Blackberry Wine

By Joanne Harris

From the author of Chocolat, an intoxicating fairy tale of alchemy and love where wine is the magic elixir.

Jay Mackintosh is a 37-year-old has-been writer from London. Fourteen years have passed since his first novel, Jackapple Joe, won the Prix Goncourt. His only happiness comes from dreaming about the golden summers of his boyhood that he spent in the company of an eccentric vintner who was the inspiration of Jay's debut novel, but who one day mysteriously vanished. Under the strange effects of a bottle of Joe's '75 Special, Jay decides to purchase a derelict yet promising château in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. There, a ghost from his past waits to confront him, and his new neighbour, the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, there seems to be a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

Joanne Harris's previous novel, Chocolat, was both a dazzling literary success and a commercial triumph. Chocolat, the major motion picture directed by Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules), was released in December 2000, starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Dame Judy Dench, Alfred Molina, and Lena Olin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 10, 2010
• ISBN: 9780385674744

Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is the author of seven previous novels—Chocolat, Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Sleep, Pale Sister, and Gentlemen & Players; a short story collection, Jigs & Reels; and two cookbook/memoirs, My French Kitchen and The French Market. Half French and half British, she lives in England.

Reviews for Blackberry Wine

[luli81_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first novel by the author of Chocolat and I have to say I enjoyed it far more than expected.The story of Jay Mackintosh, a 37 years old writer, famous because of an only novel written fifteen years ago. Jay seems to have lost inspiration and faith in the magic of life, as if all these feelings had been spent in that successful novel.The novel moves forward and backwards in time, and the reader is able to know young Jay, when he meets Joe, an eccentric old man who leaves a deep impression in lonely Jay, becoming his special friend and his secret hideaway.Home brewed wine made by Joe takes unusual importance in the present time of the story, because it's only when Jay drinks it that he finds the courage to change what makes him unhappy. Guided by a kind of Joe's ghost, Jay leaves London and moves to a little rural village in France where he buys an abandoned farm and where he starts writing again, inspired by his mysterious neighbour, Marisa.This is a book about haunted lives, unfinished stories and the chance to change your own life and atone for your past mistakes.Magic, wine, faith or simply luck and coincidence. Choose your own explanation.I'll stick to the magic and a bit of luck, as Jay says.It's only a matter of not losing hope completely and let others surprise you, with one foot in the Earth and the other one suspended in the air, letting the wind blow where it has to.Refreshing, heartening and uplifting reading. Great for dreamers and romantics.

[susanbarnard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my favorite of the Joanne Harris books I've read. I read Chocolate; then Five Quarters of the Orange; then this book. I found all to be dark and quirky as they tell the tale of ordinary people whose lives are affected by exotic people or circumstances...in this case the most notable is the "talking" wine. This is a tale of the low places in life...places people don't want to be...places not to be recalled happily. We follow the main character, Jay, in his quirky childhood experiences and into his choice to uproot himself from a stagnate urban life without the hope for a future - it is almost just a different setting in which to be stagnant. Jay's dark life changes slowly with no great effort on his part as he becomes aware of a world outside of himself. On the "dark & quirky" scale - Five Quarters is off the chart; Chocolate is slightly more whimsical, though still very dark; and Blackberry Wine is more quirky than dark.

[refpenny · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book contains 2 parallel stories - that of Jay as a teen and later as a one-hit author who, on a whim, buys a property in France. What both stories have in common is Joe - a kind friend to the teen, subject of the acclaimed novel and still present (in spirit not flesh) prompting and advising the adult Jay. Another winner from Joanne Harris.

[pussreboots · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Blackberry Wine is sickenly sweet in its sentimentality but it does score points for having a unique narrator. The flashbacks to Pog Hill distract from the present day story. The book is tighter and more compelling a read when those chapters are skipped. When the story finally moves away from Jay's fond memories of how great Joe was and goes to the mystery of Jay's neighbor and her daughter Rosa the story hits its stride. I wish it had focused more on them and less on "Jackapple Joe."

