Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Written on the Body

Jeanette Winterson’s Written on the Body is an intimate exploration of love, loss, and the physicality that binds them. The novel opens with the striking line, “Why is the measure of love loss?”—a question that resonates throughout the text as the unnamed, ungendered narrator grapples with the consuming affair they have with Louise, a married woman.

Winterson’s prose is a blend of lyrical beauty and confessional reflections, drawing the reader into the narrator’s intense emotional landscape. The natural imagery, with its flora and fauna mirroring the narrator’s internal state, is a testament to Winterson’s ability to evoke vulnerability through nature. “You are a pool of clear water where the light plays,” Louise tells the narrator, encapsulating the tender yet tumultuous relationship that drives the novel.

However, Written on the Body is not just a love story; it’s also a critique of compulsory heterosexuality. The narrator’s observations on marriage—“No one can legislate love; it cannot be given orders or cajoled into service. Love belongs to itself, deaf to pleading and unmoved by violence,”—challenge the societal norms that confine love to rigid structures. This, coupled with the narrator’s yearning for a love that is quietly fulfilling instead of deeply devastating, adds a subtle yet poignant layer of queerness to the text.

Yet, the novel falters with its fatphobic descriptions of a character named Gail. Winterson’s portrayal, comparing Gail to a strip of bacon, feels jarring and outdated, detracting from the overall narrative. This discomfort, coupled with a problematic reference to autism, casts a shadow over an otherwise beautifully written book.

Despite these flaws, Written on the Body remains a powerful meditation on the intersections of love, body, and mortality. Winterson’s prose is undeniably gorgeous, and while the plot may meander, the emotional resonance is undeniable. I would have rated this book 4 stars, but the fatphobia and ableist language lower it to a 3.75. Winterson’s writing is still worth reading, but these aspects cannot be overlooked.

📖 Recommended For: Readers who love lyrical prose, those drawn to introspective explorations of love and loss, anyone interested in narratives that challenge traditional notions of gender and identity.

🔑 Key Themes: Love and Loss, Compulsory Heterosexuality, Body and Mortality, Queerness and Identity.

Content Warnings

zotty's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Content Warnings

peachikeenz's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Unreliable narrator, plenty of literary devices and symbolism that made the book entertaining and more of a puzzle than just a story. Lots of #deep passages that might come across as disingenuous but it’s difficult because the narrator is so ~interesting~. I found this book to be frustrating because it was simultaneously doing THE MOST, but still had some good take away themes.

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madread8's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful, touching prose. Sprinkled with humorous lines.

Content Warnings

ameliaszosz's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kenzie_roonie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Possibly the most beautifully-written book I’ve ever read. Gender of the narrator is never revealed, so forces the reader to either make assumptions of deconstruct them completely. A must-read for those interrogating their relationship with gender and sexuality.

Content Warnings

balfies's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was assigned this book twice at uni and didn't read it either time. Kicking myself now.

A story of how passion and love consumes the flesh and becomes the flesh, this treaty on fluid and gender is lyrical and deep and sinewy. Gorgeous writing, gripping use of language, timeless psychosexual landscape.

Content Warnings

sonmel2910's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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