So I thought I'd venture into her other reads.'Five Quarters of the Orange' takes place with the central character in present time recalling memories of her childhood in the Loire Valley during the German Occupation in WW2. It has some intrigue and mystery to keep it moving along. It's a very fast read with easily imagined scenes. However, it is rather dark IMO. I found that I didn't really like any of the characters on a personal level.
At the end, I just kind of felt a 'thud'. Nothing uplifting, no lesson to take away, just kind of, well, nothing. I've read other books with tragic or sad story lines, but most of them I've been able to take away something meaningful or hopeful (like 'Skeletons at the Feast'). This book, however, just felt like a rock to me. 2.5/5[/quote]
I read Chocolat a number of years ago, so my memory of it is a bit hazy. I received Five Quarters of the Orange as a Christmas gift... not sure that I really want to read it now.
