I am not sure what went wrong between this book and me. I enjoyed the first part but I just couldn't stand the second. By the third part, I had given I am not sure what went wrong between this book and me. I enjoyed the first part but I just couldn't stand the second. By the third part, I had given up on it. It was probably just a bad time to read this book. I hope to reread it someday when I am in the right frame-of-mind for something like it. I would, however, like to add that I really appreciate the experimental style of this book. It uses a lot of different techniques to tell the stories....more
I did not enjoy reading this book. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame-of-mind for it or maybe this book makes very little sense as a whole. Th2.5 stars
I did not enjoy reading this book. Maybe I wasn't in the right frame-of-mind for it or maybe this book makes very little sense as a whole. The blurb on this book reads that Sexing the Cherry "celebrates the power of the imagination..." I can see how imagination is constantly reinforced in this book as an important aspect of the human mind.
I liked how imaginative mapping is contrasted with colonial mapping in the book. The narrator tells us that the Earth is both round and flat and that maps can be redrawn. Each time the maps are redrawn, they will become very different from the previously existing drawings/worlds. Colonial journeying and acts of exoticising foreign lands/people puts this book in the historical and political context of late 17th century England. The more obvious political context is the regicide of Charles I and the rise of Puritanism. Puritanism is challenged in the book in many ways, especially in the story of the parson and the whore and the stories of the twelve dancing princesses.
The book definitely has feminist strains. It also has many quotable passages. The nameless narrator reminds be a lot of the Wife of Bath from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales because she earns her living and constantly uses passages from the Bible (interpreting them in her own way) to justify her actions.
Despite all these interesting elements, somehow the book is missing something. Winterson is known for her fragmentary narratives but I was searching for a link that would hold this book together for me. I am a little disappointed with it because I really enjoyed reading Lighthousekeeping by Winterson....more
A powerful book, no doubt. It is multi-layered and has a lot of grey areas. You also get multiple perspectives which help understand the depth of charA powerful book, no doubt. It is multi-layered and has a lot of grey areas. You also get multiple perspectives which help understand the depth of characters. It gives you so much food for thought, on very significant issues of race, gender, class, people....more
When I first began this book, I thought to myself, "This is nothing like I have ever read before". That is because this book is as original as it is iWhen I first began this book, I thought to myself, "This is nothing like I have ever read before". That is because this book is as original as it is innovative. How to be Both tells the story of two characters, a Renaissance artist (Francesco) and a young girl living in our contemporary times (George). Depending on which edition you get, you will either get Francesco or George's story first. Both stories are marked as 'one'.
The best way to describe this book is to call it a palimpsest. It doesn't matter which story you read first, you'll find echoes of the other story within it. It is almost as if one story is written on top of the other but hasn't erased the previous one entirely. The book is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven. The writing is beautiful. The narrative is very stream of consciousness (think Woolf)- it disrupts linearity of time and makes extensive use of memory as a narrative device. Sexuality, fluidity of gender, how history is written, and the value of art are important themes that are explored in the narrative.
Some writers have expressed doubts and concerns about how to present today's world- a world in which technology and social media have become such important parts of our lives- in fiction. They have discussed how inserting social media within a narrative (the character getting a text or writing a Facebook status, for example) can be awkward and tacky. Learn from Ali Smith, she does it just right! George's story, which is set in present-day, has a lot of references to social media but I never found them to be forced, awkward, or tacky. In fact, there is a constant commentary on today's digital existence in the book. George's mother describes the world in these words- "We're all migrants of our own existence now".
I think that this book will speak to different people in different ways. This book is an experience! I hope to reread it at some later point in life just to see what aspects of the story speak to me then, which perhaps I missed in my first reading....more
I will not rate this book because I don't know how to appropriately rate a book of theory.
However, I would definitely say that this book is not for aI will not rate this book because I don't know how to appropriately rate a book of theory.
However, I would definitely say that this book is not for a lay-reader, or for someone who is looking for an introduction to post-colonial theory. This book was recommended to me as an undergraduate student in a Literary Theory class. I have only gotten around to reading it now (for research purposes) as a post-graduate student, and I am glad that is the case, simply because the book draws on a varied set of theoretical schools/movements/streams that I was not so aware about/did not posses understanding of at the undergraduate level. The most significant of these are modernism, post-modernism, structuralism, and post-structuralism. This book takes it for granted that the reader already possesses an understanding of these and takes them forward to give accounts of how they have influenced/have been appropriated by post-colonial thought.
If you're looking for an introduction to post-colonial theory/literature, I would recommend reading only the Introduction and the first part of this book (I cannot promise that you would understand all of it). Otherwise, if you're already aware of the above-mentioned schools/movements/theories and you want to delve more into post-colonial thought/literature, I highly recommend this book (How do you not know about this?). ...more
Read this book if you love stories, imaginative fiction, simple but beautiful writing, fragmentary narratives, dynamic (not static or unidimensional) Read this book if you love stories, imaginative fiction, simple but beautiful writing, fragmentary narratives, dynamic (not static or unidimensional) characters, and books and libraries. Also read it if you love love....more
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