Your Stories #10: Sexing the Cherry

YOUR STORIES discovers the books that are important to you. These posts tell the stories of favourited books and their readers.

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JEANETTE WINTERSON'S SEXING THE CHERRY

CHOSEN BY LOUISE FROM STARS IN JARS

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When did you first read Sexing the Cherry?

My first and unforgettable peek into the weird and wonderful world of Winterson was when I was an English Literature student in University and this title was on the reading list for our module on Magic Realism.

What is it about this book that makes it your favourite?

This novel is short but packed ripe like a watermelon with juicy magic realism. Winterson seamlessly incorporates and interweaves time travel, fairytales, historical events and a haunting and darkly surreal plot within 140 pages.

The plot originates in 17th century England and centres on 'The Dog Woman', a classically grotesque character typical of this genre. She is so large she can hold a dozen oranges in her mouth at once and harbors fleas in her crater sized small-pox scars. The Dog Woman acts as adoptive mother to Jordan, a young and otherworldly boy whom she found on the filthy banks of The Thames as a baby. The story follows these two characters as Jordan embarks on a bizarre and fantastical journey to find his true 'Self'.

This is not necessarily an easy read: the plot follows an un-linear timeline, there are journeys within journeys, frequent jumps between the 17th century and modern day, changes of pace and direction, and comical digressions. However, Winterson executes these with literary mastery, providing a lush and sensory experience for the reader.... you can smell the stench of Old England, walk across exotic islands, discover the 'real' reason for the Great Fire of London and peer into the boudoir of the 'Twelve Dancing Princesses'.

What kind of influence has this book had on your personal life?

For me, Winterson's carnivalesque writing and rich imagery has been one of the biggest influences on my own writing style and ambitions as an author. I have loved and will continue to love this book for it's influence on the way I approach writing myself... its willful abandon of literary rules, its unbridled use of imagination and imagery, magic and color. For its darkness and its satire, for continually turning the reader on their head, and for two of the best written and unforgettable characters in literary history... In my humble opinion!

Please share with us one of your favourite passages from the book.

'It is a banana, madam,' said the rogue.

A banana? What on God's good earth was a banana? 'Such a thing never grew in Paradise,' I said.

'Indeed it did, madam,' says he, all puffed up like a poison adder. 'This fruit is from the Island of Bermuda, which is closer to Paradise than you will ever be.'

He lifted it up above his head, and the crowd, seeing it for the first time, roared and nudged each other and demanded to know what poor fool had been so reduced as to sell his vitality.

'It's either painted or infected,' said I, 'for there's none such a colour that I know.'

Johnson shouted above the din as best he could...

'THIS IS NOT SOME UNFORTUNATE'S RAKE. IT IS THE FRUIT OF A TREE. IT IS TO BE PEELED AND EATEN.'

At this there was unanimous retching. There was no good woman could put that to her mouth, and for a man it was the practice of cannibals. We had not gone to church all these years and been washed in the blood of Jesus only to eat ourselves up the way the Heathen do."

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Louise is a teacher, writer, blogger at Stars in Jars, and dreamer currently living in South Korea. She teaches English to Kindergarten students, writes short children's stories and dreams of a life in the mountains with inky writin' fingers, belly scootin' babies and being fat with memories and experience.