Blackberry Wine: A Novel

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Typical Joanne Harris

Cooking, Gardens, France - Say No More!

Underwhelmed...

Another wonderful story from Joanne Harris

Loved this book!

Blackberry Wine: A Novel
Joanne Harris
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0380815923
Release Date: 2001-04-24

Amazon.com

Joanne Harris's first novel, Chocolat, 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 Blackberry Wine. 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!"

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.

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 Chocolat. 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. --Eithne Farry

Book Description

As a boy, writer Jay Mackintosh spent three golden summers in the ramshackle home of "Jackapple Joe" Cox. A lonely child, he found solace in Old Joe's simple wisdom and folk charms. The magic was lost, however, when Joe disappeared without warning one fall.

Years later, Jay's life is stalled with regret and ennui. His bestselling novel, Jackapple Joe, was published ten years earlier and he has written nothing since. Impulsively, he decides to leave his urban life in London and, sight unseen, purchases a farmhouse in the remote French village of Lansquenet. There, in that strange and yet strangely familiar place, Jay hopes to re-create the magic of those golden childhood summers. And while the spirit of Joe is calling to him, it is actually a similarly haunted, reclusive woman who will ultimately help Jay find himself again.

Customer Reviews:

Typical Joanne Harris.......2007-05-13

My second Joanne Harris novel and I have to say that she sure does have a unique and special style all her own. I liked this book but can't really recommend it as a must-read. What I enjoyed most about the book was that Jay was a writer. I liked learning about his writing process and daily writing habits. The parts about the little girl having a goat as an indoor house pet were a little far-fetched and I didn't really get the whole bit about the bad wines always rattling around in the cellar and their "specialness" since they were supposedly undrinkable. Overall the book's plot did not excite me too much and we never really know why the husband did what he did that was supposed to be the big surprise at the end. It really did not make much sense. There are a lot of the same themes that were used earlier in Chocolat here: gypsies, magic spells, living the traveling life, a foreigner entering a small village, whimsical children. It wasn't exactly a page-turner but I did want to know how it would eventually end even though some parts were so boring I would lose interest and start thinking of other things then what I was actually reading.

Cooking, Gardens, France - Say No More!.......2007-02-05

Half-English, half-French writer Joanne Harris is best known for writing the best-selling novel CHOCOLAT, which is a decadent treat, but her follow-up novel BLACKBERRY WINE is even more magical and showcases the love of land and gardens of both heritages. Reclusive writer Jay Mackintosh is stuck in adolescence until he invokes the memories of an elderly gardener and astral traveler who helped him out in his youth and strikes out for a ramshackle French country farm. It helps to have a bit of high school French and basic knowledge of garden plants to enjoy this sensuous novel most fully.

Underwhelmed..........2006-10-09

Characters, a potential romance and story line are substantially underdeveloped. Skip this one (and skip Gentlemen & Players) and move to "Chocolat" and "Five Quarters of the Orange."

Another wonderful story from Joanne Harris.......2006-08-09

BLACKBERRY WINE by Joanne Harris
August 8, 2006

Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

In this book by Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat), the story revolves around writer Jay Mackintosh, and his search for happiness. The story is told via two time lines. The first one dates back to the 1970's, where Jay's memories take the reader back to his summers spent in a place that was known as Pog Hill in England. Out of these memories came his groundbreaking novel, JACKAPPLE JOE, based on the man that eventually became a mentor to him. Joe and Jay had a very unusual relationship, as Joe was much older but wiser and told Jay of his travels around the world, teaching Jay all about plants and healing and the magical power of herbs.

The second time line takes us to the present, when Jay has decided on a whim to purchase a cottage in a village in France that he believes is where Joe used to live, leaving his long time girlfriend Kerry without much of a warning. His relationship with Kerry is one sided, and he feels claustrophobic. Kerry really has no idea what is going on in Jay's mind, but she has a need to fix him and wants him to write that sequel to that great novel he is now known for.

The 1970's time line is one of nostalgia but it also has a big influence on Jay's present life, where he is filled with regret for losing track of Joe, a man that he took for granted as a boy, but now realizes that Joe meant the world to him. However, Jay thinks he's losing his mind as Joe begins to appear to Jay once he moves into the old cottage in the French village, and Jay's relationship with Joe begins anew.

