Five Quarters of the Orange - by Joanne Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

From the bestselling author of "Chocolat" comes a sensual literary concoction of tragedy, secrets, and the relationship between a daughter and her mother. Returning to the small Loire village of her childhood to run a cafe, Franboise Dartigen soon finds that hidden among her mother's recipes are clues that will lead her to the truth of long ago. 336.

From the Back Cover

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. . . .

Review Quotes

"Unexpectedly sweet and powerful." - New York Times Book Review
"Compelling . . . Harris once again revels in the smells and tastes of French food." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
"The craftsmanship and emotional power of this novel...place Ms. Harris in the forefront of women writers." - Richmond Times-Dispatch
"A satisfying feast of fiction...The characters' complexity and their duplicitous bloody histories make Five Quarters of the Orange a novel with depth and tension." - San Francisco Chronicle