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Cecily's Reviews > Written on the Body
Written on the Body
by
by
Cecily's review
bookshelves: sexuality-gender-lgbtqi, miscellaneous-fiction, poetry, death-grief-bereavement-mortality
Apr 07, 2019
bookshelves: sexuality-gender-lgbtqi, miscellaneous-fiction, poetry, death-grief-bereavement-mortality
On the surface, this is a sensual, reflective, and sometimes humorous recollection of the narrator’s loves won and lost, compared with the current one. Unwelcome news triggers a difficult choice, with huge ramifications. It was made with love, but was it the right decision, and did the narrator even have the right to make it? It’s a curious amalgam of styles, yet unmistakably Winterson, including a set of short, more abstract sections, and the fact the bisexual narrator’s gender is unspecified.
But peel back the gilt and what’s beneath is not so straightforward. All the best literature has a unique message for every reader, on each encounter. Gilt reflects: what spoke to me is not what you will hear and respond to.
Image: Antique mirror (.)
I found this shockingly, painfully good. I knew it was about relationships and was ambiguous about gender, but I was unprepared for the raw dissection of loss. It punched hard, but was shot through with love. Definitely the right book at the right time for me.
� Why is the measure of love loss? �
The opening line, repeated later, brought tears. It’s the converse of my recent experience of grief as the price of love - love with nowhere to go. But nevertheless, and without question, “Love is worth it�.
"You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved."
Image: My father’s keys, his writing instantly recognisable from just four letters.
�No-one tells you in grief-counselling or books on loss what it will be like when you find part of the beloved unexpectedly.�
Love is�
�I went to church� I wanted the comfort of other people’s faith.�
The Bible of her childhood infuses atheist Winterson’s writing, and this is no exception: phrases, ideas, and liturgical repetition and rhythm. Here, it’s most obvious in how the “emotional nomad� writes about love:
�Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no.�
and
�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. Love is not something you can negotiate. Love is the one thing stronger than desire and the only proper reason to resist temptation.�
From 1 Corinthians 13, v4-8 (NIV):
�Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.�
But I don’t think the Bible is right: love can fail:
�What then kills love? Only this: neglect.�
The other message, from way back in 1992, is that gender doesn’t matter; there is no question or hand-wringing; it’s not relevant to the story.
Image: “Love is love� in current parlance. (.)
Marriage
�Is happiness always a compromise?�
�Contentment� are you sure it’s not an absence of feeling?�
In my teens, I remember my father quoting (allegedly) Prince Philip: “Marriage is the highest form of prostitution�. There is truth in that, touched on repeatedly here. We all exchange things for sex and love: our motives are mixed and rarely pure. And the promises of marriage can be hard to keep.
�Marriage is the flimsiest weapon against desire.�
�Cheating is easy� To borrow against the trust someone has placed in you costs nothing at first.�
The Translator, Translated
�Articulacy of the fingers� signing on the body body longing.�
�Your flesh is my flesh. You deciphered me and now I am plain to read.�
The narrator is a translator (there are many references to great literature, as usual for Winterson), but better in abstract than with those they love, let alone themself.
�Written on the body is a secret code only visible in certain lights� In places the palimpsest is so heavily worked that the letters feel like Braille� I didn’t know that Louse would have reading hands. She has translated me into her own book.�
Bio-anatomical Prose Poetry
�I know the stigmata of presumption.�
There are no chapters, but two-thirds through, there are four short sections that defy easy description: semi-abstract musings on cells, skin, skeleton, and “special senses�, as the narrator agonises over anticipatory loss in a profound and sensual way.
�To remember you it’s my own body I touch.�
Ending
�Is this the proper ending? If not the proper then the inevitable?�
As I approached the end, I was nervous: I wasn’t sure what a happy ending would be, but knew I didn't want one. I need not have feared. It is everything and nothing - interpret as you like. I could quote the whole closing paragraph, without fear of spoilers.
