Laura Grandi Książki

It isn't often you receive a letter from the dead. When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she has no choice but to follow the wind that blows her back to Lansquenet, the village in south-west France where, eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But Vianne is completely unprepared for what she finds there. Women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea, and there, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the square little tower of the church of Saint-Jerome like a piece on a chessboard - slender, bone-white and crowned with a silver crescent moon - a minaret. Nor is it only the incomers from North Africa that have brought big changes to the community. Father Reynaud, Vianne's erstwhile adversary, is now disgraced and under threat. Could it be that Vianne is the only one who can save him?

Try me...Test me...Taste me. When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as instruments of murder. Suddenly Vianne's shop-cum-cafe means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a 'Church not Chocolate' battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair? For the first time here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance, emerging as a moral issue, as an agent of transformation - as well as a pleasure bordering on obsession. Rich, clever and mischievous, this is a triumphant read.

The squabbling Norse gods and goddesses of Runemarks are back! And there's a feisty new heroine on the scene: Maggie, a girl the same age as Maddy but brought up a world apart - literally, in World's End, the focus of the Order in which Maddy was raised. Now the Order is destroyed, Chaos is filling the vacuum left behind... and is breaching the everyday world. A chilling prophecy from the Oracle. A conflict between two girls. And with just twelve days to stave off the Apocalypse, carnage is about to be unleashed...

"Pięć ćwiartek pomarańczy"" to przejmująca opowieść o tragedii, jaka się rozegrała w czasie okupacji w małej wiosce nad Loarą, o tajemnicy i niezwykłym związku łączącym matkę i córkę; to historia dziewczynki, która - odtrącona przez matkę - przelewa swe gwałtowne uczucia na niemieckiego żołnierza. Z perspektywy czasu Framboise inaczej postrzega wydarzenia, które sprawiły, że niegdyś opuściła rodzinną wieś, a dziennik matki odkrywa przed nią świat niezwykłych przeżyć. Zakochany we Framboise mężczyzna, który mimo lat rozłąki nigdy o niej nie zapomniał, przekonuje ją, że również ponure lata wojny miały w sobie piękno i czułość.

At St Oswald's, a long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England, a new year has just begun. For the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley, the eccentric veteran Latin master, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.

'Who died?' I said. 'Or is it a secret?' 'My mother, Vianne Rocher.' Seeking refuge and anonymity in the cobbled streets of Montmartre, Yanne and her two daughters live peacefully, if not happily, above their little chocolate shop. Nothing unusual marks them out; no red sachets hang by the door.The wind has stopped - at least for a while. Then into their lives blows Zozie de l'Alba, the lady with the lollipop shoes,ruthless, devious and seductive. With everything she loves at stake, Yanne must face a difficult choice; to flee, as she has done so many times before, or to confront her most dangerous enemy... Herself.

Jay Mackintosh is trapped by memory in the old familiar landscape of his childhood, to which he longs to return. A bottle of home-brewed wine left to him by a long-vanished friend seems to provide the key to an old mystery. As the unusual properties of the strange brew take effect, Jay escapes to a derelict farmhouse in the French village of Lansquenet . There, a ghost from the past waits to confront him, and the reclusive Marise - haunted, lovely and dangerous - hides a terrible secret behind her closed shutters. Between them, a mysterious chemistry. Or could it be magic?

With his notorious reputation for trickery and deception, and an ability to cause as many problems as he solves, Loki is a Norse god like no other. Demon-born, he is viewed with deepest suspicion by his fellow gods who will never accept him as one of their own and for this he vows to take his revenge. But while Loki is planning the downfall of Asgard and the humiliation of his tormentors, greater powers are conspiring against the gods and a battle is brewing that will change the fate of the Worlds. From his recruitment by Odin from the realm of Chaos, through his years as the go-to man of Asgard, to his fall from grace in the build-up to Ragnarok, this is the unofficial history of the world's ultimate trickster

Seven o'clock, on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the end of the world, and goblins had been at the cellar again... Maddy Smith was born with a rusty-coloured runemark on her hand - a symbol of the old gods and definitely cause for suspicion. For magic is dangerous. Or so everyone thinks. But Maddy enjoys working magic. Even if it is just to control some pesky goblins. And every time her friend, One-Eye - a good-for-nowt Outlander - comes by, he teaches her more and more about the gods and the runes. Now he wants Maddy to open Red Horse Hill and descend into World Below to retrieve a relic of the old gods. Otherwise it is likely to be the End of Everything. Again . . . An epic romp into the heart of the old Norse tales: wild, dangerous, richly inventive and superbly imaginative.

In these 22 short stories by Joanne Harris, the miraculous goes hand-in-hand with the mundane, the sour with the sweet, and the beautiful, the grotesque, the seductive and the disturbing are never more than a step away

Genialna, pasjonująca lektura. Książka, która przeraża jeszcze długo po przeczytaniu… B.B. to niespełna czterdziestoletni mężczyzna, który wciąż mieszka z matką i snuje o niej okrutne fantazje. Wyobraża ją sobie jako ofiarę morderstwa, a swoje wizje publikuje na portalu internetowym. Za pośrednictwem Sieci B.B. kontaktuje się z internautami komentującymi jego nowe wpisy – zarówno pozytywnie, jak krytycznie. Wśród nich jest Albertine, którą mężczyzna zna też ze świata realnego. Czymże jednak jest ten świat, skoro żadne z nich nie jest takie, jak z pozoru się wydaje? Do jakiego stopnia fikcja miesza się tu z rzeczywistością? Kiedy B.B. pisze prawdę, a kiedy tworzy tylko nieistniejące światy? Jakie wydarzenie z przeszłości sprawiło, że ucieka w świat ukryty za monitorem komputera? Błyskotliwie skomponowana, zaplanowana i wnikliwa powieść z prawdziwie zaskakującym zakończeniem… „Mirror” Wszyscy pokochaliśmy „Czekoladę”, a nowy thriller Joanne Harris, który w formie serii internetowych publikacji opowiada o życiu trzech braci i ich rodzinnych patologiach, ma w sobie ten sam urok, ujęty w bardziej współczesny język. „Błękitnooki chłopiec”, to naprawdę mroczna i zawiła historia. „Company”

Set in a gothic atmosphere, the story weaves a dark and compelling narrative reminiscent of Joanne Harris's earlier work, Holy Fools. It explores themes of intrigue and the macabre, showcasing Harris's signature style that combines rich storytelling with a haunting sensibility. This novel precedes her more celebrated works like Chocolat and Blackberry Wine, offering readers a glimpse into her early literary prowess and ability to evoke deep emotions through vivid characters and settings.

In this romantic suspense novel the reaappearance of a diary ensures that past and present intertwine, paving the way for unknown consequences. Joanne Harris is also the author of 'Chocolat'. Originally published: London: Warner, 1992.