Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Publisher: London : Jonathan Cape, 2011
Call No.:English 823.92 WIN
I will have it upfront – I do not usually read autobiographies, or biographies for the matter. I am not the type who has any curiosity about the person behind a book, an invention, anything. Yet when I found out that Jeanette Winterson wrote an autobiography, especially one with such an intriguing title, I had to read it.
I was first introduced to Winterson’s Written on the Body just a couple of years back. The lyrical prose of her writing always begs to be read aloud. The next book that I read was Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, her first novel published in 1985, which won the Whitbread Award for First Novel. Some people theorize that Oranges is autobiographical because the protagonist bears her first name, and also how they share similar childhood circumstances. In Why be Happy, Winterson answers that question definitively (I won’t give spoilers here).
This autobiography lends a sneak peek into Winterson’s childhood and psyche. She recounts specific events that were important in her formative years, and her estranged relationship with a Pentecostal religious adoptive mother whose behaviour I can only classify as bizarre. Even though these incidents are piteous, she does not intentionally inspire pity. She narrates from a distance, rationalizing and yet at the same time, she does not shy away from exposing her sore spots. She admits that she has spent a big part of her life looking to belong and to be wanted. In this autobiography, she is not overtly making a point – she does not pretend to be a triumphant survivor or a pitiful orphan; she is just telling her story to those who care to read about it.
I highly recommend this book to all who have read her novels and essays. I won’t go as far as to say this will allow you to understand her, but I dare say it will help you understand why she writes.
To check out her novels at the library, look under the call number WIN.
The featured book cover is copyright of Jonathan Cape Ltd.
Contributed by Lo Wan Ni, Associate Librarian, Public Libraries Singapore
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1 response so far ↓
1 Pat // Jan 22, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Coincidentally, I chanced upon the catalog listing for ‘Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?’ on 20 Jan 12 evening, when I was idly searching OPAC for Jeanette Winterson’s books. It was a lucky hunch, as I wasn’t aware that Winterson had published a new title fairly recently (Nov 2011). Unfortunately, all of NLB’s 4 loan copies are already borrowed out, so I guess I would have to wait my turn.
From review: “I was first introduced to Winterson’s Written on the Body just a couple of years back.”
The very first Winterson title that I read is ‘The Passion’ — I simply came upon it by chance on the shelf, back when Jurong Regional Library was still known as Jurong East Community Library.
The unique writing style & memorable imageries contained in that novel were sufficient to make me a fan of Winterson’s writing. So I moved on to borrow & explore her other books, such as ‘Sexing the Cherry’, ‘Written on the Body’, ‘Oranges are Not the Only Fruit’, ‘Art and Lies’, ‘Gut Symmetries’, ‘Boating for Beginners’, & so on. To date, I have read all but 3 of her adult titles, as well as some of her kid’s titles.
It’s great that NLB stocks the complete collection of one of the most imaginative & lyrically-adventurous writers of the past century. If one browses OPAC, one would find that Winterson’s books are regularly checked out.
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