A DELICIOUS READ. (Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris
Date:	05/10/06 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A well woven tale.

Disadvantages: None at all.

I was given this book and am delighted with the discovery of the best book written by this author, more famed for her book “Chocolat” which was made into a major film, though which lacked clarity in book form. The writer progressed, she moved on, and although the story in this book is based in a small village in the Loire region of France, and gives continuity to her style of writing, this book does more than that, and to my mind is the best of the bunch. Known as part of a trilogy of gourmand books, being “Chocolat”, “Blackberry Wine”, and this book, I would say that whilst the books are all of a nature to conjure up temptation and to get the reader's taste buds going, they are not a true trilogy, in that each has its' own story to tell and stand alone, this book being, as stated, the best there is amongst them, from my point of view.

The story is narrated by Framboise (the French word for Raspberry !), and what is particularly special about this book is the way in which the writer interlaces past and present, to achieve a whole story, and does so remarkably well. The story begins with explaining the inheritance that Framboise gains upon the death of her mother. Cassis, her brother, inherits the farm. Reine-Claude (her sister), inherits the fortune of the wine cellar, and Framboise probably gets the best inheritance, in that her legacy to her mothers' life comes in the form of an album of recipes and a black Perigord truffle. It's actually not that true to life, since under the French legal system, children can't be done out of part of the family home, although given that this is fiction, poetic license is allowed, because it's a wonderful story, shown in little vignettes flittering backwards and forwards in a very constructive and easy to understand manner, almost as if told by a friend recalling years gone by and images as seen by them, as opposed to whole truths. I actually thought of many of the French people's stories told to me by locals, during the reading of this book, which made it kind of special to me.

The time in question is war-torn France. The Germans were in occupation and the little village of Les Laveuses near Angers was not uncommon to other small villages all over France which were occupied, and where stories are still told about the relationship between the French and the German occupiers. I listen to stories of this nature frequently, though this one was quirky, sad in places, and had a moral to it that was rather like the icing on the top of the cake.

The characters within the story are well described and the mother, Mirabelle Dartigen is no exception to the rule, a lady with an ailment, with a fiery temperament, and a hidden softness that only occasionally surfaces. The children seem very real and the differences in their characters drawn out well. Framboise is the tomboy, Reine-Claude the dreamer and Cassis, the brother that shows his strength throughout the book. They are not likeable nor comfortable characters, but are very real and the childrens' perceptions of the soldiers that are present in their childhoods are understandable, childishly silly in places, though this gives the book a grace and charm that makes it so readable. Even the German soldiers that came into the lives of the main characters are well described, and humanised by clever writing.

I love the way in which Framboise discovers her mother's true character through little jottings in her album which put me in mind of a book I read about the ladies that made a huge patchwork, and the way in which their stories were interwoven. This book does that rather well and is definitely better than the writers other books, and although commercially may not have achieved the notoriety of “Chocolat”, to my mind, should have done, as it is a book that takes you into surprise conclusions, clever scenarios, and whilst reading it, you can actually picture the scenes and feel for the characters portrayed.

Read it. You will enjoy it. At 5.59 GBP I would say buy a new copy, as it is a book you will read again.


Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Black Swan (6 April 2001)
Language English
ISBN: 0552998834

Summary: Super reading material for those who like quality writing.