Throughout the story, a series of wine bottles known as THE SPECIALS are always in the background, giving a sense of magic and surrealism to the story, as is common in all Joanne Harris novels. The Specials react to Jay's actions, and act as harbingers to what may happen next.

Jay's life takes a turn when he moves to the cottage, as he gains a new motivation to write that second novel. He also becomes curious about his neighbor, a woman who is known to covet his land and whose daughter is known to the village as deaf and dumb. But Jay knows there has to be a story here, and after he's learned a lot about the other villagers who become sources of potential characters in his new novel, he can't get a grasp on the mysterious Marise.

As always, I enjoyed this novel by Joanne Harris very much. The book started out at a slow pace, as the story is set up, but once I got the rhythm of the time lines, the book moved faster. This is a good read for all fans of Joanne Harris and readers of good fiction.

Loved this book!.......2006-07-17

I really loved this book. It has a truly magical quality to it, and I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read her next book. Thank you to a great author and storyteller. It is a great book to take traveling especially for those long waits at the airport or train station. Time just flies by!

Average customer rating:

Blackberry Wine: A Novel
Joanne Harris
Manufacturer: Perennial Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NY8CGC

Customer Reviews:

Nice job........2006-02-19

2/12/2006 Kevin Walker, book critic (Tampa Tribune) writes. "Comeuppance is a study of cold hearted revenge." A well written novel.

Sex, money, Mafia all play a part in creating an enjoyable read.
Well done.

Average customer rating:

Fun characters, fast pace, easy style
Page turner!
Mahtomedi , Minnesota and Mort
A WICKED MYSTERY
All in all, a very fun read!

Comeuppance
Martin A. Greis
Manufacturer: Aventine Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1593301812

Customer Reviews:

Fun characters, fast pace, easy style.......2007-09-07

In Comeuppance, author Martin A. Greis harks back to the great police procedurals of the past,but with a twist--his good-cop protagonists are given a fair share of both personality and humanity. From experienced cop Morten Hopkins, with his own share of problems and an uncanny intuition in solving crimes--to novice Danny Hicks, who retains a certain innocence and altruism in spite of the harshness of his job, readers will find a number of enjoyable characters in this book, and Greis's accessible style entertains to the very end. Aficionados of the genre will enjoy this close-up look at the Twin Cities crime scene.

Page turner!.......2006-04-08

This fast-moving yarn really defines the term "page turner." A truly superior book in its genre. Realistic, moving, detailed but not over-detailed. If you like to read murder mysteries, this is THE book for you!

Mahtomedi , Minnesota and Mort.......2005-06-07

I rubbed my eyes all night, but had to finish this book in one sitting. Greis grabs your attention and makes it all but impossible to put aside until the end. Greis lives in the St Paul area and it is a delight to read about places and roads I am familiar with. Refreshingly, nobody in this book is an "angel", altho there is a devil. The characters are allowed to be human, to screw up, to mean well. As a Minnesotan, I had to chuckle about the ice-house villages that spring up around here every winter. Placing some of the action on the frozen lake rings true in prose.

A WICKED MYSTERY.......2005-06-06

Irene S., A reviewer, March 11, 2004,
A WICKED MYSTERY!
From the opening page, this is an engaging read: colorful characters, convincing details, and lots of intriguing development. I got so immersed that I think there really is a Detective Mort Hopkins out there on the streets of St. Paul!

All in all, a very fun read!.......2005-02-15

I enjoyed it a great deal. It is one of those books that is once started, is hard to put down. A local audience will enjoy not only the story line, but also all the local geographic references, plus the wonderful Minnesota mannerisms that we are also so familiar with. All in all, a very fun read!

Kevin Donovan
Grant MN

Comeuppance at Kicking Horse Casino and Other Stories (Native American Literature 10) (Native American series) (Native American series)

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Comeuppance at Kicking Horse Casino and Other Stories (Native American Literature 10) (Native American series) (Native American series)
Charles Brashear
Manufacturer: American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

This collection of stories is a mix of historical and contemporary fictions. The historical stories provide a background for the contemporary stories, so that the entire collection becomes a loose chronicle of the Native American experience since the European settlement of North America. A wide range of tribes is represented--Powhatan, Cherokee, Creek, Comanche, Lakota, Navajo, Ute, Keres, Ácoma, Zuni, and an unnamed southern California tribe. Each story highlights some individual s quandary--and often alienation--in negotiating and adapting to a face-to-face encounter with the whites.

