Chocolat

Rating:
Summary: A REAL FEEL GOOD BOOK (WITH CALORIES)
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I thought Vianne was a lovely and caring lady bringing joy to people in a narrow minded country village. She made a lot of people happy and tried to join bridges among people of all walks of life. I could taste and smell the chocolate as I read this delightful book and of course indulged as I read. And as for people thinking that its bashing religion, I don't think so - it is just the way some little villages are in europe - they don't like changes or newcomers. I was totally absorbed in the whole book and really enjoyed a lot of the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Mouth-watering, adult fairy tale for the heart
Review: This is a wonderful book, a fairy tale for adults about a good woman with a troubled past who arrives in a small French village and improves the quality of the lives of the inhabitants by teaching them to live for today, and to enjoy one of the greatest of joys, chocolate. Full of mystery and passion, the write is exquisite. There isn't a word out of place. If you love to be carried away on a pastoral summer breeze, this book is perfect. IT's a truly lovely, sweet story, not overly sweet..just nicely done.

Rating:
Summary: I gained 10 pounds devouring this book.
Review: OK, maybe it just felt like I did -- the wonderful descriptions of the confections created by Vianne in her chocolaterie were that evocative. I read this book on vacation, and it proved to be the perfect escape. Fanciful and suspenseful by turns, it held my interest from start to finish. In fact, it was sufficiently transporting that I almost forgot I was on a packed jet and in a drab airport. Lock up the Godiva and indulge in this treat!

Rating:
Summary: Nicely written but disappointing
Review: Generally good reviews brought me to this book but nothing important happens. Her characters are either good or bad and the good are rewarded while the bad get their just desserts. Her descriptions of the way in which she serves chocolate became a little too much and as for the rest of the book - it was not enough.

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Summary: A little of what we like does us good.
Review: I liked this book and found its depiction of a small French village and its people delightful. I think that a few reviewers who have criticized this book for chrurch bashing have somehow missed the point. Reynaud, the austere priest who sees the newly opened Chocolaterie as a threat, strongly follows a (now hopefully outdated) brand of Calvanistic religion that we must all suffer a little, and live narrow, pinched lives in order to get closer to God. Non-comformist and slightly pagan Vianne he sees as a threat to this, when actually all she is preaching is that a little of what we like can do us good. This is therefore not just a simple battle between good and evil, but between a brand of religion - often preached in small hideaway village communities - that is so narrow-visioned as to leave parishioners constantly burdened with guilt rather than rejoicing in life. Vianne allows them that long held back rejoicing, but it could just as easily have been a new priest with more open views about life and a better understanding of his parishioners' needs. Just ask yourself what Father Reynaud's reaction would have been to Mary Magdalen suddenly turning up in the village, and you'll have your answer: Reynaud's founding Christian principals are not just outmoded, but repugnant. They deserve to be bashed!

Rating:
Summary: One of the most disappointing books I've read in a long time
Review: I especially wanted to read this book because of where it allegedly took place and because the subject sounded so enticing. It wasn't. The word 'gently' was overused to a degree that by page 200, it became a dead word. I'd like to be able to recommend it but I can't

Rating:
Summary: This is a most vivid novel.
Review: Not really my usual genre, yet I couldn't wait to pick it up again and sample more of the story. The prose is so eloquent it transports you to France. The chocolate is tantalising but more so one can visualise the village entirely and feel the wind of change. The best I've read in a long time.

Rating:
Summary: A treasure of a story....savor it and its message!
Review: This is a wonderful book! Everything was so vivid to me...the sights, the colors, the tastes! I felt a guest at Armande's birthday banquet and a child at Le Celeste Praline's window. Give the book and a box of chocolates to a friend...and don't forget to wrap them in silver!

Rating:
Summary: Delicate, joyful and triumphant!
Review: A few of the previous reviews complain about phantom problems. This is not about church bashing: the good Father could have been a Mayor. And several of the good people so to speak, are men.This is an extraordinary book that will remain with most readers for a very long time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, relaxing reading!
Review: A week before I traveled to Paris, I read this book. Once in Paris, I could see the little village, the church and the candy store around every corner. What a great relaxing read. A nice story of what is really evil in society.