Hardback: 420 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Orion 2023
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: The first seven years of my life are a blank. I don't remember a thing before that. Most children remember something of their early years, but not me.
Review Quote: 'Blazes with anger and sorrow' MARIAN KEYES
My Opinion: Having been a fan of this author for many years I was looking forward to reading ‘Broken Light’. Joanna has I think a very individual style of writing that in my opinion doesn’t compare to anyone else, that I have read anyway.
‘Broken Light’ is a cruel story about the invisibility of middle aged women. The menopausal protagonist has paranormal tendencies which makes for an intriguing and at times terrifying read.
Strong and emotionally driven characters built around some important current issues in modern society discern this recommended read. A great choice for some lively Book Club discussion.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
But when a young woman is killed in her local area, it sparks childhood memories of a talent she used to have, one long since hidden.
She said she'd never use it again.
She knows it could destroy not only her, but everyone around her.
Bernie Moon is no longer invisible, but is everyone else ready for what she's about to become?
Joanne Harris (OBE, FRSL) was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche .
Since then, she has written 19 more novels, plus novellas, short stories, game scripts, the libretti for two short operas, several screenplays, a stage musical (with Howard Goodall) and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, has honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of Sheffield and Huddersfield, and has been a judge for the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, the Betty Trask Award, the Prima Donna Prize and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science, as well as for the Fragrance Foundation awards for perfume and perfume journalism (for which she also received an award in 2017). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
She is a passionate advocate for authors’ rights, and was the Chair of the Society of Authors (SOA) for four years. She is currently a member of the Board of the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Her hobbies are listed in Who’s Who as: “mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion of the system”, although she also enjoys obfuscation, sleaze, rebellion, witchcraft, armed robbery, tea and biscuits. She is not above bribery and would not necessarily refuse an offer involving perfume, diamonds, foreign travel or pink champagne. She works from a shed in her garden, plays in the band she first joined when she was 16, and lives with her husband in a little wood in Yorkshire.
The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing.
Amazon Author Profile - Joanne Harris Official Website - Joanne Harris
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