In her brilliant autobiography, Why be Happy when you Could be Normal? (see my review HERE), Winterson categorises three types of ending: revenge, tragedy and forgiveness. Both books contain all three.
Other Quotes
Memory of Love
� “How easy is it to destroy the past and how difficult to forget it?�
� “Wisdom says forget. The body howls.�
� “I’ve tried to get you out of my head but I can’t seem to get you out of my flesh.�
� “I don’t want to be reminded of you, I want you.�
� “The power of memory is such that it can lift reality for a time.�
Relationships and Fallout
� “I used to think of marriage as a plate-glass window just begging for a brick.�
� “Odd that marriage, a public display and free to all, gives way to that most secret of liaisons, an adulterous affair.�
� “I had to keep my heart to myself in case I infected somebody� with “emotional clap�.
� “You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time.�
� “I had no dreams to possess you - but I wanted you to possess me.�
� “With old friends� you know one another as well as lovers do and you have less to pretend about� - so you’re more likely to be honest.
Dry Humour
� “The ultimate act of selfishness; a woman who put herself first.�
� “Her husband lies over her like a tarpaulin.�
� “The women wore their jewellery like medals� a palimpsest of love-affairs� on show at the opera.
� “I’d run my hands over her padded flesh with all the enthusiasm of a second-hand sofa dealer.�
� “They considered themselves to be Australian aristocracy, that is, they were descended from convicts.�
� “She had a steady hand but she like to spill. It made work for her daughter.�
Other
� “What you risk reveals what you value.�
� “People usually know exactly why they are happy. They very rarely know why they are miserable.�
Winterson is queen of the extended metaphor. This is one of many (others include maps, animals, jigsaws):
�When she lifted the soup spoon to her lips how I longed to be that innocent piece of stainless steel� Let me be diced carrot, vermicelli, just so that you will take me in your mouth. I envied the French stick. I watched her break and butter each piece, soak it slowly in her bowl, let it float, grow heavy and fat, sink under the deep red weight and then be resurrected to the glorious pleasure of her teeth� I will taste you if only through your cooking.�
But peel back the gilt and what’s beneath is not so straightforward. All the best literature has a unique message for every reader, on each encounter. Gilt reflects: what spoke to me is not what you will hear and respond to.
Image: Antique mirror (.)
I found this shockingly, painfully good. I knew it was about relationships and was ambiguous about gender, but I was unprepared for the raw dissection of loss. It punched hard, but was shot through with love. Definitely the right book at the right time for me.
� Why is the measure of love loss? �
The opening line, repeated later, brought tears. It’s the converse of my recent experience of grief as the price of love - love with nowhere to go. But nevertheless, and without question, “Love is worth it�.
"You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved."
Image: My father’s keys, his writing instantly recognisable from just four letters.
�No-one tells you in grief-counselling or books on loss what it will be like when you find part of the beloved unexpectedly.�
Love is�
�I went to church� I wanted the comfort of other people’s faith.�
The Bible of her childhood infuses atheist Winterson’s writing, and this is no exception: phrases, ideas, and liturgical repetition and rhythm. Here, it’s most obvious in how the “emotional nomad� writes about love:
�Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no.�
and
�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. Love is not something you can negotiate. Love is the one thing stronger than desire and the only proper reason to resist temptation.�
From 1 Corinthians 13, v4-8 (NIV):
�Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.�
But I don’t think the Bible is right: love can fail:
�What then kills love? Only this: neglect.�
The other message, from way back in 1992, is that gender doesn’t matter; there is no question or hand-wringing; it’s not relevant to the story.
Image: “Love is love� in current parlance. (.)
Marriage
�Is happiness always a compromise?�
�Contentment� are you sure it’s not an absence of feeling?�
In my teens, I remember my father quoting (allegedly) Prince Philip: “Marriage is the highest form of prostitution�. There is truth in that, touched on repeatedly here. We all exchange things for sex and love: our motives are mixed and rarely pure. And the promises of marriage can be hard to keep.
