false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166670084m/15101.jpg 15101 26 Joanne Harris's first novel, <I>Chocolat</I>, was set in the sleepy French village of Lansquenet, where enchantment, romance, and soft-centered truths issued from the local confectioner's shop. She returns to the same location for <I>Blackberry Wine</I>. But as the title suggests, she's shifted her focus from food to drink, choosing a half-dozen bottles of homemade plonk as the catalyst for her "layman's alchemy." And even the narrator is no human being but a faintly tannic Fleurie 1962: "A pert, garrulous wine, cheery and little brash, with a pungent taste of blackcurrant!"<p> There are, of course, some less vinous characters in the novel. Harris's protagonist, Jay Mackintosh, is a former literary star, now sadly stalled. He spends his time writing second-rate science fiction, leading a hollow media life, and drinking: "Not to forget, but to remember, to open up the past and find himself there again." Yet the nice, expensive wines don't do the trick. Instead, six "Specials"--a gift from his old friend Joe--function as Jay's magical elixir. Like Proust's lime-blossom tisane, they give him the gift of his memories but also unlock his future, which encourages him to flee the rut of his London life and buy a house in Lansquenet. <p> As Jay settles in, he contemplates his childhood friendship with Joe, whose idiosyncratic outlook was the inspiration for his only successful book. Meanwhile, he becomes involved in village life, encountering some familiar faces from <I>Chocolat</I>. Caro and Toinette, the snooty troublemakers, soon put in an appearance, and Josephine, the bar owner and battered wife of the earlier novel, becomes a real friend. But it's a new character, the enigmatic Marise, who becomes the focus of Jay's attention--and who helps to restore his literary joie de vivre. This feat of resurrection makes for a hugely enjoyable read. It also goes one step further in adding Lansquenet to the map of imaginary destinations, where daydreams can come true with intoxicating frequency. <I>--Eithne Farry</I> 876908 1985 Blackberry Wine: A Novel total:1371|5:249|4:509|3:459|2:119|1:35| 1371 4931 1895 139 4 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 22 17:57:38 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 13:20:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 05 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 03:48:18 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 03:50:14 -0800 2009
Jay Mackintosh is a lonely boy, with a celebrity mother,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 07:03:46 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 07:19:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Jan 05 04:42:25 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 03:45:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jan 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Aug 03 15:36:01 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:36:35 -0700 2009
I enjoyed the book as a bit of a light read. The main character, Jay, was interesting to me and different from other characters I have seen. I loved the contrast betwe...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Oct 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 15:34:21 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 15:40:38 -0700 2009
Blackberry Wine tells the story of Jay, who as a boy, meets an eccentric man named Joe, who opens Jay's wo...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Sep 16 12:15:57 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 23 13:17:12 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Mar 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 07:20:07 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 07:26:44 -0700 2009 Chocolat, the book about the magical effects of chocolate on a town that was made into a movie. Blackberry Wine,/i> goes in the same direction with wine as the magical potion. Not just wine, though. Seeds, mysterious women, old men who appear as spectres, and a pre...more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Jun 05 10:40:06 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 07 10:02:42 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Fri Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 11:55:06 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 11:59:11 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 14:01:27 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 09:18:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jul 05 15:57:03 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 16:00:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 31 21:34:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 21:11:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 13 14:52:30 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 14:52:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 03:22:56 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 03:25:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Sep 06 20:38:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 20:38:00 -0700 2007
Okay -- it's somewhere between 1998 and 2003 -- I'm living in Belgium. I've read Choclat before moving across the ocean, but loving the book and the film so much gives me reason enough to have packed the book into the two boxes of ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Jun 01 06:30:01 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 06:30:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 06:09:50 -0700 2009 Sun May 03 19:32:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 02:37:44 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 02:42:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Aug 17 10:31:52 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 10:32:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=15101