A fascinating novel. In one way comforting, as you find yourself back in the village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes for a third time (Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes). In another challenging and a little unsettling, as Harris addresses how the religion of Islam can be used as an excuse for segregation and certain behaviour. Unsurprisingly it is handled incredibly well and she delivers a satisfying read that we think would be a great reading group choice as well.
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 24 May 2012.
Listen to an audio extract by clicking on the orange arrow below.
It isn't often you receive a letter from the dead. When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she has no choice but to follow the wind that blows her back to Lansquenet, the village in which eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop.
But returning to her old home, Vianne is completely unprepared for what she is to find there. Women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea - and there, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church, a minaret.
Joanne Harris is the author of the Whitbread-shortlisted Chocolat (made into a major film starring Juliette Binoche), Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Jigs & Reels, and, with Fran Warde, The French Kitchen: A Cookbook. She lives in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, with her husband and daughter.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all Joanne Harris’s books but Gentlemen and Players I quite simply adored. I loved the character Roy Straightley, an aging Classic’s teacher with a dicky heart, clinging tenaciously to honest old values, his delightfully ironic sense of humour, his warmth, his dedication. In his secure hands we are led into such a gripping story with so many twist and turns that my only sadness was that it had to end.
click here - to see the books that inspired Joanne Harris' writing.
