Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

By: Jeanette Winterson

Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Jeanette Winterson’s bold and revelatory novels have established her as a major figure in world literature. She has written some of the most acclaimed books of the last three decades, including her internationally bestselling first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents that is considered one of the most important books in contemporary fiction. Jeanette’s adoptive mother loomed over her life until Jeanette finally moved out at sixteen because she was in love with a woman. As Jeanette left behind the strict confines of her youth, her mother asked, “Why be happy when you could be normal?”

This memoir is the chronicle of a life’s work to find happiness. It is a book full of stories: about a girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night; about a religious zealot disguised as a mother who has two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the dresser drawer; about growing up in a north England industrial town in the 1960s and 1970s; and about the universe as a cosmic dustbin. It is the story of how a painful past, which Winterson thought she had written over and repainted, rose to haunt her later in life, sending her on a journey into madness and out again, in search of her biological mother. It is also a book about literature, one that shows how fiction and poetry can guide us when we are lost. Witty, acute, fierce, and celebratory, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? is a tough-minded search for belonging - for love, identity, and a home.

©2011 Jeanette Winterson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"To read Jeanette Winterson is to love her. . . . The fierce, curious, brilliant British writer is winningly candid in Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? . . . [Winterson has] such a joy for life and love and language that she quickly becomes her very own one-woman bandone that, luckily for us, keeps playing on." ( O, the Oprah Magazine)

"Moving, honest . . . Rich in detail and the history of the northern English town of Accrington, Winterson's narrative allows readers to ponder, along with the author, the importance of feeling wanted and loved." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Raw . . . A highly unusual, scrupulously honest, and endearing memoir." ( Publishers Weekly, Starred Review)

Important

Winterson's writing is honest, straightforward, and heartfelt. Her performance is engrossing. This is a beautifully contextualized memoir that is about coming to terms with one's self in every way possible and the transformative power of reading and writing.

Powerful...

After listening to Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal in its entirety, I had to purchase the physical book as well. There are so many notes I want to make and passages I want to see and reread. As a woman, as someone who hopes to adopt and aspires to write books, as a human with emotional pain and traumas, as someone who may be a bit mad, this has been one of the most important reads of my life. Jeanette Winterson told her story with searing honesty, reflection, and provocation. I cannot wait to read Oranges.

Now read A Gap of Time

Be sure to read A Gap of Time, her adaptation of A Winter's Tale. It's a fantastical modernization of Shakespeare's adoption story, and a good read all on its own.

Extraordinary writer

I love the language,’the wonderful dialects and mastery of Mrs. Winterson’s authentic voice, as well as JW’s mastery of literature and trauma and psychology, all so naturally held in a complex web of wonderful writing and suspenseful story and thoughtful reflection. I am so glad I got to hear Jeanette perform this, as it tripled the pleasure and I felt a strong connection with her process all along the way. I read Oranges a long time ago and will have to read it again. Thank you so much. Susan Murray

Honest, beautifully written and terribly sad

I have never written a full review, despite being an Audible junkie for 15+ years. This book resonated with me because my daughter was adopted. Jeannette’s experience cannot possibly reflect the experience of the majority of adoptions, though she makes declarations as if to speak for all adopted children. Her experience was heartbreaking, her adoptive mother depressed, abusive & cruel. She was, no doubt, suffering from her own demons and her little helpless daughter suffered because of it. I wanted to hold her and tell her it didn’t have to be that way. The day my daughter was placed in my arms (at 6 hours old), my life became complete. The question that had plagued me for years, “Is this all there is to my life?” was answered in an instant. No birth mother’s love could be deeper than the love I feel for my (now adult) child.
The book is a gut-wrenching, honest portrayal of a neglected, unloved (by her adoptive mother) child who, despite her circumstances grew to be a strong, accomplished woman.
How terribly sad for her that so many years of her life, she felt unloved & unworthy.

What an interesting life!

Would you listen to Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? again? Why?

I probably wouldn't just because I have other books to listen to but I did order other things written by this author as well as the BBC miniseries she wrote. I was that interested. I give the author so much credit for her honesty and her strencth getting through a difficult life.

What other book might you compare Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? to and why?

Reminds me a bit of Fun Home, though that book is a graphic novel about another complicated life. As a matter of fact, those tow authors should meet each other. I'll bet they would be friends.

Really enjoyed it.

Where does Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10%

Any additional comments?

Some of the philosophical stuff was a little too much. But enjoyed it very much.

A Wonderful Bio That Illuminates The Author

If you could sum up Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? in three words, what would they be?

Great writing, compelling story

What was one of the most memorable moments of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal??

When Jeanette Winterson meets her birth mother

What about Jeanette Winterson’s performance did you like?

I love her reading voice, it added a lot to the story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A Moving Story of Self Discovery

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy Jeannette Winterson's books, this is a must- listen. I wish she would narrate more of her books, she has a beautiful reading voice.

A real, raw account of adoption, self-discovery

I loved this book in do many ways. MMarianne Winterson presents her life with such honesty, verging on brutality. Her grit and realism make me want to learn more about her, and about what it was like to grow up in post-war northern England.

loved it!

winterson is so smart and expressive. her narration is perfect. one of my favorite books.