�Marriage is the flimsiest weapon against desire.�
�Cheating is easy� To borrow against the trust someone has placed in you costs nothing at first.�
The Translator, Translated
�Articulacy of the fingers� signing on the body body longing.�
�Your flesh is my flesh. You deciphered me and now I am plain to read.�
The narrator is a translator (there are many references to great literature, as usual for Winterson), but better in abstract than with those they love, let alone themself.
�Written on the body is a secret code only visible in certain lights� In places the palimpsest is so heavily worked that the letters feel like Braille� I didn’t know that Louse would have reading hands. She has translated me into her own book.�
Bio-anatomical Prose Poetry
�I know the stigmata of presumption.�
There are no chapters, but two-thirds through, there are four short sections that defy easy description: semi-abstract musings on cells, skin, skeleton, and “special senses�, as the narrator agonises over anticipatory loss in a profound and sensual way.
�To remember you it’s my own body I touch.�
Ending
�Is this the proper ending? If not the proper then the inevitable?�
As I approached the end, I was nervous: I wasn’t sure what a happy ending would be, but knew I didn't want one. I need not have feared. It is everything and nothing - interpret as you like. I could quote the whole closing paragraph, without fear of spoilers.
In her brilliant autobiography, Why be Happy when you Could be Normal? (see my review HERE), Winterson categorises three types of ending: revenge, tragedy and forgiveness. Both books contain all three.
Other Quotes
Memory of Love
� “How easy is it to destroy the past and how difficult to forget it?�
� “Wisdom says forget. The body howls.�
� “I’ve tried to get you out of my head but I can’t seem to get you out of my flesh.�
� “I don’t want to be reminded of you, I want you.�
� “The power of memory is such that it can lift reality for a time.�
Relationships and Fallout
� “I used to think of marriage as a plate-glass window just begging for a brick.�
� “Odd that marriage, a public display and free to all, gives way to that most secret of liaisons, an adulterous affair.�
� “I had to keep my heart to myself in case I infected somebody� with “emotional clap�.
� “You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time.�
� “I had no dreams to possess you - but I wanted you to possess me.�
� “With old friends� you know one another as well as lovers do and you have less to pretend about� - so you’re more likely to be honest.
Dry Humour
� “The ultimate act of selfishness; a woman who put herself first.�
� “Her husband lies over her like a tarpaulin.�
� “The women wore their jewellery like medals� a palimpsest of love-affairs� on show at the opera.
� “I’d run my hands over her padded flesh with all the enthusiasm of a second-hand sofa dealer.�
� “They considered themselves to be Australian aristocracy, that is, they were descended from convicts.�
� “She had a steady hand but she like to spill. It made work for her daughter.�
Other
� “What you risk reveals what you value.�
� “People usually know exactly why they are happy. They very rarely know why they are miserable.�
Winterson is queen of the extended metaphor. This is one of many (others include maps, animals, jigsaws):
�When she lifted the soup spoon to her lips how I longed to be that innocent piece of stainless steel� Let me be diced carrot, vermicelli, just so that you will take me in your mouth. I envied the French stick. I watched her break and butter each piece, soak it slowly in her bowl, let it float, grow heavy and fat, sink under the deep red weight and then be resurrected to the glorious pleasure of her teeth� I will taste you if only through your cooking.�
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Reading Progress
December 7, 2016
– Shelved
December 7, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 22, 2017
– Shelved as:
sexuality-gender-lgbtqi
March 19, 2019
–
Started Reading
March 22, 2019
–
32.63%
"The opening line, repeated later:
“Why is the measure of love loss?�
The converse of recent musings that grief is the price of love, love with nowhere to go.
This early Winterson is sensuous, philosophical, rambling recollections of loves won and lost.
“How easy is it to destroy the past and how difficult to forget it?�"
page
62
“Why is the measure of love loss?�
The converse of recent musings that grief is the price of love, love with nowhere to go.
This early Winterson is sensuous, philosophical, rambling recollections of loves won and lost.
