Review of 'Per què ser ferliç quan podries ser normal?' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
ain, molt bo. abraçaries la Jeanette per explicar tot això d’aquesta manera
Hardcover, 240 pages
Published Oct. 25, 2011 by Knopf Canada.
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
4 stars
(13 reviews)
Memories of the author about her difficult childhood as the adopted daughter of an English mother with strong religious convictions, and her subsequent search for her biological mother.
Review of 'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I am very impressed with this book. Winterson describes very well how someone feels when she does not grow up in the right environment, she does not get love and she questions her origin. And how she, very powerfully, makes sure she finds her own path.
And the language is so beautiful. You can read sentences over and over again.
Review of 'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This is the most perfect book. Yes, perfect has degrees, or so life teaches me. I want to quote many paragraphs, to say, "This is me. This is also me. This is me, too. Hear this! Savor this!" The book gives rise to those desires because Jeanette Winterson really looks at herself. She sees. And she speaks the secret truths (perfectly, eloquently) that we all know (but can not express).
I want to send this book to loved ones and say, "If you can see her, truly see her, then you will be in the land I inhabit. And if you are there, when I meet you on the path, you will see me."
There are differences. My self-destructive reaction to childhood crazy was mostly self directed. And I am not scrappy. But the books-as-redeemer and the feelings and the having to find the bottom before you can really, truly …
This is the most perfect book. Yes, perfect has degrees, or so life teaches me. I want to quote many paragraphs, to say, "This is me. This is also me. This is me, too. Hear this! Savor this!" The book gives rise to those desires because Jeanette Winterson really looks at herself. She sees. And she speaks the secret truths (perfectly, eloquently) that we all know (but can not express).
I want to send this book to loved ones and say, "If you can see her, truly see her, then you will be in the land I inhabit. And if you are there, when I meet you on the path, you will see me."
There are differences. My self-destructive reaction to childhood crazy was mostly self directed. And I am not scrappy. But the books-as-redeemer and the feelings and the having to find the bottom before you can really, truly live. That I know. Don't you? Have you really, truly lived? I predict that she will. And I can not wait to hear more from her.
She is, arguably, our most brilliant contemporary wordsmith. My words in review can not do her justice. The book is her craftsmanship, her craftsmanship is the book. If ever there was proof of Malcom Gladwell's 10,000 hours theory, she is it.
Review of 'Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Jeanette was adopted by the Wintersons in the sixties and raised in a terraced house in Accrington, Lancashire. The evangelistic Mrs W was eternally disappointed in her, comparing her to the son they never had. Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? is the true story behind Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Jeanette’s far from happy childhood.
I do wonder if I would have got more out of this having read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit as the first half felt very close to being a misery memoir, if a well-written one, which is something I like to avoid. Her childhood was depressing by all accounts and I was unsure if some bits were meant to be funny. It felt uncomfortable to be laughing at her mother; I guess it's a case of you either laugh or cry but I found the whole thing tragic. As …
Jeanette was adopted by the Wintersons in the sixties and raised in a terraced house in Accrington, Lancashire. The evangelistic Mrs W was eternally disappointed in her, comparing her to the son they never had. Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? is the true story behind Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Jeanette’s far from happy childhood.
I do wonder if I would have got more out of this having read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit as the first half felt very close to being a misery memoir, if a well-written one, which is something I like to avoid. Her childhood was depressing by all accounts and I was unsure if some bits were meant to be funny. It felt uncomfortable to be laughing at her mother; I guess it's a case of you either laugh or cry but I found the whole thing tragic. As I was reading it for book group, I did carry on and felt the book improved once she left home.
Jeanette does have some interesting things to say about books and reading. I liked her secret stash of books and her trips to the library to read English Literature from A to Z. I even enjoyed the parts which dealt with the history of Accrington and the culture of the North at the time. Perhaps it’s just hard for me to relate to her; the gender politics of the Thatcher era are so different from anything I’ve had to deal with. Whilst it's good to know these things, it's not really something I enjoy reading about.
I can see why this has been chosen as one of the World Book Night titles. It does show how reading and books can change your life. It will be interesting to see how people take to it with no knowledge of the author.
