Five Quarters of the Orange (2001)

This is the first of Joanne Harris' books I've read, but I can see why she's so popular, it sucks you in and manages to make you care about what happening and why, even when the lead character isn't perhaps the most likable of people.
It's set in WW2 in a village in France, and in the same village 55 (ish) years later, when the 9 yr old child has returned to the farm of her childhood. Her story now is one of a threatened security, the threat being her own past and comes from her nephew & his niece. these are the villains, in case you needed the hint.
In some ways it's rather traumatic, the events of the past are, individually maybe unpleasant, but a concatenation of circumstances means that they take on horrific consequences and build up like an avalanche such that soon things are out of control of any who contributed. It's told from Framboise's memories, and her mother's jottings in her recipe book with some contributions from her childhood friend - who stand by her now.
There's love and loss and all sorts mixed up here and the moral might be that you can;t live a lie, even if telling the truth might seem to be the worst thing.
A good read, although i'd have liked Yannick, Laure & Luc to have been tidied up rather than just shunted stage left once they'd fulfilled their roles as catalyst.
i have another of her books next month for book club, so that'll be one to look forward to. ( )

Ah! Something slightly different from Joanne Harris. The theme of mothers and daughters continues, and the theme of food also continues, but they're the background to a story set during the second world war, and the things that happen during it in an otherwise sleepy town in France. It's somewhat slow to start, with sly little references to the bigger story to let you know that something is coming.

It all comes together nicely, and one of the most shocking, painful scenes is well written -- full of hate and confusion and horror, just as it should be.

Easy to read, but somewhat less indulgent than a lot of Joanne Harris' other work. There is redemption at the end, and a happy ending, but it's not a fix it for everyone. ( )

Delicious, sumptuous, satisfying historical fiction. I hadn't read anything by Joanne Harris before, although I loved the movie "Chocolat"... this certainly won't be her last novel that I lose myself in. ( )

Some of the authors other works I've enjoyed, others not so much and this one falls into the second category. I was mostly bored with the story, it wasn't paced well and often felt repetitive. Not to mention the big reveal, the dark secret wasn't as big and dark as it was lead up to be. The plot itself was alright, the author capture the small French Village during the occupation well, and created a goof atmosphere in that regard, but the rest of the story just didn't do anything for me.

I also didn't enjoy the characters, I didn't feel they developed, Framboise seemed to be the same person as she was a child, as she was in the present as an adult. Not to mention, I couldn't stand her as a character, which when she's the narrator, also affects the book. I felt her to be a spiteful little brat as a child. And I wasn't sure of her motives as an adult, that side of the story, didn't seem to tie into the story line from the past to well. And the ending, didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. It seemed to come from nowhere.

Overall, I wasn't a fan of the book.

Also on my book review blog Jules' Book Reviews - Five Quarters of the Orange ( )

I wanted to like this book, the woman sounded like a strong character. There was some good writing in some points and poor writing in others. I had to push to get through it and in the end there wasn't much enjoyable about it. ( )