Rating: 
Summary: A bitter pill, beautifully written.
Review: There are more than a few chilling features to this quick read. Harris does a superb job of creating the world of a backwater, literally, town and the isolated life of a French farm family with her rich description. Perhaps, that makes the consciencelessness (!) of the narrator's actions and reminisences all the more painful to read. I saw the two surprise elements of the ending coming about half way through. I confess I don't tend to care for first person narratives because if you don't care about the person doing the talking, what's the point? However, there is enough skill in the prose and if not redemption in the "heroine" then dare I say healing to make it worth one's time.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book for all 5 senses!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Joanne Harris, and it won't be my last! Harris writes with such poetry that involves you fully in the story, you can't put the book down. You're IN the story, it's so vivid, you can see the town market, taste the oranges, smell the fresh air, hear the laughter and touch the river...The story is about a family that was torn apart by the war and it's cruel ways. A mother and her three children are struggling to get by; in a constant battle for control, freedom and happiness. Deeply embedded in the story is a secret, one so volitle, it's been hidden for 50 years. But now it's time to confront the past. It starts with the main character, Boise, going home, only due to her past, no one knows who she really is. I really enjoyed this story. It's not a long book, but as you reach the end, you'll be wishing it were a bit longer. And I have to say, being a very avid reader, Joanne Harris is quite a unique writer!
Rating:
Summary: This berry is a little sour
Review: What to say about a well written, interesting novel, full of compelling subject matter, evocative passages, genuine emotion and thoroughly dislikeable characters? The themes of wartime occupation, collaboration, and resistance as seen through the eyes of children is unique and moving. My problem lies with the characters themselves, it was difficult to sympathize with any of them even through their times of hardship and tragedy. Mirabelle the cruel, migraine prone mother was a bitter shell of a woman. Framboise, far too calculating and spiteful even in light of the harsh treatment meted out to her by her mother. The siblings never held my interest and were left rather underdeveloped. I did think the plot twist near the end was well done, although again it did nothing but reinforce my lack of affection for the siblings. As a small aside, another reviewer commented on the silly names of the characters and I would have to agree. As someone who lives in a English and French speaking country I have never heard of Francophone's with these type of bizarre names. It also seemed odd that someone with the strange name of Framboise would then name her own children with goofy food names (after nuts no less), when she was so desperate to remain anonymous. Not a bad book, but for me it's hard to love a book and not care about the characters. 3.5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: What words can be used to describe Five Quarters of the Orange? Beautiful, provincial, tumultuous. Laced with the bits and pieces of recipes that we have all come to love from Joanne Harris, this book is like comfort food served warm with a good glass of wine. A story about family ties and history all based around the favorite daughter (though she didn't know it then) this book will make you want to call your mother just to talk. I highly recommend this book to anyone, of any age.
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary Tale Of Children Growing Up in Occupied France
Review: World War II is waging, France has been occupied by the Nazis, and life on a simple French farm is about to become a terrifying nightmare.
Mirabelle Dartigen is a war widow with three children. The youngest, Framboise, narrates the tale of her dysfunctinal mother and hints of a tragedy that drove the family from their home and brought the scorn of the entire village upon them. The story is brilliantly plotted and even though I could not sympathize with the narrator, I was hooked on finding out the details of the tragedy which is given to us in bits and pieces through flashbacks.
Framboise at nine is a spunky kid, full of grit and determination, but also extremely cold-hearted. She is the young version of her dysfunctinal mother, a woman who does not show love, scolds constantly, and takes to her bed with horrid migraines for days on end. Framboise learns how to initiate her mother's illness and is diabolical in plotting and carrying out her plans to make her mother sick and bed-ridden. Meanwhile, she and her brother and sister are free to roam, meet up with Nazi soldiers and exchange gossip about their neighbors for chocolate, magazines, and other treats. At what point the children realize they are collaborating with the enemy and sending their neighbors to death camps is not clear, but by the time they realize fully what they are doing they are so enchanted by one particular German solider that they do not care and can easily justify their actions to themselves.
While we all know war is hell for those fighting at the front, this book examines the personal hell of civilians who become entangled with the enemy. A brutal rape, a senseless drowning, and a terrifying witch-hunt all explode on the pages of this novel and leave the reader pondering what the French people must have felt during WWII. To be part of the Resistance or to collaborate with the enemy is certainly a key factor in this novel.
I thought the ending left several unanswered questions and an epilogue would definitely have been in order. However, if you enjoy books where an old woman looks back on her childhood and tries to remember and set the record straight, you will enjoy this one.
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