Blueeyedboy: the second in a trilogy of dark, chilling and witty psychological thrillers from bestselling author Joanne Harris

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Why is BB so attracted to Emily? What does he see in her? Do you think he identifies with her? Or does he want to be like her? The novel came out of a hard time. Harris had split with her agent and was being sued by her American agent for something out of her control. I enjoyed Gentlemen and Players which takes place in the same village, and to some extent has a similar thriller narrative with unreliable first person narrators but Blueeyedboy was too confusing, and had none of the humor of the previous book. Here, her characters were cynical, dark and manipulative, this makes them off-putting and highly unlikable. I feel sure that I will be haunted by this book, that as I put all the different pieces together in my head I will be drawn to re-read parts if not all of it, to answer the questions that will arise in my mind. Studying this book as part of a discussion group? Get your reading group guide here! Blueeyedboy Playlists

I have read some intense books this year, and have loved many, but Blueeyedboy jumps to the top of the pile. Now this book is inside my head, I don’t think it will ever leave. Beware unreliable narrators (there are two here) along with a huge plot twist at the end. Harris’s prose is certainly powerful enough for the job. But don’t expect an easy – or comfortable – ride. This Dr Who novella, featuring the Third Doctor, was written for the BBC as part of the TIME TRIPS series: you can get it here as an e-book…Is this the best book ever written? Harris’s achievement is not only in her story, in her insight and humour and the wonderful picture of small-town life in rural France, but also in her writing. (Literary Review) French novels For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Harris can draw the essence of a character with a few devastating lines, and B.B.’s weird mother — a spiky, mercurial piece of work with a collection of china dogs as huge and lovingly tended to as her grief over her two dead sons — is menacingly memorable. I thought Jigs & Reels was a really enjoyable collection of short stories. The collection shows off Harris’s diversity as a writer. The tales in Jigs & Reels touch and the light and dark aspects of life and vary from the funny to the chilling. I also loved the fact Harris included a little note of each story’s origin. (The Book Lover’s Boudoir) Joanne Harris, the acclaimed author of Chocolat, departs from sunny characters and a feel-good story in her latest work, blueeyedboy.

Her American publishers were so disturbed by the change in style that they turned the book down. Harris is unrepentant. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. It is with a sigh and a heavy heart that I write this review, as (as I said) I am a huge Joanne Harris fan but this book felt like such a departure from her other books that I love so much – even Gentlemen and Players which is also classed as a thriller but which I loved (it was very plot driven and had humour as well as some great charaters and twists). If this is primarily a novel about perceptions, it is equally about the ways in which we allow other people to perceive us. Both narrators are skilled in manipulating the perceptions of other people and even of creating completely false personae. How does the author accomplish this? What is the effect on the reader? Colours are very important in this book. What do colours mean to you? What colour associations do you have?So these are VERY unreliable narrators, and you're never sure how much of what B.B writes is fiction and how much is him talking about things he's actually done but in a fictionalised way. The story is full of twists and turns and "Wait, WHAT???" moments where you thought you knew exactly who the characters were and what their motives were but HAHAHAHA NO NOT EVEN CLOSE. A story superbly told with a brilliant, totally unexpected, twist at the end. Made my blood run cold!' -- ***** Reader review authors will on hearing the name Joanne Harris probably think Chocolat. … This is how I found Blue Eyed Boy and let me tell you, it was a surprise This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Essentially, the gist of this book is that there's a 40-something guy named B.B. He lives with his mother, and spends big chunks of his life online, writing fiction about committing murder on Totally-Not-LiveJournal. He's part of a fiction writing group that focuses on villains, and the entire book is told in the fics and journal entries that he writes, with occasional additions from one of the other characters who's in his fic writing group, but who he knows in real life. And that, I guess, is the root of the problem. There was nobody in this rather nasty book that I liked and I remained emotionally unengaged. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. In 2013 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

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It is a close community, rife with conflicting factions. Outsiders are not welcome, and those who do not fit in are the subject of gossip and speculation. There is a great deal of snobbery, and there is bitter rivalry between the state school and St Oswald's, the grammar school. Engrossing psychological thriller...a novel of unusual complexity...Harris, best known for Chocolat , again shows her skill and versatility' -- Mail on Sunday

It will be easier for them to read. And less emotionally draining for me to write.” She pauses. “But books should not just make you feel good. I feel, strongly, that if you don’t explore the dark side from time to time, then the rest of it has no meaning.I was being threatened with arrest in America unless I went to court. To have that kind of thing hanging over you, I don’t think you tend to write too well.” She shrugs. “It happens.” Gloria is a distinctly abusive parent. Why does BB not simply leave her? Why do you think the author chose to portray a male victim of domestic violence? Does the fact that he is a victim change the way you perceive his actions? I was assured blueeyedboy was a big departure from Joanne Harris' usual. I really don't think so: her writing style bleeds through into the characters, and whenever she writes in first person or third person limited, her style bleeds through. There's something about it -- a hint of flavour, perhaps (appropriate, to be a synaesthete commenting on this book!), something in the phrasing... Anyway, that seemed typically her, and the darkness, the twisted relationships... I can see where in the rest of the work they come from. The author writes in a very graphic, sensually evocative style. In what way does this shape the narrative? In addition to this impressive output, she has published two books of short stories; Jigs & Reels (2004), and A Cat, A Hat and a Piece of String (2012), and, with cookery writer Fran Warde, three cookbooks; The French Kitchen and The French Market and The Little Book of Chocolat.