Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
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4.3 • 71 Ratings
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
The shocking, heart-breaking - and often very funny - true story behind Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.
In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival.
This book is that story's the silent twin. It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true.
‘Unforgettable… It’s the best book I have ever read about the cost of growing up’ Daisy Goodwin, Sunday Times
**ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY**
Customer Reviews
Lovely
A beautiful and brutal thing x
Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal
Jeannette has done it again (!!) This book is brilliant and completely hit the satisfaction spot for me. I devoured it as if I were reading a mirror story to my own which was in fact, very different, despite coming from a working class northern town, which was similar. It is a piece of superb writing, covering the emotional depths of the human heart and heartbreak. In the many forms it takes. I love the bit where Jeanette decides to ' choose life' and slowly emerges from the depths of depression. It reminded me of the poem in the film The Piano where Ada unties her leg from the rope and also chooses life. Totally inspiring in so many ways. If you are a 'thinker' then read this, you won't be dissapointed.
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal
Stunningly powerful and moving book. Having never read any of Jeanette Winterson's other books this took me to places in myself I usually prefer not to visit...both terrifying and at times hilarious it has instilled in me a strong sense of empathy with and compassion for the writer. Thank you.