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coming of age novels usually involve adolescents. But this book captures an adult coming of age in a very enjoyable way. Jay comes to terms with his past and in the process discovers who he really is. And Ms. Harris takes us back to the land of Chocolat, which is fun.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first time I tried to read Blackberry Wine apparently wasn't the right time to try to read this book. This time, though, I read it practically all in one go -- with, yeah, a glass of wine. Joanne Harris' prose is always easy to read, really clear, and I can believe in the characters she creates at least enough to carry on to the very last page. Joe, in particular, rang true with me: a miner's son, a gardener, a Yorkshire lad... Jay, perhaps not as much, particularly not at the beginning, but yes, enough that I cared what happened to him.

I love the everyday magic that Joanne Harris' characters work. Just normal enough that you can believe it's true for a while. Just close enough to coincidence or wishful thinking that if you can't step over into fantasy, you don't have to.

I don't think I'm likely to reread any of Joanne Harris' books: I guess to me they're a bit like chocolate, or a bottle of wine. You can only have the experience once. But I do greatly enjoy them, and will be sad when there are no more that I can read.

[karenrinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joanne Harris is such wonderful writer! This is a captivating book, drawing one in with the mystic and taking one along a journey of truth and awareness. Gorgeous imagery and descriptions. The only negative is the ending: Harris omits the resolution of a major conflict - Jay has told the little girl to lie to her mother about seeing the grandmother. The mother already has trust issues because of the grandmother and the townspeople. It seems to me this should have been addressed in another two chapters instead of ignored.

[gribeaux_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is probably an acquired taste, but I loved it. The whole scenario with Joe; right until the end I was puzzling-is our hero loopy, is he seeing ghosts...? And as for the evil girlfriend, well, she was just pleasantly slappable! The love interest wasn't overdone either, which is laudable. Comfort reading!

[budababy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Folksy story of a frustrated writer coming to terms with eventsfrom his past. A bottle of wine is a sometimes narrator.

[ohsnap_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to read more of Joanne Harris's books as I loved the way she wrote them. I got so absorbed in the writing and the story and I think this is partly to do with the magical setting - a tiny French village called Lansquenet. It really made me want to move to a village in France and sit around in the sunset drinking wine. I also really liked the way the two stories of the main characters childhood and present life were interwoven as it added variety that kept the pace of the novel moving.The book was effortless. Some books I have read, although the language and use of words was really clever and well thought out, just seemed like a chore to read through at some points. This book has all the beautiful language and descriptions but you don't feel like it is contrived in any way. It is not written so that you notice the intelligence of the author in writing this in that way - the beauty of it is that all the story telling language comes together to create a mood and atmosphere of the book that is much more enjoyable to read.I really hope that Joanne Harris's other books are just as good - if not better as she is set to become one of my favourite authors.

[picardyrose · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really lovely story about a failed author who runs away to France to create the chateau of an old man's dreams.

[madamejeanie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jay Mackintosh spent three summers with his grandparents when he was a youngteen and his famous London star parents had a very public divorce. Hisgrandparents were easy to placate and elude, so he spent a lot of timeexploring the run-down mining town near their home. He met an old retiredminer named Jackapple Joe, who taught him secrets of herbs, gardening,wine-making and life. It was a magical time for Jay that came to an abrupthalt when the old railway was sold to an upscale developer and Joedisappeared, his shack boarded up and abandoned.Years later, Jay is a grown man, an author with one wonderful book to hiscredit. The book called "Jackapple Joe" had wowed the critics and made thereading public eager for more. But Jay had no more within him. He wrotethrow-away science fiction to pay the bills and longed for something that hecouldn't quite put his finger on. Then one day, he sees an ad for arun-down French chateau and recognizes it as the "chatto" that Joe alwayssaid he wanted to own. On impulse, Jay buys it, sight unseen, and arrivesin the remote French village of Lansquenet in the middle of the night. Thehouse is a horror, badly in need of renovation, but Jay throws himself intoit wholeheartedly. He's brought nothing with him but a duffle bag with someclothing and supplies, and the five old bottles of Joe's wine, the"Specials" that Jay found in the debris of Joe's old house years ago andsaved all these years.Wine talks, you know. It plots, plans, giggles, and rejoices in the changesit can bring to your life. And the Specials have plans for Jay. Andsomehow, Jay isn't alone in this house after all. Joe's spirit has followedhim and has a few more things to teach him before he's done.This was a pleasant little book, full of magic and great characters, alittle mystery, and a whole lot of life. Joanne Harris spun her magic withthis same village in the story "Chocolat" and she's not quite finished withthe place yet. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a well writtenstory in a magical setting. It gets a 5.

