Sexing the Cherry (Winterson, Jeanette)
Jeanette Winterson's dazzling novels have earned her widespread and unanimous international acclaim, establishing her as a major figure in world literature. Sexing the Cherry is an imaginative tour de force exploring history, imagination, and the nature of time.
In a fantastic world that is and is not seventeenth-century England, a baby is found floating in the Thames. The child is rescued by the Dog Woman, a murderous gentle giant who names her newfound trophy Jordan and takes him out for walks on a leash. When he grows up Jordan, like Gulliver, travels the world, but finds that the strangest wonders are spun out of his own head. The strangest wonder of all is Time. Does it exist? What is its nature? Why does every journey conceal another journey within its lines? What is the difference between seventeenth-century Jordan and twentieth-century Nicholas Jordan, a navel cadet in a warship? And who are the Twelve Dancing Princesses?
With a story full of shimmering epiphanies, Jeanette Winterson again demonstrates the keenness of her craft and the singularity of her vision.
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Community Reviews
Sexing the Cherry is a rare gem. How can a book of barely 150 pages hold so many layers, so much imagination, and such audacious storytelling? On the surface, it’s the tale of the Dog Woman, a giant of a woman, who adopts an orphan boy named Jordan in 17th-century London. But beneath that, it spirals into a dazzling meditation on time, reality, love, and identity.
Winterson’s writing is lyrical and philosophical without ever feeling dry. Every sentence brims with wonder and wit, pulling you into a world where logic bends and meanings multiply. If you’re searching for a moral or a message in this topsy-turvy narrative, you’ll find plenty, though you’ll have to dig for them yourself.
But if you prefer your stories straightforward and realistic, cherries might not be your fruit.
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