Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (BBC Audio Collection) (New Windmills)

by Jeanette Winterson

[nannah]

I realize this is pretty much a classic, and I recognize that it's very well written and everything, but I never, ever want to read it again. In fact, I hated reading this.

Book content warnings:
homophobia
ok, extreme homophobia
racism
minor/adult sex (I'm PRETTY sure)
abuse/ child abuse

I know the importance of autobiographical works by LGBT people, I do! But sometimes, as a wlw myself, reading accounts of so much nastiness happening to people like me is ... beyond depressing. Yeah, I get how meaningful and powerful these accounts are, especial for historical reasons, but I could barely get through this.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just couldn't handle more homophobia, or maybe I just couldn't handle reading about an abusive household like the one I grew up in, even if the circumstances are/were completely different. I don't know. I appreciate the book and the author's experiences (and how damn strong she was and still is), but I couldn't enjoy the book.