“How easy is it to destroy the past and how difficult to forget it?�"
March 27, 2019
–
82.11%
""You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved."
This is shockingly, painfully good, but not at all what I expected.
I knew it was about relationships and was ambiguous about gender, but I was unprepared for the raw exploration of loss (in addition to the expected love and passion).
I'm not sure what a happy ending would be, but I don't think I want one. I'm wary of finishing. (But I will.)"
page
156
This is shockingly, painfully good, but not at all what I expected.
I knew it was about relationships and was ambiguous about gender, but I was unprepared for the raw exploration of loss (in addition to the expected love and passion).
I'm not sure what a happy ending would be, but I don't think I want one. I'm wary of finishing. (But I will.)"
March 31, 2019
–
100.0%
"“Is this the proper ending? If not the proper then the inevitable?�
My tears are falling. The main ways this spoke to me were not necessarily the intended ones, but great literature can do that. This is an extraordinary amalgam of styles that punches hard, but lovingly. Definitely the right book at the right time.
“I don’t want to be reminded of you, I want you.�
Review to come."
page
190
My tears are falling. The main ways this spoke to me were not necessarily the intended ones, but great literature can do that. This is an extraordinary amalgam of styles that punches hard, but lovingly. Definitely the right book at the right time.
“I don’t want to be reminded of you, I want you.�
Review to come."
March 31, 2019
–
Finished Reading
April 7, 2019
– Shelved as:
miscellaneous-fiction
April 7, 2019
– Shelved as:
poetry
April 8, 2019
– Shelved as:
death-grief-bereavement-mortality
Comments Showing 1-31 of 31 (31 new)
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Your review is as emotional and as moving as the book itself. And deservingly so. "But I don’t think the Bible is right: love can fail" Agreed, love is not everything and sometimes, sadly, it doesn't suffice. Written On The Body was the first Winterson I read. Five books later, it's still in my top three. How flexible it is with its interpretation and stimulation is one of the many things I can't forget about it just. I still find myself returning to some of its passages years later...Now I'm going to sleep with my mind lingering on it. Thanks, Cecily.
Lynne wrote: "Cecily, An excellent review as ever..."You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved."
Life continues and yes it may be empty without the loved one but there are only two choices; either get on with life and make the most of it or else commit suicide..."
Thanks Lynne, and I don't think we disagree as much as you might think. I suspect our difference lies in how we define "get over it".
Lynne wrote: "Also there are different kinds of love and loss..."
I'm sure there are. My father's suicide was totally unexpected. Not better or worse than the sort of slow loss you watched, endured, and grieved in advance with your husband, but certainly different. So far, it's the first really close and unprepared bereavement I've had to cope with. Up till now, it's just be grandparents, after a long decline.
Joshie wrote: "Your review is as emotional and as moving as the book itself. And deservingly so...Written On The Body was the first Winterson I read. Five books later, it's still in my top three. How flexible it is with its interpretation and stimulation is one of the many things I can't forget about it"
I've just read your review from a few years ago. Without knowing (or needing to know) what personal difficulties you were experiencing at the time, I feel for you, and with you. She is a brilliant author, in part because of all the pain she has come through. She was broken, and thus speaks especially (but not exclusively) to those who are at low points.
Beautiful, personal, and nuanced review.
Isn't she just unique? I find myself wanting to quote every second sentence, and I see from your choices that you do the same. I read this one twice, and liked it even better the second time. Great review!
Robin wrote: "Beautiful, personal, and nuanced review."Thanks, Robin - as was yours.
I first read her years ago, and have recently returned. I need more Winterson in my life.
Lisa wrote: "Isn't she just unique? I find myself wanting to quote every second sentence, and I see from your choices that you do the same..."Thanks, Lisa. The more I read of her, the more I wonder why I read her years ago, and then rather forgot about her.
leslie hamod wrote: "Wonderful review and painful as well. Such a poignant reflection on your part has given me pause for introspection. Especially the quotation "what then kills love?..."I think this is why we read, reflect, and review, isn't it? Thanks, leslie.
