ABOUT THE BOOK

When beautiful, unmarried Vianne Rocher sweeps into the pinched little town of Lansquenet on the heels of the carnival and opens a gem of a chocolate shop across the square from the church, she begins to wreak havoc with the town's Lenten vows. Her uncanny ability to perceive her customers' private discontents and alleviate them with just the right confection coaxes the villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness, but enrages Père Reynaud, the local priest. Certain only a witch could stir such sinful indulgence and devise such clever cures, Reynaud pits himself against Vianne and vows to block the chocolate festival she plans for Easter Sunday, and to run her out of town forever.

Witch or not (she'll never tell), Vianne soon sparks a dramatic confrontation between those who prefer the cold comforts of the church and those who revel in their newly discovered taste for pleasure. Hailed as "an amazement of riches few readers will be able to resist" by The New York Times Book Reviews, Chocolat is a timeless and enchanting story about temptation, pleasure, and what a complete waste of time it is to deny yourself anything.

Joanne Harris, part French and part English, found her inspiration for Chocolat in her own family's history - herself having been born the great-granddaughter of a Frenchwoman known locally as a witch and a healer who once disguised herself as an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Harris teaches French in an English school and lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband and daughter.

 

Here are some readers' comments on Chocolat:

"This is a delightful novel, with a simple and humourous theme full of mouthwatering descriptions.

Vianne Rocher is a single mother who arrives with daughter Anouk in the French village of Lansquenet. She opens a chocolatiere across the road from the church and is seen by the parish priest and his supporters as a threat to the stability of parish life.
Vianne's colourful presence in the village attracts a following and when she plans a chocolate festival for Easter Sunday, Father Reynaud launches a campaign declaring "Church not Chocolate".

Joanne Harris has written a story which could be enjoyed by anyone aged eight to eighty. It is refreshingly simple and deserves to succeed."

(Reviewed by a member of Raheny Library Reading Group.)