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Quick answer: If you loved Written on the Body, read Jeanette Winterson's The Passion and Sexing the Cherry, then Orlando, The Bloody Chamber, Giovanni's Room and The Lover. All are lyrical, daring novels about desire, identity and the body.
Jeanette Winterson's 1992 novel is narrated by an unnamed lover whose gender is never specified, recalling a passionate affair with a married woman, Louise, who is diagnosed with cancer. It is poetic, sensuous and sad. The books below offer similar lyrical writing, fluid identities and intense love stories.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Passion | Jeanette Winterson | Adult | Napoleonic fable |
| Sexing the Cherry | Jeanette Winterson | Adult | fantastical history |
| Lighthousekeeping | Jeanette Winterson | Adult | stories and lights |
| Orlando | Virginia Woolf | Adult | gender and time |
| The Bloody Chamber | Angela Carter | Adult | fairy tales reborn |
| Nightwood | Djuna Barnes | Adult | modernist classic |
| Mrs Dalloway | Virginia Woolf | Adult | a day in London |
| The Lover | Marguerite Duras | Adult | memory and desire |
| Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin | Adult | love and shame |
| Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garcia Marquez | Adult | lifelong love |
| Fingersmith | Sarah Waters | Adult | Victorian twists |
| Carol | Patricia Highsmith | Adult | forbidden love |
| Maurice | E. M. Forster | Adult | love and class |
| Call Me by Your Name | Andre Aciman | Adult | summer romance |
| Normal People | Sally Rooney | Adult | two lovers |
1. The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
A French soldier and a Venetian boatman's daughter meet. Dreamlike and daring.
Best for: Napoleonic fable.
2. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
A giant woman and her adopted son travel through time and imagination. Playful and strange.
Best for: fantastical history.
3. Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
An orphan becomes the apprentice of a lighthouse keeper who tells stories. Short and lyrical.
Best for: stories and lights.
4. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
A nobleman lives for centuries and changes sex. Playful and poetic.
Best for: gender and time.
5. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Dark, sensual retellings of fairy tales. Short and lush.
Best for: fairy tales reborn.
6. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
A group of expatriates in Paris and their entangled loves. Dense and haunting.
Best for: modernist classic.
7. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
A day in the life of a society woman and a shell-shocked veteran. Lyrical and moving.
Best for: a day in London.
8. The Lover by Marguerite Duras
A French girl in Indochina has an affair with a wealthy Chinese man. Short and spare.
Best for: memory and desire.
9. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
An American in Paris faces his desire. Short and devastating.
Best for: love and shame.
10. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Florentino waits more than fifty years for the woman he loves. Lush and sad.
Best for: lifelong love.
11. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
A thief and a lady conspire, and their love grows. Twisty and romantic.
Best for: Victorian twists.
12. Carol by Patricia Highsmith
A young shop girl falls for an older woman in 1950s New York. Tense and romantic.
Best for: forbidden love.
13. Maurice by E. M. Forster
A man faces his sexuality in Edwardian England. Written 1913-14, published 1971.
Best for: love and class.
14. Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
A teenager falls for a visiting scholar in Italy. Lush and sad.
Best for: summer romance.
15. Normal People by Sally Rooney
Marianne and Connell drift together and apart over the years. Quiet and addictive.
Best for: two lovers.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with Written on the Body: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more Winterson begin with The Passion or Sexing the Cherry. For lyrical classics choose Orlando, Mrs Dalloway or Nightwood. For short sensual books pick The Lover or The Bloody Chamber. For queer love stories read Giovanni's Room, Carol or Maurice. For modern intimacy try Normal People. Written on the Body is poetic and short, so these picks suit readers who like prose with a pulse. Winterson's refusal to specify the narrator's gender is the book's central device, and it has made it a favourite in studies of queer and feminist literature. Many readers enjoy trying to read it without assuming anything. Winterson's prose is quotable, and readers often keep notes of favourite lines. If you want more lyrical novels, Woolf and Duras are essential. If you want modern romances, Rooney and Aciman are accessible. Audiobooks bring out the rhythm, and poetry readings can be a nice complement.
Related: 15 Books Like The Body Keeps the Score You’ll Love: Trauma, Healing and the Mind-Body Connection · The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk: Summary and Key Takeaways
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Written on the Body about?
An unnamed narrator recalls a love affair with a married woman who becomes ill.
Who wrote it?
Jeanette Winterson.
When was it published?
1992.
Why is the narrator unnamed?
Winterson leaves gender open so readers question their assumptions.
Is it explicit?
It has sensual passages but is mostly poetic.
Is it a sad book?
Yes, it deals with love and loss.
Is it a short book?
About 190 pages.
What should I read next?
Try The Passion or Orlando.
Is Written on the Body a love story?
Yes, with a tragic twist.
Is the narrator male or female?
The book never says.
Which book here is best for gender and time?
Try Orlando by Virginia Woolf, which suits readers looking for gender and time.
Which book here is best for a day in London?
Try Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, which suits readers looking for a day in London.