I've been on my degree course now for six weeks (including reading week). I feel that I have have been exposed to many interesting pieces of literature and ideas. One particular thing stands out for me at the moment; the novel, Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson.
When I first received my copy of the novel I was quite daunted by the reports I had heard from some of my fellow students. One of my friends claimed that Winterson must have been under the influence of LSD when she wrote it. I decided to see for myself. Expecting nothing but confusion I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw as an adult fantasy that played with many "conventional" concepts such as time, morality and even sexuality.
I found one of the protagonists, Dog Woman, particularly interesting. Gigantically proportioned she reminds me of a cross between Rubeus Hagrid from the Harry Potter stories and a female bear. She could be brutal at times, thinking nothing of killing men using nothing but her bare hands, but her relationship with her addopted son, Jordan, could at times be extremely touching.
I feel that because of its unconventional characters and events Sexing the Cherry helped reinforce my belief that people's differences make the world a much more colourful place.
I've almost finished Sexing the Cherry now, which if I'm to be honest is making me feel a little sad as I am really enjoying it. I think I'd probably want to read some more of Jeanette Winterson's work in the future as I have found this particular novel quite refreshing. I'm going to read Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse next. I only hope I get as much out of that as I have Sexing the Cherry.