Chocolat: (Chocolat 1)

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Is this the best book ever written? Harris’s achievement is not only in her story, in her insight and humour and the wonderful picture of small-town life in rural France, but also in her writing. (Literary Review) French novels The book was engaging, magical, both literally in its subject matter and in the beauty of its telling.

Victoire Thivisol as Anouk Rocher, Vianne's daughter (voiced by Sally Taylor-Isherwood because Victoire's French accent made her difficult to understand) The taciturn son of Claire and grandson of Armande, he is obedient to a fault and stutters badly when he speaks as a result of the overbearing, smothering presence of his mother. Despite his silence and his willing submission to his mother Luc actually possesses a rebellious streak and maturity beyond his age. He also possesses a love of poetry and literature. Eventually Luc learns to defy his mother’s wishes and sees his grandmother on the sly establishing a close, warm relationship with her until her passing and this act of defiance acts as a catalyst for his character transformation. Anouk Rocher Young widow Vianne Roche's mouthwatering bonbons, steaming mugs of liqueur-laced cocoa and flaky cream-filled patisserie don't earn her a warm welcome from the stern prelate of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. In Francis Reynaud's zeal to enforce strict Lenten vows of self-denial, he regards his sybaritic neighbor with suspicion and disdain. 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, 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. Chocolat was exactly the kind of novel I needed at the moment. I discarded books left and right, I was in the mood for something literary and after re-watching the movie - I settled on this one. I decided to savor it as one would a piece of chocolate, slowly, letting it melt into my mouth so that I could absorb the flavor better.It was a good story. A struggle between good and evil in a tiny little villiage that did not take well to outsiders. Filming took place between May and August 2000 in the medieval village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in the region of Burgundy and on the Rue De L'ancienne Poste in Beynac-et-Cazenac in Dordogne. The river scenes were filmed at Fonthill Lake at Fonthill Bishop in Wiltshire and interior scenes at Shepperton Studios, England. [2] The retired schoolmaster of Lansquenet and unabashed animal lover, he is an old bachelor and is lovingly devoted to his equally ancient pet dog, Charly. Curé Francis frequently reproaches Guillaume for lavishing Charly with love and attention reasoning that animals have no souls and since Charly’s death is already certain because of his age and tumor the best thing for Charly would be to put him down. Charly Mitchell, Elvis (2000-12-15). "FILM REVIEW; Candy Power Comes to Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-12-04. I thought Jigs & Reels was a really enjoyable collection of short stories. The collection shows off Harris’s diversity as a writer. The tales in Jigs & Reels touch and the light and dark aspects of life and vary from the funny to the chilling. I also loved the fact Harris included a little note of each story’s origin. (The Book Lover’s Boudoir)

Luc Clairmont, Caroline Clairmont's thirteen-year-old son, whom she raised with obsessive care. Luc has a penchant for the dark and bizarre which he's been hiding for fear of upsetting his mother. He has a stutter, although it lessens in the company of his grandmother, and when he's drinking at the party. Let me start this review by saying I have never seen the film version of Chocolat. Therefore, I started reading this with no preconceived notions. (Well, no more than usual, anyway.) The tightly plotted drama of “Different Class” plays out in a way which is exciting and surprising, but the novel also says something meaningful about our shifting sense of values. I read this novel at a much faster pace than I read most books for the sheer pleasure of the idiosyncratic characters and the desire to know how their intriguing story would play out. It’s a highly enjoyable read. (The Lonesome Reader)The chocolaterie is an old dream of hers. She has an innate talent for cooking and a charming personality. She tries to fit in and help her customers. She starts to build a group of regular customers, including Armande, Guillaume and Narcisse, and, to Reynaud's dismay, she doesn't go out of business. Reynaud attempts to have Vianne run out of town, and he talks about her every Sunday at church. Some people stay away, but not for long. His conflict with her becomes his personal crusade. Vianne is the main point-of-view character, but Pere Reynaud, the local priest, who has a vendetta against Vianne, gets some chapters from his point of view. I also enjoyed the secondary characters. The estranged daughter of Armande Voizin and mother of Luc who, much like Curé Francis, is spiteful and superficial. She is genuinely concerned about her mother’s condition and worries about her constantly but cannot put up with her outspoken disgust for the Curé and his clique of “bible groupies.” Her idea of properly caring for her mother is sending her away to Les Memosas, a nursing home well away from her and her family. Claire is a stereotype of insular-minded, rural folks who are more concerned with other people’s lives, her shallow character functions as foil to highlight Viannne’s selflessness and Luc’s growing sense of independence. Georges Clairmont reikia ne tik tinkamos aplinkos, tinkamos temperatūros ir tinkamo recepto. Jam reikia tiek tinkamo ragautojo, tiek tinkamo šefo. Tokio, kaip Vijana Roše. Šokolado alchemikė, pranašė, bėganti nuo to, ką mato ateityje – kaip bėgo jos mama ir mamos mama. Nes kartais bėgimas irgi yra recepto dalis. Kartais šokoladui reikia net papildomo kartumo. Tokio, kurio prideda kunigas Fransis Reno. Nusidėjėlių kolekcionierius, kantriai laukiantis dar vienos paklydusios sielos, kurią galėtų priimti į mylinčias rankas, krikščioniškai kukliai nuleista galva. Bet rankos, nors ir mylinčios, myli ne besąlygiškai. Tik pritaikant griežtas atrankos ir patikros taisykles – dar griežtesnes nei gaminant patį sudėtingiausią patiekalą. Myli tik po pažadų, priesaikų, visą gyvenimą trunkančių įsipareigojimų ir dviveidiškų maldų Damoklo kardu virš galvos.

