Product Description

Set in the 17th century, "Sexing the Cherry" celebrates the power of the imagination as it playfully juggles with our perception of history and reality. This is the story of Jordan, an orphan found floating on the River Thames, and his keeper, The Dog Woman, a huge and monstrous creature with a powerful right hook and a wide vocabulary. It is a story about love and sex; lies and truths; and, twelve dancing princesses who lived happily ever after, but not with their husbands.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35453 in Books
• Published on: 1990-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Set in 17th century London, Sexing the Cherry is about the journeys taken by the boisterous Dog-Woman and her son Jordan: journeys across seas to find bananas and pineapples; journeys through time that weave snatches of the present with tales of Charles 1 and Oliver Cromwell; journeys in search of the self. As mothers go, the Dog-Woman takes some beating. She's a giant, wrapped in a skirt that could "serve as a sail for some wartorn ship" and strong enough to fling an elephant into the air. She's hideous too, with smallpox scars on her face where fleas live, a flat nose and black, broken teeth. To top it all, she's a "fantasist, a liar and a murderer". But her son, Jordan, is proud of her--who else has a mother who can hold a dozen oranges in her mouth at once?

Like the best of Winterson's writing, such as Oranges are not the Only Fruit and The Passion, the novel is engaging, ambitious and contrary. Alongside a hearty historical realism, young girls swoon in locked towers that don't exist, islands slip sideways in time and mysterious diseases wipe out towns and cities. Even though Sexing the Cherry is short, it is impossible to read it in a straight line--fairy tales and dreams run in and out of the text and it's hard to resist chasing them. There is an exceptional playfulness at work too--an unravelling of the most solid of historical facts and fantastically unconventional fairy tales in which princesses smash the skulls of their princes with silver candlesticks or become worn and grey "like old sweaters". --Jane Honey

About the Author
Jeanette Winterson OBE is the author of ten novels, including Oranges are not the Only Fruit, The Passion and Sexing the Cherry; a book of short stories, The World and Other Places; a collection of essays, Art Objects as well as many other works, including children's books, screenplays and journalism. Her writing has won the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel, the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, the E. M. Forster Award and the Prix d'argent at Cannes Film Festival.

Customer Reviews

A fruitful read to say the least
If you've never read any Jeanette Winterson before, this is a great place to start. It is very indicative of her style and will lure you into her unique literary world. The narrative is split between two very likeable, magical characters who let you explore their fantastically bizarre lives. Don't be afraid of the idea of a fantasy read; Winterson's dry, cynical humour and visual characterisation grounds the book in a way that means even if you start to think 'erm, just what's going on here' your laughter will drown it out. The novel tackles issues on time, gender and history and I would certainly recommend it to all English Literature students (particularly those studying magic realism and the Fantastic). Even if you're not academically involved, read this book to sweep you away from whatever you are involved in.

Surreal, dream-like and beautiful.
Jeanette Winterson's "Sexing the Cherry" is a genuinely original novel. A short, incredibly dense collection of interwoven tales that never fail to amuse, amaze and enrich your understanding of the English language. This is Winterson's great gift - her wonderful command of the language which allows her to pull off 'tour de force' linguistic tricks that will leave you begging for more. The main part of the novel concerns the Rabelasian character of a 17th century giant woman in London, but there are frequent asides and passages set in the modern day. This book will change the boundaries of what you previously thought prose writing could convey.

Fantastic
For me, this is Winterson's best work. It is a book I have read many times but never once tired of. Winterson covers a great many truths without making the reader aware of it! It reads like a wonderful, fluid story of wonder but reveals much more on closer inspection. Highly recommended.