Joanne Harris writes fiction that engages every one of the senses: reviewers called Chocolat "delectable" and Five Quarters of the Orange "sweet and powerful." In her new novel, she takes readers to a tiny French island where you can almost taste the salt on your lips.
The island, called Le Devin, is shaped somewhat like a sleeping woman. At her head is the village of Les Salants, while the more prosperous village of La Houssinière lies at her feet. You could walk between the towns in an hour, but they could not feel further apart, for between them lie years of animosity.
The townspeople of Les Salants say that if you kiss the feet of their patron saint and spit three times, something you've lost will come back to you. And so Madeleine, who grew up on the island, returns after an absence of ten years spent in Paris. She is haunted by this place, and has never been able to feel at home anywhere else.
But when she arrives, she will find that her fatherâ??who once built fishing boats that fueled the town's livelihoodâ??has become even more silent than ever, withdrawing almost completely into an interior world. And his decline seems reflected in the town itself, for when the only beach in Les Salants washed away, all tourism drifted back to La Houssinière.
Madeleine herself has been adrift for a long time, yet almost against her will she soon finds herself united with the village's other lost souls is a struggle for survival and salva… (plus d'informations)
jayne_charles: Totally different stories, but whilst reading 'Wildcat Moon' I was constantly reminded of 'Coastliners'. Something subliminal there definitely
I love Joanne Harris and have read most of her books but this one was probably my least favorite. It is similar in flavor to many of her books but it didn't draw me in as it usually does. She always manages to bring the setting and people to life in a very realistic way while still peppering some romanticism and fantasy to it as well. She does the same here but, for some reason, it fell flat for me here. Maybe I just don't appreciate the detailed description of life on a small coastal town as much as I do detailed descriptions of chocolate. It is still an enjoyable read, though. ( )
Really enjoyed the story. It flowed well and I enjoyed all the characters. It's not my normal read, just a random pick from our library. A pleasant surprise, maybe I even look at some of her other books. ( )
3 stars was generous of me. No aspect was really strong here, though the setting did keep me reading. Also it was nice that, unlike in the last book I read, the English usage and punctuation were pretty standard. ( )
Set in a dying village on a French island, Mado returns after 10 years away, to a disappearing father and disappearing coastline. Out of towner, handyman Flynn, finally listens to Mado and puts a plan in place to get the village to build a reef and build hope too. ( )
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main - John Donne To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour. - William Blake
Joanne Harris writes fiction that engages every one of the senses: reviewers called Chocolat "delectable" and Five Quarters of the Orange "sweet and powerful." In her new novel, she takes readers to a tiny French island where you can almost taste the salt on your lips.
The island, called Le Devin, is shaped somewhat like a sleeping woman. At her head is the village of Les Salants, while the more prosperous village of La Houssinière lies at her feet. You could walk between the towns in an hour, but they could not feel further apart, for between them lie years of animosity.
The townspeople of Les Salants say that if you kiss the feet of their patron saint and spit three times, something you've lost will come back to you. And so Madeleine, who grew up on the island, returns after an absence of ten years spent in Paris. She is haunted by this place, and has never been able to feel at home anywhere else.
But when she arrives, she will find that her fatherâ??who once built fishing boats that fueled the town's livelihoodâ??has become even more silent than ever, withdrawing almost completely into an interior world. And his decline seems reflected in the town itself, for when the only beach in Les Salants washed away, all tourism drifted back to La Houssinière.
Madeleine herself has been adrift for a long time, yet almost against her will she soon finds herself united with the village's other lost souls is a struggle for survival and salva
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