jeanette winterson is one of my favorite authors. her language, the way she writes- is indescribably beautiful. her words just melt.
the plot of this story wasn't anything amazing- its her writing that makes it so. the narrator, who is never identified as male or female goes from (married) woman to woman breaking hearts and falling out of infatuation when another woman steps into the picture.
until s/he meets Louise who is married to Elgin, and it is purely a marriage of convenience. the narrator claims to fall in love with Louise and their story is a tragic one.
i loved this because of a few things. i can sooooooo identify with the narrator. s/he reminds me of someone i was in a relationship with for three years. i was the stable one while they repeated went from woman to woman, chasing that high, that feeling of newness and excitement. they speak the same, and speak of women the same.
some of my favorite quotes from written on the body
"why is the measure of love loss?"
"..You were driving but I was lost in my own navigation."
"I ran a schizophrenic dialogue with myself through the hours of darkness and into the small hours, so called because the heart shrivels up to the size of a pea and there is no hope left in it."
"To lose someone you love is to alter your life for ever. You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved. The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never closes. How could it? The particularness of someone who mattered enough to grieve over is not made of anodyne by death. This hole in my heart is the shape of you and no-one else can fit it. Why would I want them to?"
the plot of this story wasn't anything amazing- its her writing that makes it so. the narrator, who is never identified as male or female goes from (married) woman to woman breaking hearts and falling out of infatuation when another woman steps into the picture.
until s/he meets Louise who is married to Elgin, and it is purely a marriage of convenience. the narrator claims to fall in love with Louise and their story is a tragic one.
i loved this because of a few things. i can sooooooo identify with the narrator. s/he reminds me of someone i was in a relationship with for three years. i was the stable one while they repeated went from woman to woman, chasing that high, that feeling of newness and excitement. they speak the same, and speak of women the same.
some of my favorite quotes from written on the body
"why is the measure of love loss?"
"..You were driving but I was lost in my own navigation."
"I ran a schizophrenic dialogue with myself through the hours of darkness and into the small hours, so called because the heart shrivels up to the size of a pea and there is no hope left in it."
"To lose someone you love is to alter your life for ever. You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved. The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never closes. How could it? The particularness of someone who mattered enough to grieve over is not made of anodyne by death. This hole in my heart is the shape of you and no-one else can fit it. Why would I want them to?"
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
