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Five Quarters of the Orange
Five Quarters of the Orange
Author: Joanne Harris
In her bestselling and critically acclaimed novel Chocolat, Joanne Harris told a lush story of the conflicts between pleasure and repression. Now she delivers her most complex and sophisticated work yet, an unforgettable tale of mothers and daughters, of the past and the present, of resisting and succumbing -- an extraordinary work of fic...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780060958022
ISBN-10: 0060958022
Publication Date: 6/1/2002
Pages: 307
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 269

3.9 stars, based on 269 ratings
Publisher: Perennial
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

kelly-bookworm avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Incredible - the story draws you deeply into the characters' lives; Told from the perspective of one woman, alternating between young child and older woman, Harris infuses every line with the emotion, fear, anger and confusion of a girl comming of age during a dangerous time.
adixon avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This was an OK read. I give it just an "OK" because I think I was more taken with her descriptions than with the story itself. Read the passage below to see what I mean. Great wording!

"I must have been born confrontational, but that summer I grew more so than I had ever been. My mother and I stalked each other like cats staking out their territory. Every touch was a spark that hissed static. Every word was a potential insult, every conversation a minefield."
jazzysmom avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 907 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I loved this book. Very satisfying story about mother and daughter, tragedy, revenge, suspicion, and love. As a review on book says, "better not read this on an empty stomach" "You will be treated to the tastes and smells of French food. Olive oil, fresh rosemary, ripe sheese, wild mushrooms and herb and apple sausages."
mwelday avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 148 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book...told from the point of view of Framboise, a woman who moves back to the village in France where she grew up during the German occupation...lots of intrigue as to what she, her siblings, and mother experienced...by the author of Chocolat...highly recommend it! -Mirah W.
Hophead avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 285 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A bittersweet story of the aftermath when children become Nazi collaborators in occupied France, this is a well-written and mind-expanding novel with food as the common denominator. Recommended.
Read All 44 Book Reviews of "Five Quarters of the Orange"

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reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 33 more book reviews
Beyond the main street of Les Laveuses runs the Loire, smooth and brown as a sunning snake - but hiding a deadly undertow beneath its moving surface. This is where Framboise, a secretive widow named after a raspberry liqueur, plies her culinary trade at the creperie - and lets her memory play strange games.

Into this world comes the threat of revelation as Framboise's nephew - a profiteering Parisian - attempts to exploit the growing success of the country recipes she has inherited from her mother, a woman remembered with contempt by the villagers of Les Laveuses. As the spilt blood of a tragic wartime childhood flows again, exposure beckons for Framboises, the widow with an invented past.
reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 531 more book reviews
Another great book by Joanne Harris, perhaps one of the best! Harris' writing will grab your senses; from darkness, joy, sadness & will have the reader questioning. Remnants of a diary are found by Framboise: her mother writes eerily/crazily, but at the same time great recipes. Framboise's family experiences during WWII, a drug-addicted mother. Framboise's running a 'creperie', Tomas the German soldier; Reinette and Cassis - Framboisse's siblings, their mother's craziness while growing up; - all will keep the reader captivated. Read to learn some answers about her mother's craziness, other details found within the diary... An excellent read!
reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 407 more book reviews
This was a good book about family and secrets. I liked how Framboise learned about her mother through the diary/recipe book and how she and others came to understand what happened years ago.
reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 12 more book reviews
A very compelling book. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but then it really drew me in. This is a book that really appeals to the senses. I did not see forsee how the story would end until I got there.
reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 3 more book reviews
Wonderful book!
ccbrucker avatar reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on + 7 more book reviews
Wonderful story of a woman returning to her childhood home and relivings haunting evets from her past. Full of delicious references to French food.
reviewed Five Quarters of the Orange on
tqles of struggles in a small village in France during the occupation. A surprize ending.


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