This Book Will Blow Your Mind

Calling all feminists and avid readers of the weird and wonderful. Jeanette Winterson blew me out of the water with this book, it is filled with monsters and history, gender-bending role reversals and grotesque violence. Also at 144 pages it's a quickie!

The cool thing about studying English Literature when you are obsessed with books is that your modules will usually include some classics as well as books to make you think. I am in love with the classics, I confess, but its the books that literally warp your mind and make you take notice that sear themselves into your soul. You simply cannot forget what you have read. Sexing the Cherry was one such book.

My first year has introduced me to some powerful literature and I loved this book so much after reading it that I did my close reading assignment on it. A small breakdown for you:

The book centres around Dog-Woman and her adopted son Jordan, placed in a version of 17th Century London, their tale is woven together with magical-realism and pastiche that leaves you pondering the limits and meaning of time, love, violence and beauty. Dog-Woman and Jordan morph through the ages of history, and Winterson does not write time in a linear fashion, instead choosing to time-hop and travel from one era to another. In the middle of the book she rewrites the story of the 11 dancing princesses, adding to the disjointed and wonderful feeling of this important work of Écriture féminine. By the end of the book our protagonist, Dog-Woman, has committed unspeakable acts of violence as well as the most tender moments of pure love. This juxtaposition of opposing opposites all the way through the book is one of my favourite things about it.

The novel was seen as experimental in the fantasy writing genre, and the narration is almost equally split between the two characters of Dog-Woman and Jordan, using time, language and history as a construct of the limitations placed on female writers. Écriture féminine is a Western philosophy, where the style of writing is considered feminine (not female) and it tends to read as eccentric, incomprehensible and inconsistent. Winterson also employs the Carnivalesque into her story by turning everything on it's head and inside out, suspending the ordinary structure of society as we know it, and challenging the hierarchy whilst unifying opposites.

Must-Read Rating - 10/10