Cecily wrote: "Joshie wrote: "Your review is as emotional and as moving as the book itself. And deservingly so...Written On The Body was the first Winterson I read. Five books later, it's still in my top three. ..."
Thank you. I've actually forgotten I wrote a rather personal review about it which I don't often do but I responded to this book otherwise. Some books arrive at the right time and right place, they change and affect us deeply.
Joshie wrote: "...Some books arrive at the right time and right place, they change and affect us deeply."Yes, and the fact that can be hard to predict is one reason why I prefer not to have a fixed schedule of what I read when.
Lovely review, Cecily. I adore this book. It is my favourite book of one of my favourite writers.
T.D. wrote: "Lovely review, Cecily. I adore this book. It is my favourite book of one of my favourite writers."Thanks, T.D.. And to think it's one of her early ones!
Somehow, your moving review reminds me of Jon Stefansson's 'Heaven and Hell' - the idea that great books “send out words like rescue teams when days are difficult.� This is one such book for you, Cecily.
Laysee wrote: "Somehow, your moving review reminds me of Jon Stefansson's 'Heaven and Hell' - the idea that great books “send out words like rescue teams when days are difficult.�..."Yes, of course. What a perfect connection - to another very special book. Thanks for pointing it out.
Brava for this vibrating chant to love and loss, Cecily.You revealed many aspects of this novel that I might have overlooked. Maybe the time wasn't right when I picked this one, as your review questions my lukewarm response to it.
Dolors wrote: "Brava for this vibrating chant to love and loss, Cecily.You revealed many aspects of this novel that I might have overlooked. Maybe the time wasn't right when I picked this one..."
Evidently so. The visceral nature of this Winterson probably makes timing more relevant than with some of her others. That worked in my favour, but not yours.
The photo of your father's keys with his writing... I came across something similar after my father died, and I can relate to that bringing up many emotions. I think I need to add this one. Lovely review, Cecily.
Cheri wrote: "The photo of your father's keys with his writing... I came across something similar after my father died, and I can relate to that bringing up many emotions..."I think it hits especially hard when it's such a trivial item, not usually associated with emotion. Going through letters and photos, I expect to be poignant; just getting a set of keys, less so.
Cheri wrote: " I think I need to add this one. Lovely review, Cecily."
I'm sure you'd find it worth your time. However, it looks as if you've not read Winterson yet. I strongly suggest you read a little bit about her life and background before reading anything of hers, as it infuses all her work. As a minimum, there's her Wikipedia page: and her own website: . Five minutes, in total. Should you want to go a little deeper, there's her fictionalised account of her childhood, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, but far better is her more recent autobiography, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?.
I enjoyed your excellent review Cecily. I haven't read her more fiction-orientated work for a long time, and to be honest struggled, as often I'd come up against abstraction (this may be her use of metaphor that you refer to) and allusions to other writing where I wouldn't have made connections. Loss and grieving are very much on my mind at the moment, more so from a historical perspective, and even more so for what wasn't, or what could have been.
I have this book at home so I will have read it at some time. Another to add to my re-read list.
Paul wrote: "I enjoyed your excellent review Cecily. I haven't read her more fiction-orientated work for a long time, and to be honest struggled, as often I'd come up against abstraction...Loss and grieving are very much on my mind at the moment, more so from a historical perspective, and even more so for what wasn't, or what could have been."
Whereas I've read only her fiction (plus Why be Happy?). However, I can see why her allusory, sometimes illusory, and often ethereal diversion might not be to everyone's taste or mood.
I'm sorry you've been pondering on loss and grief, even of a historical kind. Painful, but I hope you find healing and understanding - of yourself and others.
I think it may be more so due to my depth of understanding at the time. Yes, that grief process, so non-linear. Much like this author.
