Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)

Jeanette grows up expected to become a missionary, then finds that her desires do not fit the story prepared for her. Winterson lets biblical structures, jokes and inserted tales pull against the apparent simplicity of a coming-of-age account. This first novel is a useful place to hear a writer making inherited language serve a different life. Its wit carries affection and anger without smoothing away religious rejection.