Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - York Notes Advanced Study Guide | Literary Analysis & Book Summary for Students & Book Clubs

Winterson, J. (1987). Oranges are not the only fruit . Atlantic Monthly Press.Jeanette Winterson was adopted by John and Constance Winterson. Both parents were religious, evangelical Pentecostals who believed that Jeanette was destined to be a missionary. There were no books in the house except the Bible and some religious commentaries. About Oranges are not the only fruit, she said she "uses [herself] as a fictional character. It’s me and it’s not me. It’s early auto-fiction, and it’s a way of experimenting with truth, not to distort it but to distill it."Her mother declared, "This world is full of sin. . . You can change the world." This is a coming-of-age story about a lesbian girl who grows up in a strict religious community. The church leaders "started arguing between themselves about whether I was an unfortunate victim or a wicked person." Winterson said that "when [she] fell in love with another girl. . . I had to make a choice; the choice was to give up the girl or to leave home." So at 16, she left home.Every time I read a narrative about what I perceive as a fundamentalist religious upbringing, I find myself cringing. Lack of access to books except the Bible, the denial of her personhood, the grit she displayed in the face of her circumstance all create a compelling story.