Peaches for Father Francis continues the story of Vianne Rocher which Harris began with Chocolat. Vianne returns to Lansquenet with her daughters Anouk and Rosette after receiving a letter from her friend Armande Voizin. The letter was written before Armande's death, but by a strange (magical?) coincidence, makes its way to Vianne at a time when her presence is indeed needed.What Vianne finds in Lansquenet is a community divided by culture and religion: Catholic and Muslim. To add to the strange atmosphere, Father Francis, Vianne's former nemesis, needs her help.
Although there are magical and evocative portions (typical Harris in creating a living atmosphere), I found much of the novel a bit forced. Nevertheless, if you've enjoyed previous books in the Chocolat series, you will appreciate the opportunity to catch up on some of the characters.
An ARC e-book from Netgalley. Publication date: Oct. 2
Fiction. Magical Realism. 2012. print version: 464 pages.
I enjoyed Chocolate, but thought The Girl With No Shadow was much better! (Here's my review.) What a shame that this one didn't impress you. Maybe I'll wait and listen to it on audio. Harris tends to be a hit-or-miss author with me.
ReplyDeleteLes - I feel exactly the same way--The Girl with No Shadow is still the best of the three! And Harris is definitely hit or miss with me, too; there have been a few that I really liked, but more that don't work for me.
ReplyDeleteIt has been quite a while, but I do remember really liking Chocolat, and also the movie, though it was quite different. I've picked up a couple others over the years but couldn't get interested.
ReplyDeleteNan - I liked the film Chocolat better than the book. As Les mentions, The Girl with No Shadow is our favorite in this series. I also liked Gentlemen & Players, but have read several of Harris' that didn't keep my attention.
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