Product Description

Try me...Test me...Taste me. When an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, arrives in the French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock - especially as it is the beginning of Lent, the traditional season of self-denial. War is declared as the priest denounces the newcomer's wares as instruments of murder. Suddenly Vianne's shop-cum-cafe means that there is somewhere for secrets to be whispered, grievances to be aired, dreams to be tested. But Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community in a conflict that escalates into a 'Church not Chocolate' battle. As mouths water in anticipation, can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate eclair? For the first time, here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance, emerging as a moral issue, as an agent of transformation - as well as a pleasure bordering on obsession. Rich, clever and mischievous, this is a triumphant read.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7783 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review

I hear our M'sieur le Curé already has it in for you ... Does he know you're a witch?

Lansquenet-sous-Tannes--"a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bourdeaux"--and new home to Vianne Rocher, her six-year-old daughter Anouk, and Anouk's "imaginary" rabbit, Pantoufle. They arrive "on the wind of the carnival", and, a couple of days later, Vianne opens a luxuriant chocolate shop. "La Céleste Praline" bubbles over with the most tempting of confections, topped with an irresistible selection of rich, smooth chocolate drinks. It's Lent, the shop is opposite the church (which Vianne and Anouk don't attend) it's open on Sundays and Francis Reynaud, the austere parish priest with the "measuring, feline look" is not exactly happy.

As one by one the villagers sidle into the shop to sample Vianne's concoctions, we learn of their characters and secrets, their loves and desires, their troubles and hopes. Sad, polite Guillame and his dying dog. Shoplifting, beaten Joséphine Muscat. And Armande Voizin, still vigorous and perceptive in her 80s, who can see Pantoufle, and recognises Vianne for who she really is.

But Reynaud has his power base. And when Vianne advertises a Grand Festival of Chocolate to start on Easter Sunday, it's all-out war. War between church and chocolate.

Read clearly and precisely by Samantha Bond--whose voice is almost choclatey enough for Vianne--and Gareth Armstrong -- who sounds marginally too rich for Reynaud--this is an elegant adaptation of an utterly delicious novel, the denouement of which brings a new, literal meaning to the phrase "a sticky end", and which proves, indisputably, that soft centres are best. --Lisa Gee

Review
'An addictive read haunting,obsessive, and just a little nutty, like a freshly made praline.' -- Elisabeth Luard, author of Family Life 'A celebration of pleasure, of love, of tolerance.' -- Observer 'Samantha Bond is perfectly cast as Vianne: her voice is smooth and luxurious. But Gareth Armstrong steals the show as the priest who turns increasingly to his faith and in so doing loses touch with reality.' -- Observer

A first novel that rather cloyingly describes the transformations that overtake the residents of a small French village when a mysterious stranger and her daughter arrive and open a chocolate shop. The townspeople of Lansquenet live in the present day, but the patterns of their lives were established long before they were born - and change very little from year to year. A hamlet straight out of Flaubert, Lansquenet is filled with busybodies who have nothing better to do with their days than spy on one another, until two new arrivals provide fresh grist for the mill. What inspired Vivianne Rocher to move to Lansquenet with her daughter Anouk and to open a chocolate boutique is never explained, but her effect on the populace is profound and immediate: the grim little town and its sniping inhabitants are transformed through the magic of Vivianne's confections into an almost surreal assembly of sensualists, each somehow discovering in bonbons the key to happiness. Elderly crones find themselves remembering long-forgotten loves; shy young couples work up the nerve to break the ice. Is this all the result of only chocolate? Or is some more sinister force at work? The local priest suspects the worst, and his suspicions are reinforced by his awareness that Vivianne opened her shop on Shrove Tuesday - and thus has been tempting the entire parish from its Lenten austerities for the past six weeks. Now, she has even announced plans for a "Chocolate Festival" to take place on Easter Sunday itself! Horrified, he hatches a plan to foil her festivities, but God does not always side with the just. Who will win the soul of the town? Premise, prose, and pace all march along capably, but they fail nevertheless to raise the whole above the debilities of heavy symbolism and excruciatingly precious plot. (Kirkus Reviews)

Observer
‘A celebration of pleasure, of love, of tolerance.'

