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

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blueeyedboyis a dark and intricately plotted tale of a poisonously dysfunctional family, a blind child prodigy, and a serial murderer who is not who he seems. Malbry ("pronounced " Mawbry") is the fictional village that serves as the setting for Joanne Harris' Yorkshire-based thrillers, notably Blueeyedboy [1], Gentlemen and Players [2] and Different Class [3]. It is also the setting for a number of Harris' short stories. 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. The author writes in a very graphic, sensually evocative style. In what way does this shape the narrative?

Find sources: "Malbry"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( August 2012) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Identity – both real and fake – tends to be a recurrent theme of yours. How does this book explore the idea? Albertine, like B.B., is an ambiguous and somewhat damaged character. Marked by her troubled past, she hides behind an intricate façade, only revealing her true feelings in her private blog. Her love-hate relationship with B.B. is based on shared experience and a kind of dreadful fascination; she knows him better than anyone else, and the link that binds them together has made it impossible for her to find a meaningful, honest relationship with anyone else. Like B.B., she dreams of escaping her life, but instead finds herself drawn into an ever more tortuous game of deceit and emotional manipulation. 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.Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television. 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

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.

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The narrator of the novel (like the author) has synaesthesia . Find out more about this condition here. A story superbly told with a brilliant, totally unexpected, twist at the end. Made my blood run cold!' -- ***** Reader review If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

The idea has been germinating for some years, since Joanne was in Naples chatting to a taxi driver. This is a very clever book; arguably the cleverest of all Harris’s books and almost certainly too clever for the likes of me. Because I struggled with it, if I’m honest.

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Joanne is not only a master of her craft but has the rare gift of being able to explain that craft, and offer peerless advice, in the clearest, no-nonsense, practical and entertaining of ways. Wherever you are in your writing voyage, Joanne is the perfect navigator. Learn, absorb, and enjoy! (MATT HAIG)