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Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel (P.S.)by Joanne Harris |
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When Framboise Simon returns to a small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the daughter of the infamous woman they hold responsible for a tragedy during the German occupation years ago. But the past and present are inextricably entwined, particularly in a scrapbook of recipes and memories that Framboise has inherited from her mother. And soon Framboise will realize that the journal also contains the key to the tragedy that indelibly marked that summer of her ninth year. . . .
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Mysterious and Interesting - |
Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel Review |
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I thought this novel was very well-written, but Harris could have done a better job with fleshing out the overall suspense of the story. She builds up an interest about the "incident" throughout most of it, but subtly mentions once what it is, then seems to trail off. The end is bit sketchy as well, and could use a few more chapters to properly wrap up all the loose ends. What she deems very important and a driving force in the beginning becomes nothing short of a fleeting memory by the end. The characters are extremely well-developed and three dimensional, which adds to the charm and ferocity of each. |
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Old friends are the best -  |
Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel Review |
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This story is told from the point of view of Framboise Simon nee Dartigen. It is being told in two parts: from the point of view of the 64 year old Framboise, and from the point of view of 9 year old Framboise. The different parts of the story are interleaved throughout the book so there are paragraphs from the old time and paragraphs from the current time. As we learn in the very beginning, this is a story of a secret that should have remained one even after 55 years, but instead is getting told now.
The story is of what exactly led to one of the minor tragedies during World War 2 in a small village in France. It is wartime and the village is in the occupied part of France when Framboise and her two siblings (Cassis and Rennie) are going about their lives. Their father was killed in the earlier fighting and their mother is doing everything she can to raise the children while also running the household. Unfortunately, the mother is prone to migraine headaches which completely disable her and those migraines are precipitated by Oranges. So, of course, she does not want anyone in the family to have anything to do with touching, eating, or bringing home anything like oranges. Unfortunately, the mother does not believe that showing love to your children helps them grow, so she is always harsh towards all of them. This backfires with Framboise who takes on the task of fighting back. She does this by arranging to bring oranges into the house which sends the mother to bed, etc. The mother tries to deal with this by popping Morphine tablets which are extremely difficult to get in wartime France so she eventually resorts to dealing in the black market with various unsavory characters. When we are told the story from modern times, we find Framboise coming back to the village after 50 years and setting up life as a widow. She keeps her married name and does not tell anyone of her previous life in the same village. Astonishingly, no one recognizes her (even though she tells us that she looks just like her mother) and no one questions her motivations in buying an old, burned out farmhouse, and setting up shop as a cook - just like her mother! In modern times, her recipes are much sought after and she gets invited to share them with newspapers and magazines - which she mostly refuses. Unfortunately for her, her nephew (Cassis's son) is married to a very ambitious and ruthless woman who tries to do anything to get at the old recipe book. And that recipe book turns out to have much treasure in it! As it happens, the mother wrote about the various events that took place from her owe viewpoint and both embeds the text in amongst the recipe materials as well as writing it in a code language which makes it hard to decipher. Finally, the different entries of the diary are not arranged in any chronological order. So, the story follows Framboise as she unravels the story from her own memories and her mother's writings leavened with the events of current time. We learn what led to the tragedy and see how the follies of youth interact with the secrets and events of wartime France to produce a tangled story. It slowly unravels as we read and we also find out more about Framboise and how her life has evolved over time. The ending is sweet and endearing as all the threads come together into a coherent story. This is especially sweet as Framboise learns how to be less stern and opens up to her own daughter and there is a hint of a new family life to be with one of her oldest friends. |
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Uncomfortably compelling - |
Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel Review |
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Joanne Harris has a wonderful way with words. I have enjoyed many of her other books. This story was so compelling, but it made me uncomfortable. I didn't really like any of the characters, but I got drawn into their tense, painful world, with its dry humor and vengeance. |
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Quirky characters, rich writing -  |
Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel Review |
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What an excellent choice for a book club discussion! The quirky, odd, strange characters will keep you talking (or thinking) for hours. Narrator Flamboise alludes to a mystery at the very beginning of the book which is slowing revealed like a fisherman letting out his line. Masterfully, it will keep you reading to the last page. Beyond the compelling story itself, Harris' writing style is very evocative of the places she describes and her language has a beautiful literary quality without being unwieldy or pretentious. Most excellent!
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A good read... - |
Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel Review |
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My family does a "Christmas book club" each year; "Five Quarters of the Orange" was the selection this year. The overall score was four stars -- two people loved it, two liked it, two thought it was just OK. It is a story about an adult woman, Framboise, who comes back to the French village in which she grew up. Events took place there during the German occupation during the war that have shamed her for years. The novel moves back and forth in time, showing the war-time events (when Framboise was a girl) and her life in the present. Some in our discussion thought Framboise's actions were horrible to the point that she wasn't a sympathetic narrator.
There are a few twists and turns, some interesting symbolism ("Old Mother" and all the food references), and an enigmatic ending that raised a few questions. I was one of the ones who liked the book, enough that I have bought a copy of "Gentlemen and Players" and plan to read it this year. Joanne Harris is an evocative writer worth another look. |
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