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Loading... Blackberry Wine (original 2000; edition 2002)by Joanne Harris
Work InformationBlackberry Wine by Joanne Harris (2000)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I fell in love with Harris's depiction of Joe and his down-to-earth whimsy. Her writing is enchanting and sucks you in, making you not want to leave the world she's creating and its characters. I loved that there were subtle glimpses into the lives of those who played a role in Chocolat, which I adored when I read it last year. Blackberry Wine is not a sequel to that book, though, but a totally separate story which just happens to take place in the same town as Chocolat. After reading this, I can almost believe there is magic in food -- and the world. A really warming and enjoyable light read, narrated in part, by a bottle of Fleurie, 1962. 'Wine talks. Everyone knows that.' This is a tale of a man who finally learns to live his life. The story switches between the present (1999) and Jay’s memories of three summers spent in Kirby Monckton with his grandparents (1975 - 1977) where he meets Joe Cox, or Jackapple Joe. Joe teaches Jay about plants, herbs and the magic of nature. Despite going on to write a very successful novel based on Jackapple Joe, Jay loses faith and feels angry and abandoned by Joe. With this loss of faith comes a loss of muse and a sequel eludes him. Drinking one of Joe's Specials, he sees a brochure advertising a French chateau resembling one Joe had dreamed of owning. Impulsively Jay buys it and moves out to France, where he finally starts living his life. Jay may not be a particularly likeable character, but old Joe is. He sounds like an absolute treasure trove for young and old, a spiritual guide for Jay, a simple and generous person.This is a book that pleasures the senses, as the writing of Joanne Harris does, you can smell and taste the wine, the food, the plants, the soil. The writing is evocative, conjuring images that are peaceful and magical. What a charming fairy tale for grown-ups! It comes complete with elements of fantasies... a house in the French countryside...potions and healers with the power to transform...love everlasting even if often is not entirely convincing. There were only a couple of things that were slightly annoying but not overwhelming. The narrator was a bottle of wine...you don't have to go back and reread that...it was indeed a bottle of blackberry wine...and the end of the book is a little unbelievable. The recluse harbors a dark secret which comes out of the blue. Overall it was certainly an intriguing way to present he story. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesGallimard, Folio (3751) Is contained in
Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet. There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic? No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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A very atmospheric book that does its best to immerse you in its story through every sense it can.
Of the two timelines, it's the flashbacks to Pog Hill summers that engage most, effortlessly evoking nostalgia, and teaching us the importance of everyday magic. ( )