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Blackberry Wine : A Novel

Blackberry Wine : A Novel

List Price: $13.00
Your Price: $9.26
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sip Some Wine and Relax
Review: This is the second book I have read by Joanne Harris and although it is different from the first I still enjoyed the experience and highly recommend the journey.

The story is fairly predictable, a frustrated writer escapes to France and finds himself drawn to a beautiful but reclusive neighbor. Yes, typical romance.....but alas so much more! Harris writes so beautifully that she draws you into the surroundings and your heart leaves your body and enters a quaint French village while being entertained by all sorts of quirky characters.

I would recommend a good bottle of wine, some cheese and a long lazy afternoon to read this enchanting novel. But get ready to book a flight to France once its over. Harris is such a sensual writer that you will be unfulfilled until you experience all of the tastes, sounds, scents and pleasures of France along with her characters. I am convinced about both France and Harris.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A pleasant and relaxing read
Review: This novel is not without flaws, and some of the other reviews have drawn attention to some of these. Having bought an old house recently myself, the flaw that was most annoying to me is how quickly and effortlessly Jay whips this huge old house with major structural problems into shape while also completing a novel, planting a garden, bringing an orchard and rose garden back to life, drawing major gossip out of each and every reticent villager, and finding true love.

However, when I bought the book I was looking for (as mentioned in the title) a pleasant and relaxing read, and I found it in Blackberry Wine. This book sent me looking for more of Joanne Harris, because even though it does end abruptly with loose ends untied, its language is beautiful, and it has an intoxicating and entrancing quality unique in my experience. I felt drawn into the drowsy village. It was also a book I *could* put down, which I considered a plus. I was not looking for a sleepless Maeve Binchy night!

If you're looking for a book that will knock another off your top-5 all-time favorites list, this probably isn't it. But if you're looking for an enjoyable book and lovely prose, this is a good bet.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Fomulaeic
Review: This was a choice of my bookclub so I dutifully plowed my way through it. My main beef with this novel is how totally cliched her characters are - especially the minor ones - the bluff general of a grandfather, the rich and famous father with the supermodel and so on - they are like cardboard cut outs stuck in with so little thought. Even the main characters who are fleshed out a little more just dont hold together well enough to be anywhere near believeable - I just didnt CARE what happened to them.
There are some redeeming features to the book - I very much enjoyed the gardening folklore and the home remedies. Also the story flowed at a reasonable pace so it wasnt too onerous a task getting through it. But at the end of it I felt it was a totally forgettable book without any of the magic promised by the cover's blurb. Its not a horrible book - its just nothing special.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I didn't want it to end
Review: This was the best book I've read in a very long time. I loved the magic, and working how it all fitted together, right down to the getting back to nature feel of the book - whether in England or France. I hadn't quite finished the book when I got off the train, it was hot, but the last few paragraphs had me shivering - they were beautiful. The book made me wish that I was a writer - it was so well written. A pleasure to read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Savor this one!
Review: Told in two time sequences with much humor and angst, Blackberry Wine is an adult coming-of-age story. Jay Macintosh, a one-hit wonder in the literary world, reduced to writing bad sci-fi, grows understandably disillusioned with his life. Now in his mid-thirties, Jay is haunted by the disappearance of the most influential person he has ever known, a coal miner turned horticulturalist named Joe. His time with Joe was the inspiration for Jay's one publishing success. Unhappy in life and armed with the final few bottles of Joe's homemade wine, he impulsively flees to the French countryside, seeking simplicity and elusive peace.

But is anything ever simple? The farmhouse he has purchased before leaving England was originally sold to another -- a young widow struggling for survival with her deaf daughter. Bad feelings exist between the widow, Marise, and the various villagers whom Jay meets. The village is torn between the need for economic advancement and progress and the wish to maintain its character. And the farmhouse -- well, could use some work. There are bright spots: Jay's writer's block evaporates and he begins a long-time-coming novel. Most amazing of all -- Joe (or is it really Joe?) returns to Jay, appearing and disappearing, offering his homespun wisdom and guidance.

Filled with surprises and pain, Blackberry Wine is a beautiful book from a talented writer. Joanne Harris is gifted, with a long and successful career ahead of her.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: VERY SWEET TO ME.....
Review: What a wonderful book! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, not expecting the intrique and mystery. In fact I could not put it down until I finished it. Just as in "Chocolat," you smell and taste the experience of the novel. A wonderful, wonderful book, thank you Joanne Harris!


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