Paul wrote: "... Yes, that grief process, so non-linear. Much like this author."Yes! Winterson is not new to me, but sudden bereavement is, and I think you've pinpointed an important similarity. It makes sense in terms of her own losses as well: her birth family, the potential love of her adopted mother, her home, the faith she was raised in, and so on. Thanks, Paul.
You’re welcome. I am actually excited about revisiting. As you describe just now, it does make sense. How could one simply grieve. It would need revisiting at times when it was relatively safe to do so; or not as she described in Why Be Happy. Because grief, at the time, would be too much, overwhelming.
My father died from a massive heart attack, thirty minutes after I told him by telephone we were on the way to my parents for Christmas. My grief, still four years later, is not linear. It fleetingly presents itself. That sounds as if I’m not in control, and I’m not really. But I let it roll when it bubbles up. Not always invited. But accepting. And, Christmas Day, we celebrated and only briefly commemorated on that day. Grief held in suspension.
You will probably find, know already, that this loss is behaving in this way. Your words in your review give a sense it.
Apologies. I just wanted to acknowledge this for you as well.
I have to read this book again.
Lovely review, Mrs. but " Unwelcome news triggers a difficult choice, with huge ramifications." led me to expect a novel about Brexit 😅 Probably a bit too emotional for my current frame of mind, but possibly just what the doctor (small "d") ordered for you 😊
Apatt wrote: "Lovely review, Mrs. but " Unwelcome news triggers a difficult choice, with huge ramifications." led me to expect a novel about Brexit 😅..."Everything has a Brexit angle, and none of them are good. Leave or remain, there is no good or easy outcome from where we are now.
(My elliptical phrasing was, as you surely realise, to avoid spoilers.)
Cecily wrote: "My elliptical phrasing was, as you surely realise, to avoid spoilers.."I thought Brexit is already spoiled?
Paul wrote: "... How could one simply grieve. It would need revisiting at times when it was relatively safe...My grief, still four years later, is not linear. It fleetingly presents itself... "
Thanks again, Paul, and I'm sorry you know something of what I'm going through. An analogy I keep seeing is the ball in the box, illustrated by Lauren Herschel. I certainly find it truer than the traditional, more linear, stages of grief:
"1. There’s a box with a ball in it. And a pain button.
2. In the beginning, the ball is huge. You can’t move the box without the ball hitting the pain button. It rattles around on its own in there and hits the button over and over. You can’t control it - it just keeps hurting. Sometimes it seems unrelenting.
3. Over time, the ball gets smaller. It hits the button less and less but when it does, it hurts just as much. It’s better because you can function day to day more easily. But the downside is that the ball randomly hits that button when you least expect it.
4. For most people, the ball never really goes away. It might hit less and less and you have more time to recover between hits, unlike when the ball was still giant."
Illustration of 3.
Here's the full series of illustrated tweets:
Thanks very much, Cecily. I like this idea and the visual works well for me.
A poignant, personal and observant review of love and the grief process made even more powerful with the image of your father's keys, Cecily. So sorry for your loss.
Carol wrote: "A poignant, personal and observant review of love and the grief process made even more powerful with the image of your father's keys, Cecily. So sorry for your loss."Thank you, Carol. The fallout is still falling, especially this weekend. Sudden loss brings different issues (not harder or easier, but different) from long-expected loss.
As for the section of love loss, well we do all interpret this depending on the level of pain but I do not go along with:
"You don't get over it because 'it' is the person you loved."
Life continues and yes it may be empty without the loved one but there are only two choices; either get on with life and make the most of it or else commit suicide.
I recall seeing the 2015 film Cinderella and her mother had died but there was a quote about "loss" changing to "memory with time". Whether that is a good or bad memory is another thing.
Also there are different kinds of love and loss. My father was a wonderful person and I was devastated by his death in 1994. I still think about him. John my husband died five years ago but he had been seriously ill for half of our twenty years of marriage so technically I was "grieving" while he was still alive and then seeing him in pain, I wished for him "to be taken". Luckily enough we can deal with that with a much loved dog but not with a human being!