If the number of page points I stuck in Jeanette Winterson’s Sexing the Cherry is any indication of how much I liked the book, well then I liked it very much. It certainly made me think. And I very much enjoyed the playfulness of the text as well as its humor.
The title does not refer to some sort of sexual slang or innuendo. It actually refers to determining the sex of a cherry tree. The fine art of grafting–a method of asexual plant propagation in which two plants are joined together–is at the root (excuse the pun) of what the book is about. Grafting is practiced for many reasons, one of which is hardiness. For instance, if you want a fruit tree or a rose that is not particularly hardy to your growing zone, you might try grafting. The root stock of a hardy version–for instance in MN I might choose a rugosa rose for my rootstock because it is hardy in below zero weather–becomes the base for a rose that is not very hardy here–a delicate tea rose perhaps. The resulting plant is a tea rose growing on the roots of a rugosa rose. The roses are tea roses and the plant is considered a tea rose. The grafted plant is two halves that require the other half in order to survive. The flower bearing canes of the tea rose need the hardy rugosa roots so it can survive the winter. The hardy rugosa roots need the energy and nourishment provided by the leaves of the tea rose. Cut the two apart at the graft and both halves will die.
What does this have to do with the book? Everything really. The book takes place in two time periods, London during the reign of Charles II, and the current day. And the characters, both Jordan and the Dog-Woman are alive in both. The book plays with time too, but that would require an entire other post to talk about. Sticking to the idea of grafting, the character of Jordan in old London and the character of Nicholas Jordan in modern London, can be seen as a graft. Which is the root and which is the plant is arguable because Jordan might be all in the imagination of Nicholas and Nicholas might be the part of himself that Jordan goes in search of.
It doesn’t really matter which Jordan is what part of the resulting grafted plant. It only matters that together, the two halves make a whole. One can make speculations on the necessity of imagination for survival as well as the need to integrate soul and body, or the shadow self, or the practical self with the dancing part of the self. If the book can be said to have a plot, this, to me, is it: the journey to become a whole person.
There are so many elements in this book that make it interesting; time, as I mentioned, fairy tales, myth, and fantasy. There is also the element of the quest and the hero. It is a complex book that is written in a deceptively simple style. It is not without its faults. Some moments seem forced and the character of Dog-Woman is too educated for her class and station in life in many respects and too ignorant in others (can a woman who breeds dogs for a living really not know anything about sex?). But the faults are minor chaffings easily ignored in the overall scope of the novel.
This is a Slaves of Golconda discussion book. Visit the Slaves blog to see what others thought of it and feel free to join in or follow the discussion at our new discussion forum.
Wow – what a brilliant analysis, Stefanie! I love it.
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I read this one years ago and don’t really remember much about it, except that, although thinking it was weird, I liked it. Seems like it might be a good one to revisit…
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That sounds really great. I love gardening and time travel (I can do one, but not the other) so it sounds perfect.
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I loved how the title actually meant something very ordinary! I didn’t really think through what it meant, but I like your explanation. This was a very fun read, and it’s the first book in a really long time where I actually laughed out loud (well guffawed anyway) on a few occasions. It was such an outrageous sort of story, one I wouldn’t normally pick up, so I am glad to have read it!
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Thank you so much for the explanation about grafting — it’s a marvelous metaphor, and Winterson uses it well. I like how the metaphor is an important part of the book, but it’s not overdone (I felt like a lot was overdone, but this part wasn’t!).
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I read one of Winterson’s newer books, “The Stone Gods,” last year and I was really impressed with Winterson’s creativity and style (although I found the final third of that book disappointing). Anyways, I’d definitely like to read more of her and this seems like a wonderful place to start. Thanks for the review!
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Glad you liked this Stefanie. I love Winterson. I feel like she really indulges in storytelling for adults. I feel transported and wowed when I read her. Most of the time I don’t really understand what she is trying to say but I get swept up in the people and places and descriptions.
I recently read her book for younger readers ‘Tanglewreck’ and actually think it was far weaker than her adult tales. I thought she would have the imagination required for younger stories, but it fell short.
I loved her ‘Lighthousekeeping’ if you’re tempted to try another one.
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I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on this book. It certainly sounds like a unique novel. I’m sorry I didn’t join in this month and read the book. I also use book darts (page points) when reading. I love them. It makes it so much easier to go back and find points, and I don’t have to highlight or otherwise deface my books.
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Litlove, thank you! It was fun to approach that way. After checking my grafting facts I realized that clearly I was yearning for spring to arrive.
Emily, I do enjoy a good weird book 🙂
Daphne, hmm, I wonder which you can do, the gardening or the time travel? 😉
Danielle, the outrageousness was lots of fun, wasn’t it? I am glad the title ended up being about something ordinary and it was fun that it took a little while to get to that point.
Dorothy, glad to share my gardening knowledge. I liked how this metaphor was more subtle as well. So much was in your face, but this one was a quieter one.
J.S., this is my first Winterson and I was surprised and pleased. I plan on reading more of her for sure.
Jem, interesting that her children’s book wasn’t that good. I too would have guessed her imagination would serve her well. I have Lighthousekeeping in a book pile somewhere. I will have to do a search and dig it out 🙂
Lisa, unique is a good description. I love my page points. Do you loss yours? Somehow mine slowly disappear and every year or so I have to get a new box because I don’t have enough for one book.
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I was interested to see your Winterson review as Jeannette is one of my favorite contemporary authors. Great review. Your review makes me want to go back and read Sexing the Cherry in the new light you shed.
Thanks for a great review.
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I’d Like to know more on Winterson’s narrative technique
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