Blackberry Wine: from Joanne Harris, the bestselling author of Chocolat, comes a tantalising, sensuous and magical novel which takes us back to the charming French village of Lansquenet

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For there is something magical about this wine; something which brings the past to life, an agent of transformation.

He is bewildered by his reclusive neighbor, Marise d'Api, who apparently coveted his derelict house and land, and is ostracized by the townspeople. All these events lead to the entire city shunning the family, and following one situation too many, they flee in separate directions, barely in time escaping death by the neighbors' wrath and need to designate a scapegoat. Determined to 'redeem' him (and recognising the book's potential) she prepares for a massive publicity stunt, that would reveal Jay's whereabouts to the press.

Blackberry Wine takes place in both England and the same small French town that is the setting for Chocolat. The first time I tried to read Blackberry Wine apparently wasn't the right time to try to read this book. As with all Harris' books, the love of nature and the natural world shines through, and people who are kind get the best deal from the storyline. Now, Jay has decided to follow his dream and move to a quaint village in France -Lansquenet- where he bought a run-down farm house and began writing another book.

I loved the few references to Vianne and Roux (Chocolat); I also loved the fact that while a strong woman character enters the story, this is the story of Jay, a male character who is struggling to find himself and to put his friendship with Joe into perspective without the feeling of betrayal at not being able to say good-bye.While Chocolat began as the story of my maternal great-grandmother (who turns up as Armande in the book, and as a photograph on the back cover), Blackberry Wine is very much about my paternal grandfather.

Although the story has many fantastical elements the only thing that struck a somewhat odd note for me was Marise's past. Kaip ir pirmoje dalyje "Šokoladas", į nedidelį Prancūzijos kaimelį Lankenė, atvyksta naujas gyventojas.

When the war arrived he tried to enlist in the army, but was told that because of a hand injury sustained down the mine, he was unfit for active service. It wasn’t intended that way, but there are recurring themes (food/wine as an agent of transformation, magic, life in a small community) which link the two books. Blackberry Wine acquaints readers with Joe through flashbacks as, now aged 37 and feeling increasingly unfulfilled, Jay revisits his childhood haunts and discovers a box of Joe's "Specials", bottles of home-made wine that may hold the key to Joe's unexplained disappearance.