Again, food plays a central part in the story. The youngest of three, she is most like her mother in spirit. It's too bizarre. It took me over 100 pages to really get into the story, and I had sort of written it off by then. He was very charming. A complicated woman, more at home in the garden or the kitchen than the nursery. Welcome back. And all this under German occupation. The novel is based on Framboise's lies and deceptions dating back to one childhood summer in occupied France in WWII and continuing into her old age. She opens a café and reopens the wounds of her past. Set in a small village near Angers on the Loire, it deals with the fortunes of a widow and her three children, Cassis, Reine-Claude and Framboise, against the background of the German Occupation. I finished it all too quickly, scarfing it down like an orange at Christmas time.I found this at my grandparents house on a trip when I hadn't brought anything to read. It was frustrating to me that she gave so little information so slowly, though.

But this is a much darker story altogether, and a much more satisfying read. It starts off like a liqueur chocolate: when you first pop it in your mouth, you are not quite sure what it will taste like. :-)Framboise, daughter of the infamous Mirabelle Dartigen, returns to her home village on the banks of the Loire. I kept toggling between enjoying her writing style, loads of unique description and a nice layer of old memories and new experiences for the main character, and being sort of shocked and horrified by the absolute coldness of most of the characters in the story. They are eager to profit from Framboise's sudden popularity. Cassis' son. Finished it this afternoon. The mom acts like she hates her children the whole book, and the children hate their mom. Only a talented author can make you feel like that while telling the story of something far more sinister.Under the shroud of a new identity an aging woman returns to her childhood town. The writing is good enough, and the setting (an occupied French village in WWII) compelling enough that I kept going. One can never run away from it.Anyone interested in culinary appearances in literature or looking for a slow, downer summer readThis book seriously dragged me right along to an inevitable (and dark) conclusion. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I would have given it more stars, but I can't stand violence. It's excellent and 4.5 star, IMHO.From the author of "Chocolat" comes this novel set in a village on the banks of the Loire. Years later, Framboise, now widowed, returns to her old home, keeping her identify a secret for fear of reprisals for what, for most ofI really, really enjoyed the Chocolat trilogy but was rather disappointed with this one. And when people waste that much energy being mean and cruel to each otI ended up liking this book in the end, and would maybe have given it 4 stars, if large parts of it didn't drive me so nuts. So it is not uplifting in the least. The prose was as mouthwatering, succulent and juicy as the food in the book and I wanted to be there! Now, 56 years later, Framboise relives these traumatic events and tries to understand how they have shaped her life and relationships. It helps if the reader can read French, but it's not absolutely necessary. But she quickly discovers that the present is always, always distinctly connected to the past. She believes in treating children like fruit trees - they benefit from harsh pruning - and so gives them no sign of affection. She encorpoates social issues, different beliefs and food all into one and it is brilliant how she does so. This year, I found my mind going back to the book several times and decided I needed to read it again.Five quarters of the Orange by Janne Harris is one of those novels that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.Five quarters of the Orange by Janne Harris is one of those novels that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.I ended up liking this book in the end, and would maybe have given it 4 stars, if large parts of it didn't drive me so nuts. The water smells of night, and here and there a spray of new sunlight makes mica shadows on the surface.” ― Joanne Harris, Five Quarters of the Orange This unknown scandal, gradually revealed to … This is what initially draws her to the young Tomas Leibniz, who becomes a father-substitute, best friend and elder brother-figure all in one. He had been in love with her sister, but now loves her, as he finally confesses at the end of the story.