Five Quarters of the Orange

Please remind me not to buy another abridged book. This one was shortened to the point that you lose all the suspense and characterization that I assume the author put in the original novel. If this book isn’t available as an audio book in the unabridged form, read it on paper.

Five Quarters of the Orange is a testimate to how life experience changes one's perspective. A young Franboise Dartigen and her mother, Maribell experience the classic love and hate relationship many mothers and daughters struggle with during their youth. Maribelle a seemingly callased and bitter woman is left to manage the family farm and raise her children after the death of her husband during during WW II. This novel dialetically reveals a story of young people using their own natural resources to survive in a less than ideal situation, secrets that lead to their family demise, and a daughter coming to understand her mother. Joanne Harris offers vivid imagary that captivates. Along with a vulnerability throughout this novel, Joanne Harris writes honestly about what was really goes on inside family homes. A slow read at first, make yourself push through the first thirty pages, you will be glad you did.