According to a few sources (I've never read it myself), it's Art & Lies (pg 64).

Reference: http://stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=7779xnTFiLLbH7kZVw2lIS3k5beRv3qY&thelang=001lngdef

True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James

Hi there,

thanks for your comments - it is actually "Art & Lies", which makes it a little strange that I remember the quote as I haven't read "Art & Lies" in ages.

Anyway, thank you! Now I can move on to more reasonable ways of engaging with Winterson's writing - even though I now kind of regret not having picked "Art & Lies" as one of my topics ...

@ hypothesis: it will be an oral exam, so I really have no clue what I will be asked. I handed it a synopsis of what I thought relevant concerning Jeanette Winterson's writing, but I have no idea what me professor will make of it. By the way: thank you for calling "Art & Lies" an awesome book: it was the first novel by Winterson and I was immediately hooked by her writing style. I still see it as one of my favorite books ever, which is why I was quite disappointed when two different professors (at different universities) told their students during lectures on postmodern British literature, how awful the book was - a very encouraging start for my career as a student of English literature: the reason for choosing my field of study being trashed ;-) One of the two went on to tell us stories about her private life (which he hadn't done with any other author) and the other told us that Jeanette Winterson's novels are probably only understandable (and bearable) for female readers ... yeah right, and Shakespeare, Joyce and Fowles are just for guys- what an enlightend approach to literature ;-)

How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.

—Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night

Hi,

i guess homophobia plays also a big part, as i sometimes get the impression that even in my queer studies course the professor and most of my fellow students just don't get, what it's all about ...

For the exam I decided to use Oranges are not the only fruit, Written on the Body, Sexing the Cherry, Lighthousekeeping and The Stone Gods - a nice mixture of old (and often discuessed) and some newer novels oh hers that will hopefully enable me to say some things my prof hasn't heard thousands of times before. My guess is that we will talk about the use of Postmodern techniques (like historiographical metafiction, intertextuality etc) and how they work in a feminist framework, about concepts of gender in her work - something like that. Or maybe my professor totally surprises me with and all my preparations will turn out to be wasted time as I try to improvise my way through her questions ;-)

What aspects did your essay cover?

I actually think that a bit of study increases my joy in reading her books, especially when it helps to understand at least some of her intertextual references ... that said, I'd still be happy to spend less summetime behind books and screens ;-)

How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.

—Dorothy Sayers, Gau