Five Quarters of the Orange

I just finished reading Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris. Family secrets. Harvest. Recipes. Rivers. Monkey's paw. The power of oranges. And stubbornness. Scrawled words. I like when reality blurs in novels. A false reality finding itself subject to the same falseness we try to blink away, shake of a head, did I just...

Five Quarters of the Orange is the story of Framboise, a crêperie owner who grew up in France during the German occupation. It is told in flashbacks from the present where she is fighting her nephew and his wife who wish to exploit both her mother's recipes as well as the family history she has kept quite for so long. She reflects on her childhood, her mother's debilitating migraines and rages, and her complicated relationship with a German soldier, a fellow fisherman.

The novel covers a lot of ground--family secrets, loyalties, drug addiction, sibling rivalries, and mixed feelings that threaten to undo people. Dramatic? Quite at times, but not overdone. While occasionally the narrative seemed a bit languid and wordy (perhaps because it is meant to be from the point of view of a 62 year old woman who has spent a lifetime in near-silence), the story is interesting enough to keep the plot moving along, and there are some moments where the descriptions, whether of perfect crème brûlée, the harvest fair, or the oldest 9-year-old in the world's ardent wishing are beautiful.