Oranges are not the only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson

"This is the story of Jeanette, adopted and brought up by her mother as one of God's elect. Zealous and passionate, she seems destined for life as a missionary, but then she falls for one of her converts.

At sixteen, Jeanette decides to leave the church, her home and her family, for the young woman she loves. Innovative, punchy and tender,

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession."

The coming-of-age of a lesbian and aspiring preacher in a devout household, rejected by her church and her adoptive mother for her "unnatural passions". It sounds like something I would love, because I adore the shredding of religious hypocrisy, and am fascinated by people raised in such a crazy environment since it is so far removed from my own experience, having been brought up by a religious skeptic and generally sane woman.

But for some reason this book just didn't hit the mark. The writing was very strange, skirting around Jeanette really powerful feelings and watering it down so much I could no longer care. The prose was bizzare with lines such as "It runs right the way through life, though it starts with hyacinth growing, passes through milk monitor, and finishes somewhere at half-blue." Like what?? The book focused too much with the description and made it feel like I was reading a script but didn't have any actors to show me the emotions.

At the same time, we have these little asides where Percival's quest for the grail is told, drawing some comparison where I guess Jeanette is Percival and the grail is, umm, her sexuality or something? Her relationship with god? I wasn't following there, but I admit that bringing myths and the like into your story does make them seem magical and weighty and stuff.

Gripes aside, I was still interested in the story. I enjoyed exploring the character of the mother, the exploration of tight-knit church communities, and all the scenes where Jeanette is an outcast in school for telling bible stories about hellfire and damnation while totally convinced that she's doing a whole heap of good, and not understanding why people are ostracising her for it. I was surprised to find myself happy that Jeanette, unlike her family and congregation, was able to reconcile her beliefs and her emotions so early in life.

In short, I didn't get it, but appreciated what it was trying to do.

Age Rating 14+. There is a forced exorcism though not described and Jeanette is starved by her family for quite a few days.