Average customer rating:

Comeuppance of Dipsey Dolan
Peter Eliason
Manufacturer: UNSPECIFIED VENDOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SF8H3E

Average customer rating:

The Comeuppance of Emile the Drummer
Miri ( Adapted By ), Illustrated by Webb, Francoise Kin
Manufacturer: New York: Walker Publishing Company, 1968
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NZ5GWY

Average customer rating:

The comeuppance of Emile the drummer,
Miri Kin
Manufacturer: Walker Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Comeuppance: Costly Signaling, Altruistic Punishment, and Other Biological Components of Fiction

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Comeuppance: Costly Signaling, Altruistic Punishment, and Other Biological Components of Fiction
William Flesch
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Russian | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Political | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Fiction | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0674026314

Book Description

With Comeuppance, William Flesch delivers the freshest, most generous thinking about the novel since Walter Benjamin wrote on the storyteller and Wayne C. Booth on the rhetoric of fiction. In clear and engaging prose, Flesch integrates evolutionary psychology into literary studies, creating a new theory of fiction in which form and content flawlessly intermesh.

Fiction, Flesch contends, gives us our most powerful way of making sense of the social world. Comeuppance begins with an exploration of the appeal of gossip and ends with an account of how we can think about characters and care about them as much as about persons we know to be real. We praise a storyteller who contrives a happy or at least an appropriate ending, and fault the writer who refuses us one. Flesch uses Darwinian theory to show how fiction satisfies our desire to see the good vindicated and the wicked get their comeuppance. He conveys the danger and excitement of reading fiction with nimble intelligence and provides wide reference to stories both familiar and little known.

Flesch has given us a book that is sure to claim a central place in the discussion of literature and the humanities.

Average customer rating:

The Earl's Comeuppance
Phylis Ann Warady
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Mothers & Children | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books

Literature & Fiction | Large Print | Formats | Books

Romance | Large Print | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0786272236

Book Description

In Margaret Astell's opinion, the Earl of Pardo was overbearing and conceited. But as far as the earl was concerned, he was saving his heir from the snares of Mrs. Astell's daughter. But when that issue was resolved, he still found cause to take an interest in the Astell family: He was in love.

Book Description

Retired house painter and old time biker, Aldo Chambers, is aggravated over his purchase of a used laptop computer.

Aldo's old time biker buddies learn why he is po'd and this knowledge is enough for them to initiate a plan of revenge. Their plan becomes a rallying cry for other unrelated groups who have also been victimized by the seller.

Aldo's elderly biker cohorts, the Hill Country Hellers, cry: "It's tit for tat time!" The Byway Wanderers Senior RV Club members agree: "It's time to pay the piper!" The Capitol Town Mens Chorus members intone: "It's just desserts time!" The staff of the Datum Associates Research Lab insist: "It's payback time!"

And for Tit For Tat readers, you may enjoy 'getting back' at the seller as well. Just how often do you get an opportunity to participate in a 'get even' scheme aimed at someone who has screwed you?

Book Description

Following the best-selling triumph of "Kafka on the Shore"---daringly original, wrote Steven Moore in "The Washington Post Book World"

Customer Reviews:

Don't listen to this!.......2007-09-07

Terribly poor choice of voice actors, please don't listen this as I strong believe it will negatively affect your opinion of Murikami's stories if you are not already well familiar with his work.

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman:24 Stories by Haruki Murakami.......2007-07-09

I've fallen in love with Murakami's works. I've read Kafka by the Shore and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles--now these short stories. Murakami's mind is wide open and unbelievable. I believe he's searching for the difference between reality and fantasy--if there is a difference. Things become what they weren't before. Impossible people and animals talk about and do things that noone else could imagine. I think you just have to jump into his brain and go where he leads you. You might not understand everything, but you'll love the mystery. His works are not to be confused with science fiction or fantasy genres, they are completely another cat.

Average customer rating:

An interesting read

Blind Archer
John Betancourt
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0380751461

Book Description

Ker Orrum longed for a life of magic. When an Oracle tells of a journey and a gem, his fate is sealed. Vowing to challenge the mighty god known as the Blind Archer, he sets out to win his fortune . . . and finds a destiny few would envy. Pawn to wizards and gods, blinded and helpless, he accidentally sets an ancient evil loose on the world . . . an evil which only he can defeat!

