![]() ![]() I am a little familiar with the world in which she was raised and can remember beach crusaders and camps seeking to fill in beach time for families on holidays. Winterson turns her biblical inheritance on its head by dividing her text into sections with the names of biblical books – all a bit sly and witty considering her content. I found the references to ‘orange’ and pebbles at times irritatingly intrusive and possibly my only complaint against the writing. There has also to be a strong echo of the biblical material with which she was raised and that means reading and preaching the bible and signing hymns and songs. ![]() There is a plainness of voice in this work that mirrors effectively a younger person’s view of their world. The peculiarities of her writing voice can be traced back to her mother’s speech (including public voice) mixed with her grim yet homely Mancusian environment. Much of what I said then remains true of this earlier book though with a softer edge, I thought. That was not long after its publication and after a well publicized visit to Australia by the author. I read ‘Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?’ in 2012 and wrote a note on it for the group. ![]()
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