of Jeanette's existence growing up are unconventional fairy tales that transcend the everyday world, subverting the traditional preconceptions of the damsel in distress. Confused, angry and alone, Jeanette strikes out on her own path, that involves a funeral parlour and an ice-cream van. When Jeanette starts going to school ("The Breeding Ground") and confides in her mother about her feelings for another girl ("Unnatural Passions"), she's swept up in a feverish frenzy for her tainted soul. This involves Bible quizzes, a stint as a tambourine-playing Sally Army officer and a future as a missionary in Africa, or some other "heathen state". Already Jeanette Winterson's semi-autobiographical first novel is not your typical coming-of-age tale.īrought up in a working-class Pentecostal family, up North, Jeanette follows the path her Mam has set for her. Jeanette, the protagonist of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit and the author's namesake, has issues-"unnatural" ones: her adopted mam thinks she's the Chosen one from God she's beginning to fancy girls and an orange demon keeps popping into her psyche.
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