In May we chose The Strawberry Thief a book from one of the speakers at this year Guernsey Literary festival, Joanne Harris. The talk was brilliant. She has such a great sense of humour.

By the way, if you have never heard of the Guernsey Literary Festival you need to check their website. It is one of the highlights of the island’s arts calendar. The festival brings to Guernsey incredible writers and speakers from all over the world. Make sure you check who they will bring for 2022!

We thought Vianne came off lightly, as she is arguably the most culpable in Harris’s exploration of dysfunctional parent/child relationships. We identified Morgan, the interloper, who briefly enters the novel, with her magical insights, as a healing force in the community.  Vianne, on the other hand, sees her as a malign force - a kind of Pied Piper who threatens to take her daughter, Rosette, away from her.  Morgan is a kind of fairy tale figure - the mirrors in her tattoo parlour both evoke the pasts and echo the fears of those who enter her parlour. The wind, with its complex symbolic presence contributes to the novel’s magic.

All in all we enjoyed this book and thought it was meticulously structured.  Many were inspired to read the other 2 books in the trilogy.