Others keep returning, to such an extent that it becomes increasingly hard to think of them as fictional at all. Some fictional characters are happy to say goodbye at the end of a book.

The arrival of Narcisse’s relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist’s across the square – one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own – all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence – even, perhaps, a murder. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend.īut when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray. With Rosette, her ‘special’ child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. THE STRAWBERRY THIEF is the fourth in a series of novels that began with CHOCOLAT, and which continues the story of Vianne Rocher and her daughters, Anouk and Rosette, in the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes.

A moment of brightness between the clouds. And it always begins in a moment of playfulness even of joy. Everything you imagined you could somehow take with you. And in the end it takes them all everything you laboured for. It catches at the back of the throat like unexpected laughter. It dances through the motes of light in shades of chilli and peppercorn. It promises danger, and sunlight, and joy.

Strawberry thief joanne harris