Chocolat

Rating:
Summary: I'm glad I finally read it!
Review: I'd passed over this book for many months. The story seemed interesting enough but not I still chose not to read it. when the movie came out,I decided to go on and read it before I saw movie. I loved this book. I felt like a citizen of the small french town or a customer-in-waiting at Vianne's chocolat shop. the story was endearing and had just the right complexity. the author gives tidbits of info into many of the characters lives that show that they are not one dimensional. these characters' lives have been shaped by trials of life, what you see on the surface of each character is not all that there is to each of them. however, the ending left me confused. i am not sure what the author's point was in having Roux and Vianne conceive a child. I'd hope vianne would stay in that town for the sake of her daughter. However, the way Harris ended the book, has left me wondering about Vianne and Anouk's future. I wonder where are they now and how are they doing?

Rating:
Summary: A book to be savored and enjoyed!
Review: What a wonderful read! This is one of those books not designed to rush through to get to the end, the end doesn't matter. It is the sheer enjoyment you get from each and every word, smell, taste and all the other emotions and senses this book touches. Get this book and hold on to every moment. I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: What about a revision?
Review: Chocolat if mostly a decent book that makes me wonder about two inaccuracies I found on it. Maybe someone can explain them to me or (since I read this book in spanish) the traduction was lousy. For instance, between chapters 14 and 15. Chapter 14 is dated on Monday, february 24th and 15 is Wednesday february 25th?. Wednesday?. On the other hand, Anouk is supposed to be six years old. Then, later, she's quoted carving her initials on a table when she got that age. And Vianne says it happened seven summers ago. This makes her a thirteen year old, right?. However the overall is simply ok,a mere average reading.

Rating:
Summary: Chocolat leaves a bad aftertaste
Review: I was prepared to like this book, but from the very start, it practically bludgeons you over the head with its message that, "if it feels good, do it." The book pits the free-spirited, attractive, heroine against an uptight, cruel, and (eventually) psychotic village priest in a bizarre battle over a chocolate shop. Inevitably, all the sympathetic characters immediately side with the beautiful newcomer who revitalizes the town, while the gossips and wife-beaters side with the priest. The author clearly has something against organized religion in general, Catholicism in particular, and goes to great lengths to convince the reader to share her feelings. The ending is absolutely ridiculous, and left me deeply annoyed at the fact that I had actually wasted my time on this drivel.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious!
Review: I bought this book after coming back from the South of France hoping it would bring back memories and would seem more realistic after being in the same sort of area.It did more than that, it was a really good book and one that brings images of a quaint shop set in a picturesque sunny village with delectable tempting chocolates in the window. Its best read whilst drinking hot chocolate preferably with a chocolate bar to dunk in it! I definitely recommend this book even if you just want to read the descriptions of chocolate!

Rating:
Summary: Sweet and savory!
Review: Someone lent me this book and it sat on my nightstand for a month before I finally picked it up and could not put it down. Not an intense story, but one filled with all things having to do with human nature-love, friendship, anger, hurt, and how this young woman manages to bring lost souls together using her mystical personality and above all-chocolate. Who could resist?

Rating:
Summary: The movie's a delight, but definitely read the book!
Review: Harris' novel possesses more than just a tempting title. Chocolat is the delightful story of a mysterious, traveling chocolatier's ability to affect a small, trapped-in-the-past Catholic town in France. The protagonist, Vianne, heals the townsfolk's troubles with her delectable confections (she knows exactly which chocolate will please and appease each patron), a talent which causes her to be viewed as a witch-like threat to some members of the community--especially the local priest. Others, including a pickpocketing abused wife, see Vianne as a welcome miracle who will allow the God-fearing village to understand that earthly pleasures are to be enjoyed, not shunned. Harris' characters are diverse and entertaining. Her story combines both fairy-tale charms and dark glimpses into ignorance and intolerance.

I read the book a year and a half before the film's release, and I have to say that there are enough differences between the two versions that they should almost be viewed as two separate stories. While the film is a delight, it is unfortunate that it didn't preserve Harris' character of the troubled priest. I highly recommend diving into Harris' pages, before or after watching Chocolat on the screen. My own copy has been passed around to several different readers, all of whom enjoyed the tasty tale.

Rating:
Summary: CHOCOLAT IS TO BE SAVORED
Review: In an accomplished fiction debut, Chocolat, English author Joanne Harris offers an intriguing modern day morality tale laced with a soupcon of sorcery. The combatants in this deliciously different take on the eons old tug-of-war between good and evil are a young woman, the daughter of a self-proclaimed witch, and a platitudinous curate.

As she struggles to find her place in the world and he equivocates to protect dusty tradition, they vie for the hearts and loyalties of some 200 French villagers, inhabitants of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, "no more than a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bordeaux."