[loriephillips · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the magical realism in Joanne Harris' books, and this one is no exception. Blackberry Wine is the story of writer Jay Mackintosh who wrote one fabulous book about his childhood friend "Jackapple Joe" Cox, but wrote nothing of value in the 10 years that followed. He is haunted by his memories of Joe. It had been Joe's dream to live in a chateau in France where he could grow and cultivate his garden. On impulse Jay buys a decrepit chateau in France where, during renovations and haunted by the spectral presence of Joe, he regains his inspriation for writing. It is here, while seeking acceptance by the community (and in particular, a neighbor who has her own haunting secret), that Jay comes to terms with his memories and learns what Joe had tried to teach him years ago, not only to be true to himself, but true to his friends and community.This is a charming book with all the whimsy and simplicity that is the trademark of Joanne Harris. The narritive is slow at times but overall definitely worth a read.

[christinelstanley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another fabulous read from Joanne Harris. This story flits between France and England and has a a lovely portrayal of the relationship between the boy and the old man.

[sorrel_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book contained some lovely prose, and was quite a good story. Unfortunately, my dislike for the main character made for an uncomfortable and edgy reading experience.

[morningwalker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. I loved Joe. I loved the scenery, the moods, the scents and the flavors the author evoked throughout. I want to move to Lansquenet and buy a farm.

[jbrubacher_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A delicious, tangible, sort of incredible story with a lot of rich descriptions and characters I'd like to meet again. This was the first book by Joanne Harris I'd read, but I'd love to read more.

[unlikelyaristotle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say? I don't drink, but this book makes me want to. You have to be a certain brand of author to be able to talk about the taste and textures of foods and drinks throughout a whole book (actually several, since she did Chocolat as well), but Joanne Harris does this effortlessly, and most importantly for me, without repetition. Maybe it is too easy to sound charming when talking about an adorable French village with all its inherent quirks and tales, but Harris is able to portray atmosphere, ambience, call it what you will, but you can immerse yourself in a book like this as easily as if it were the wine that gave the book its name. And it's the kind of book I feel people with all kinds of book preferences can enjoy.

[neverlistless · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Set in the same French village as Chocolat and with many of the same characters, this is the story of Jay, a writer looking to return to the way of his childhood and the way of life of his mentor. This one definitely wasn't as good as Chocolat or any of the other Joanne Harris novels that I've read. I had a really hard time getting into the story and did not feel attached to any of the characters. It did, however, make me want to garden and bake bread.

[hannahkiwi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best of Joanne Harris's novels. The interesting narrative perspective is used to exquiste advantage.

[catherine.cox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A really enjoyable book to read. Odd story but I liked the magical aspects of the tale.

[pattylee-621744 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Usual blend of Harris’ mystical fiction. Pleasant story, well told.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a charming fairy tale for grown-ups! It comes complete with elements of fantasies... a house in the French countryside...potions and healers with the power to transform...love everlasting even if often is not entirely convincing. There were only a couple of things that were slightly annoying but not overwhelming. The narrator was a bottle of wine...you don't have to go back and reread that...it was indeed a bottle of blackberry wine...and the end of the book is a little unbelievable. The recluse harbors a dark secret which comes out of the blue. Overall it was certainly an intriguing way to present he story.

[lydia1879 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Oh my god! This book!

It has been years. I definitely need to read some Joanne Harris again.

Despite it being years since I read this book, I remember some of the passages quite vividly. Joanne Harris has a very sensual way of writing, in that she engages all your senses. I think Harris was my first introduction to magical realism and that sort of surreal, sentimental writing that has informed a lot of my reading life.

I struggled with reading during high school, I would borrow out 6 different books at a time and read 30 pages of each over the month, only to return them, but her writing saw me through.

From memory, I didn't like this book as much as some of her others purely because of the narrative voice, but it still evokes a lot of really positive memories for me. c:

3.5 stars

[angelfruity · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice little book. A quick read for a wet weekend with a nice little bottle of Burgundy. Enjoyed the story but was left ... wanting ... I don't know - something extra. Not a particularly good review, I know. The author seemed to skim over some shaky ground in Jay and Kerry's relationship. I wanted more from Joe - but perhaps there was nothing left.