Set in London, Pog Hill and Lansquenet, the French village in 'Chocolat' (see March list), this is the story of Jay and his boyhood mentor, Jackapple Joe, whose ghostly presence pervades his adult life. Some of the villagers reappear but there are others too, like the reclusive Marise and her daughter, Rosa. Much of it is hugely enjoyable, though I was irritated by the narrator, a 1962 Fleurie, and thought Jay's mother and girlfriend were a little overdrawn.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 5 October 2000 ) |