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Customer Reviews

Brimming with passion for life
Joanna Harris creates a rich and vibrant description of a rural French village with all its petty rivalries and traditional, narrow-minded boundaries on thought and behavior. Each of the main characters is hemmed in by these restrictions and must keep certain devils from their past or present lives secreted away so as not to become more of an outsider than they already are and in particular so as not to incite the condemnation of the local parish Priest. Into this scenario comes Mademoiselle Rocher who, despite having her own devils to deal with, brings the promise of freedom embodied in the delights of the chocolate she sells. The characters are inspiring, the descriptions full of life and vigour and the narrative sparkling. The way each of the characters deals with their respective devils makes this a total feel-good novel, but one which is not only enthralling, but also thought-provoking from start to finish.

A book about chocolate, religion and belonging.
When Vianne arrives in Lansquenet with her young daughter and opens a chocolate boutique opposite the church, Father Reynard immediately identifies her as a threat to him and his flock and to the traditions, religion and way of life that he holds so dear.

Vianne's shop cum café is a provocative distraction to the town folk and one which Father Reynard sees as seducing his god fearing congregation. After all, how can the church compete with such mouth-watering chocolate delights as are described here and how can it turn a blind eye to their calling when they are right outside his front door?

Chocolate is Vianne's life, - it is what she knows, she is good at it, it is her livelihood. She sees it as nothing but harmless fun, a treat for her customers if they are feeling low but for Father Reynard, he sees it as the start of the destruction of his own way of life. Now there is a place for people to meet, to talk and to whisper secrets. What will they need his church for now they have this?

So, what did I like about the book. I liked the description of small town France and the characterisation. Immediately I felt a kinship with the characters, like I was part of their community - I cared about what happened to them.

The book is cleverly written in that chapters are alternately narrated by Vianne - the temptress, the devil incarnate maybe and Father Reynard, gods messenger. For every event that occurs the other opinion is then offered up for the reader to examine. Consequently, the reader is allowed to form their own opinion, rather than being spoon fed a conclusion that the author wants you to reach and the author never falls into the trap of telling you who she wants you to sympathise with.

When the film version of this book was released earlier this year I was quietly outraged that the character of Father Reynard had been substituted for a town mayor. For me, the crux of this book centres on the relationship between Vianne and the priest. If one of these characters is good, then surely the other must be bad but which is which? Life comes in shades of grey and this is probably never so well expressed as here. There are two sides to every story.

I have not seen the film (although I would like to watch it one day) but I fail to see how a town mayor can have the same hold and the same emotional impact over people as that of a priest. Is religion really so controversial that Hollywood had to make such a major change?

The reviews that appear in my copy of the book, mainly concentrate on the beautiful descriptions of chocolate but for me, even though I am a self confessed chocoholic, the book was much more than that. It's about how we react to change, how we react to our beliefs being challenged and its about belonging. Throw in a dash of magic and a suspicion of witchcraft - the good kind, there is nothing to be afraid of here and you are in for a treat.

Chocolat is a lovely read without being syrupy or sweet but what I liked best was that it is thought provoking and challenges the readers perception of right and wrong.

This is definitely one of my favourite books of the year and of all time.

Chocolat - The meaning of life?
I didn't expect much from this book, my mother told me to read it as she loved it and so i thought i would give it a go - and how glad i am that I did! This book has so much hidden depth which is not apparently obvious from the title. I have never seen paganism and catholicism brought together so cleverly. A beautiful look at how religions work and are not so different. I found the book to be very touching and insightfull. The characters are a very well thought up blend of people and portrays a good spectrum of people from most walks of life, all cleverly tied together in a small village. Harris brought everyone of them to life beautifuly and each had a different yet stricking character and they all somehow seem very familiar and I found i could relate most of them to people I have encountered. All in all this is a wonderful feel good book I would recomend it to everyone as a clever look at religion and sociology! (I will appologise hear for my spelling which im sure is atrocious)!