Product Description

In this, her first collection of short stories, Winterson reveals all the facets of her extraordinary imagination. In prose that is full of imagery and word-play, she creates physical and psychological worlds that are at once familiar and yet shockingly strange.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #177776 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 230 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Jeanette Winterson's first collection of short stories, we are confronted with characters so at odds with themselves and the world--whether our own, familiar world or one of the author's invention--that it is difficult to truly empathize with any of them.

The first story, "The 24 Hour Dog", is a lullaby of a tale compared to those that follow, yet still manages to leave behind the disconcerting notion that a human being who cannot even take responsibility for a tiny puppy has little chance of survival in the big, bad world.

From the voluptuous "The Poetics of Sex", so flush with earthy imagery and erotically charged word-play that the fever of desire rises from the page in an uncomfortable steam, to the frigidity of the "Stepford-Wife-like Newton", Winterson spins us around a breathless, off-centre world, leaving the reader dizzy and disturbed.

This challenging collection from the acclaimed author of Oranges are not the Only Fruit and Sexing the Cherry is a kaleidoscope of people and places, with some just a tad out of the reach of reality and others just within the boundaries of dreams. Yet all somehow manage to tug at the soul. --Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Jeanette Winterson's first collection of short stories, we are confronted with characters so at odds with themselves and the world--whether our own, familiar world or one of the author's invention--that it is difficult to truly empathize with any of them.

The first story, "The 24 Hour Dog", is a lullaby of a tale compared to those that follow, yet still manages to leave behind the disconcerting notion that a human being who cannot even take responsibility for a tiny puppy has little chance of survival in the big, bad world.

From the voluptuous "The Poetics of Sex", so flush with earthy imagery and erotically charged word-play that the fever of desire rises from the page in an uncomfortable steam, to the frigidity of the "Stepford-Wife-like Newton", Winterson spins us around a breathless, off-centre world, leaving the reader dizzy and disturbed.

This challenging collection from the acclaimed author of Oranges are not the Only Fruit and "Sexing the Cherry" is a kaleidoscope of people and places, with some just a tad out of the reach of reality and others just within the boundaries of dreams. Yet all somehow manage to tug at the soul.

About the Author
Jeanette Winterson is the author of many novels including Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, The Passion, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body, Art and Lies, Gut Symmetries, The World and Other Places, The Powerbook and a collection of essays, Art Objects.

Customer Reviews

Writing with a heart
This is the first collection of short stories of Winterson. As always in her writings, they are about love- different kinds of love, different objects of love, different love attitudes. Her imagination is powerful, she creates bizarre worlds
where sleep is illegal, or an island full of diamonds; or she sees a whole world in the eyes of her new brand dog. Winterson paints a piece of art with each story, using emotions as brushes and colors. In "Atlantic Crossing" a man meets a young woman he had to share his room with her due to mistake. In "O`Brien`s First Christmas" a woman is visited by a fairy for Christmas and is given a new blond hair. It makes her look with new confidence and earns her first date for Christmas.In "Disappearance II" a man opens every summer his family house to guests. He is moved to offer hospitality to an unexpected woman visitor. He accomodates here in his mother`s room which stays untouched for years. Then the room disappears and he tries to find it, calling his mother`s name but in vain. "Turn of the World" is a poetical vision of the four Greek Gods of wind. "Psalms" reminiscens her first book, "Oranges are not the only fruit".It`s a funny and compassionate story about a turtoise called "Psalms".
I read the book in one evening. Jeanette Winterson writes with her heart. Her works are real works of love, not only of well trained skill."These are the compass points of my life, and my life is my heart,my imagination,waht is inside as well as waht is invisible.Using my compass I write to you"- Jeanette Winterson.

Fantastic
Oh and when I say fantastic I mean in the true sense of the word. Her short stories are truly delicious especially 'The Poetics of Sex' which draws on ideas I first encountered in 'Written on the Body'. Her writing is a feast for those starved of real writing.

A Fascinating World of Dreams and Fantasies.
Wintersons use of the English language is always enticing, but in "The World and Other Places" it is her fascinating mix of dreams, fantasies and the essence of real people and experiences which truly captivates. Let Winterson take you on this fabulous fairground ride, whether you're a 'can't put it down' reader, or a 'chapter at bedtime' person, you won't want this book to end.