Jeanette Winterson

[Babybeargrylls]

JUst finished, in tears, 'Why be happy when you can be normal?' by JW. Loved it, have no one to talk to about it though and I found the book unsettling and poignant. Has anyone else read it?

Yes, I read it and really liked it. Such a sad story, and she writes beautifully. But that difficult background has clearly informed her writing and made her the great writer she is, so it is a case of triumph out of adversity (if that's not too pat).

I read and loved it. The title alone was enough to make me want to read it - what a quote!
What shocked me was the fact that her childhood was actually worse than the fictionalised version in Oranges. Difficult to believe some of her mother's behaviour, and yet she manages to capture a lot of humour there as well.
Reading her thoughts on being adopted and the search for her birth mother was poignant particularly as I'm adopted myself. She puts things into words very well - the feeling of being 'dropped into the story after it has started'.

I loved it and thought it was excellent. She tells a good story, does JW

I liked the first half a lot and was then quite disappointed with the second half.

I liked it, and I thought it was a moving commentary on the harm done when maternal love is absent or inadequate.