Rating: 
Summary: school approved
Review: I am high school student who read this book for a school project. Being a 16 year old, I loved it. It was interesting and unpredictable. The towns people aren't very accepting of new- commers, but Vianne proved that she was strong. A wonderful woman in a small French town made it seem a little like a fairy tale. It's a very good and appropriate book for all ages!
Rating: 
Summary: It's been done, and it's been done better
Review: I'm not sure what all the hoopla and fanfare was about--Chocolat was not a good book. I'm not faulting its magical realism genre of "Delectable Food Induces Amorous Affairs." It just wasn't written very well. While reading this book, not a moment passed where I didn't get hit with de ja vu. Even the ending was foreseeable--and the reason definitely is not b/c I've got this great prophet-like power--it's simply that the author does absolutely nothing new with this concept. This terrain has been mapped far better in other works. Think Isabelle Allende's "Like Water for Chocolate" or the wonderful movies, "Tampopo" and "Eat Drink Man Woman."
Rating: 
Summary: A great book and a great movie
Review: I originally saw the movie first and instantly fell in love with the story and I ran out to get the book (I know we're supposed to do it the other way round so shot me). After the first few pages I noticed some major differences between the book and the movie so I was unsure if I'd like it but I have to say it has been great to read it and to see the differences. The book is just so vivid in it's descriptions and it's feeling is just wonderful, no wonder it was made into a movie. Buy this book and enjoy it with a cup of hot chocolate.
Rating: 
Summary: Godawful
Review: If told to give the name of the single-most awful novel I have ever read (and I have given this some thought), I would have to say, w/out a doubt, "Chocolat".The sickly-sweet tale of a nomadic young woman and her fatherlessyoung daughter, "Chocolat" is niether original or well-written, even for a junk novel. All throughout my reading of it, I felt this remarkable feeling of deja vu.....Like it had all been done before, by people with more skill than Ms. Harris at writing novellas..... The only two things that surprised me about the novel, really, were, firstoff, that they decided to make this dull, sacharine fiasco into a movie, and, secondoff, that an actress as talented and distinguished as Juliette Binoche would star in it.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Descriptive
Review: I read 'Chocolat' in light of all the recent publicity due to the release of the movie version and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Joanne Harris's descriptions are so vivid that the sights and sounds of the small French town of Lansquenet seem so real; you can almost taste the delicious chocolate creations that the central character, Vianne Rocher, makes. For descriptiveness, 'Chocolat' is second to none. Another interesting point about this book is that it was the first book I read in which the narrative switches between two people, that is to say that one chapter is written through the eyes of Vianne, while the next is written by the town's priest. This is an effective story-telling tecnique and is probably needed in order to reveal a few things about the character's feelings which may otherwise not have been expressed had it all been written through Viannes's eyes. However, the one drawback is that occasionally it can be a little confusing to be reading Vianne's narrative for quite a while and then abruptly switch to Reynaud's. 'Chocolat' doesn't have a huge deal of story, it is more just a slice of provincial French life centered on character development, society, description and, of course, chocolate!!! This can mean that you finish thinking 'Well what happened?' but this minor problem is balanced out by the warm-hearted delicious descriptions and depths of character. Read this with a box of delicious chocolate truffles!!!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting tale
Review: I think that this novel had a good plot with well-devloped characters that kept you interested in this book. Joanne Harris has great ideas which she implants in this novel. The whole controversy between traditional values and new values was a great plot to write a novel on.
Rating:
Summary: Unimpressive.
Review: This book did not inspire me at all. I have to admit to being totally shocked when I discovered that it had been made into a film!! In my opinion it is simply not an engaging enough tale to warrant the attention of the film industry. I have to admit that I did not feel much sympathy for the characters and this obviously left me somewhat unimpressed by this book.
Rating:
Summary: As delightful as a good piece of chocolate...
Review: Savor the development of the characters in the book and then enjoy the magic of the movie. A fun contrast between book and screen play; both are enjoyable. I most always like books much better than movies. These were both well done.
Rating:
Summary: Skip this book and go to the Movie
Review: This is one situation that I can assume the movie is better than the book. With all the hype I expected more magic. I felt the book was slow moving and grated on my last nerve. The only saving grace was the elderly woman. I wante to know what her future held for her and what was to come of her interaction with the many lives she encountered. Other than that I felt the book was EXTREMELY hard to get through and I was happy that it finally ended.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: I loved the movie "Chocolat" and am always interested to see how moviemakers translate books into movies. On its own, the book was wonderful. It has a sweet simplicity that is refreshing. It had some heavier themes like tolerance, denial of sin, religion,etc that Harris explored through her characters. The cast of characters are a likable bunch and Harris shows all of their human-ness, including the priest, who some might view as the villian. I took away one star for some slow moving passages, but all in all, a great read.
| 