Ms. Harris displays an original voice in perfect pitch as she depicts the cowed, affection starved townspeople. Her meticulous character imagery is telling: Francis Reynaud, the guilt-ridden parish cure' with his cold eyes and "the measuring, feline look of one who is uncertain of his territory;" the 81-year-old Armande Voizin "with a smile that worked her apple-doll face into a million wrinkles;" and the venal wife-beater, Muscat, who struts "stiff-legged like a dog scenting a fight."

Vianne Rocher and her six-year-old daughter are wanderers. They arrive in Lansquenet on Shrove Tuesday, where their appearance is greeted with veiled curiosity by villagers who "have learned the art of observation without eye contact." Battle lines are drawn when Vianne opens La Celeste Praline, a gaily decorated confectioner's shop on the town square, directly across from the austere St. Jerome's church overseen by Pere Reynaud.

It is Lent, the priest has decreed abstinence, deprivation. Yet, Vianne's shop is a "red-and-gold confection," her window a proliferation of truffles, pralines, Venus's nipples, candied fruits, hazelnut clusters, candied rose petals, all there to tempt Reynaud's parishioners. He sees it as a disgrace, a degradation of the faith, and eventually preaches against Vianne from his pulpit.

When a band of gypsies moor their colorful houseboats at the village's small harbor, the prelate asks them to leave. Vianne welcomes them, further infuriating Reynaud. Weakened by his self-imposed Lenten fasts, he denies his hunger and watches her shop with "loathing and fascination" as he begins plotting to rid Lansquenet of what he believes is her evil influence.

One of Vianne's staunchest allies is a kindred spirit, the elderly Armande, the village's oldest inhabitant who delights in reminding Reynaud "of things best forgotten," and dares to invite the gypsies to remain as her guests. At times fearful of the consequences, Vianne turns to her mother's cards, seeking an answer in augury. Nonetheless, she stands her ground, even making plans for a "Grand Festival Du Chocolat" on Easter Sunday. It would be a celebration with games in the square and a riot of sweets in the shop. But Reynaud sees it as an affront, an excess, he would have "The egg, the hare, still living symbols of the tenacious roots of paganism exposed for what they are."

Wisely compressing her provocative narrative to the days between Shrove Tuesday and Easter Monday, the author uses impeccable pacing in leading to Reynaud's final assault, an effort to destroy the festival and Vianne along with it.

A surprising yet fitting denouement caps this deftly told tale of lust, greed and love. Francophiles will be drawn to the evocative descriptions of daily village life, while gourmands revel in the mouth-watering descriptions of chocolate preparation. All will relish the skillful pen of Joanne Harris. Chocolat is to be savored.

Rating:
Summary: Celeste!
Review: This delightful short novel spans the time from the day before Ash Wednesday (that is, Carnival, Mardi Gras) through the day after Easter. Each chapter is one day in Lent, each chapter given a day and a date, but with the year left vague. During that course we have sin, suffering, death, and hilarious redemption. A very effective device.

Having said that, I will also say that, although the book clearly had appeal, I almost didn't buy it because I found the first paragraph awkward. Grammatical and syntactical awkwardnesses continued to be irritating throughout the book, occasionally even leading to sentences where different interpretations of meaning were possible. And attempts to portray French regional dialect in English were often clumsy and annoying as well.

Part way through my reading (November 2000) I started hearing more and more about the just-released film version. I had surely expected Johnny Depp would play the part of Reynaud, the tortured priest, full of hate, hiding a hideous memory (some of the chapters are in his voice, his ramblings to an old and infirm priest, and these chapters are set in a slightly darker typeface, another nice touch), and was very surprised to find he is cast as Roux, the gypsy. The press and ads for the movie may be misleading, but it seems Roux may have a much bigger role in the movie than he does in the book. I hope not, because I can't imagine giving Roux a bigger influence without having to diminish the dark and sinister role of Reynoud. And I've heard there's a mayor in the film, who I don't remember from the text at all, yet I've heard no mention of Anouk, the daughter, nor of the very important part played by Tarot cards. Well, we'll see....

But one thing for sure, any pastry shop near the theatre should do a booming business after the show! The chocolates themselves, in all their varieties -- pastries, confections, drinks with and without liqueurs -- are described in such loving sensuous detail in the novel, it was impossible not to long for the taste while reading. So much for Lenten resolutions!

Rating:
Summary: A story about a strong woman
Review: I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. I decided to read this book because I saw a trailor for the movie and figured that I would prefer to try the book for depth instead. This was a story of a vibrant, strong woman, and I greatly appreciated that.

The main character, Vianne Rocher, moves into this small town in France and decides to open a chocolate shop. She's a colorful woman who stands out in this gray, drab town but is determined to fit in without compromising her ideals. I find the way she confonts opposition to be inspiring. This was a highly moving book. I actually believe I felt myself becoming a rebel as I turned the pages.