Customer Reviews:

An interesting read.......2001-12-07

Overall not a bad book. The basic plot is relatively routine. Young nobleman, conflict with father, off on adventure, save the world from evil. It reminds me of the books by Elizabeth Boyer.

The characters are fairly well defined and the system of magic is pretty well set up. There does seem to be a preoccupation with having no faces but it feeds into the storyline well.

The book suffers from it's length. There's simply too many things shoved into a 232 page book. As a longer book or even a short series it would have allowed Betancourt to flesh out the world, the characters and the conflict between the gods and the demons. As it is you finish it and kind of ask yourself " is that it?". He sets up an interesting pantheon of gods but never gets around to giving any information about them except for the one involved in the plot, the Blind Archer. The hints he gave about the others made me curious to find out more about them.

All in all a good bit of light fantasy reading. The author bio in the back stated that Betancourt was planning on more books set in the same world. Apparently he never got around to writing any. Given more time to fill out the details of the world it might have proved interesting to read.

Average customer rating:
The Blind Archer

Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HT548C

Average customer rating:
Colour-Blind Neutrality. An Open Letter to Doctor George Brandes.
William. Archer
Manufacturer: London etc.: Hodder & Stoughton,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ITH1AK

Average customer rating:
The Shadow Chronicles (Radio's Most Celebrated Mystery Man) (Isle of Fear / Message From the Hills / the Face / Death Rides a Broomstick / Chess Club Murders / the Destroyer / Blind Beggar Dies / Vengeance of Angela Nolan
Starring: Bill Johnstone (3) / Orson Welles (2) / Bret Morrison (2) / John Archer
Manufacturer: Shadow Collectibles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000USNR20

Product Description

8 Episodes (includes 56 page Audio Book & 60 Minute Audio Visit with the people who brought The Shadow to life)

Book Description

"This is an outstanding book. Murphy has done the cancer community a vital service."--Library Journal

"Provides a valuable resource for young women. Combining anecdotes from breast cancer patients who have undergone treatment with emerging scientific research, Murphy has compiled a clear and nonjudgmental guide to negotiating treatment and living with the illness."--Publishers Weekly

Customer Reviews:

This book helped me tremendously.......2004-04-23

I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33. The day after my diagnosis my husband and I went to the bookstore to find books on the topic. This book jumped out at me and, out of a variety of books and other research, this one provided the most useful, best written information on breast cancer and breast cancer considerations, particularly for a young woman. The survivor stories/vignettes let me know I was not alone and gave me hope that I could survive.

THE reference source for young women.......2002-10-23

Not only is this book the most comprehensive, unbiased book on breast cancer in young women I have ever read, I applaud Beth Murphy for taking the time to focus on YOUNG WOMEN with breast cancer, a sorely under-served group. This book takes the reader inside the lives of young survivors. While touching, it is never over-the-top dramatic, and it certainly isn't sappy. Murphy defines the risks of diagnosis in young women in realistic terms - the good with the bad - and does the same for treatment issues with regards to young women. Furthermore, the author doesn't beat around the bush getting to the point that while we've made great advances in breast cancer treatment, research for young women is terribly lacking. She goes on to explain the implications a woman under 40 faces when diagnosed.
Astoundingly, Murphy even manages to discuss the controversial political issues of breast cancer without ever stepping up on a soapbox. She sticks to the facts about who says what, and what questions still go unanswered.

This book is a must have for any woman who wishes to get a real understanding of her health risks where breast cancer is concerned.
Every doctor (particularly those still preaching "you're too young to have breast cancer"!!), nurse, mammography technician, breast health specialist, and breast cancer researcher should read this book and take its message to their jobs.
Every woman under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer, every mother, sister, father, brother, friend, and boyfriend of a young survivor should buy this book immediately.

There is nothing else on the market that even comes close.

a must read for women of all ages!.......2002-10-01

This book,yes is very touching and quite moving but I think it is the educational aspect of the subject of breast cancer that I found to be the most beneficial from having read the book. The author takes you in a different direction on breast cancer, one that we haven't really seen in most other books on the subject. We are taken on a journey through the lives of these very brave women who were diagnosed with the disease at such a YOUNG age-as we usually see it in older women. I have,like most young women, thought breast cancer is not a real concern for me at my age. I have,until now, relied on my doctor to let me know what health issues he should pursue as given my current medical history ... I am glad I read this book-I am certainly more informed as will my doctor also be during my next visit.

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