At the end of the story the cure wants to revenge Vianne for her “impropriety”, he decides to spoil all her chocolate goods. It’s worth saying, that he followed the Lent, he was eating only some lean food, and of course, he didn’t eat chocolate. So, he creeps to the shop at late night, but when he comes there, the flavour of the chocolate attracts him and he starts eating all that he sees there, and then he falls asleep in that heaps of spoiled chocolate, where he is found by Vianne in the morning. Goldbart, Max (November 29, 2022). " 'Chocolat': Miramax TV & Mediawan Forging French-Language TV Series Adaptation Of Johnny Depp Movie". Deadline . Retrieved October 6, 2023. A more serious stylistic point is how slowly the book moves. Part of this undoubtedly is Harris focus on creating three dimensional and engaging characters whom we care about, these include the gentle old Guillaume, a man devoted to his dog, Armande, a forceful old lady who reminded me sharply of Terry Pratchett’s witches, who has a troubled relationship with her daughter, and wants to be closer to her diffident grandson Luc, and Josephine Muscat, a timid woman and kleptomaniac with an abusive husband.Despite shifting sentiment in the town, Reynaud remains staunch in his abstinence of eating any chocolate. On the Saturday evening before Easter, Reynaud sees Caroline, to whom he is attracted, leaving the chocolaterie and is devastated. He breaks into the shop that night, smashing the special window display for the Easter festival. After a morsel of chocolate falls on his lip, he devours much of the chocolate in the window before collapsing in tears and falling asleep. The next morning, Vianne wakes him and gives him a drink to help him. Reynaud apologizes for his behavior. The town's young priest Père Henri gives a sermon emphasizing the importance of humanity over divinity. Père Reynaud pays Vianne a visit: it is Sunday, and he didn’t see Vianne or her daughter at church. Vianne explains, “We don’t attend, you know.” When the priest learns that Vianne is unmarried, his outrage turns to horror. The cure is angry. He isn’t used to that fact that somebody may contradict him. So, preaching at the church, he indoctrinates the citizens against Vianne. So, at first the woman doesn’t have clients at her shop. But the people are attracted to the unsurpassed fragrance wafting from the shop, and in some time, they start coming to the shop to drink some hot chocolate or eat dainty chocolate sweet. Vianne is a friendly, kind and sincere woman, so she finds a lot of friends among the citizens. She knows them: their problems, secrets, their characters. Harris has indicated that several of the characters were influenced by individuals in her life: [1] Her son forms the basis for the young Anouk, including his imaginary rabbit, Pantoufle. Harris' strong-willed and independent great-grandmother influenced her portrayal of both Vianne and the elderly Armande. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, two hundred souls at most, no more than a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bordeaux. Blink once, and it's gone. One main street, a double row of dun-colored half-timbered houses leaning secretively together, a few laterals running parallel like the tines of a bent fork. A church, aggressively whitewashed, in a square of little shops. Farms scattered across the watchful land."

I didn’t particularly like either of the main characters and there was so much pettiness that is just wasn’t enjoyable and i found myself rushing just to finish.I loved the little French town, Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, that Vianne and her daughter Anouk found themselves in after the carnival was over. She was there to open a little candy shop. She called it La Celeste Praline I saw the movie years ago before I read the book, which also first happened years ago. This is my first GR-era reading, though, and it was triggered by hearing my husband tell me about seeing the movie playing on a cable channel he gets. He thought it looked interesting so he settled down to watch, but promptly fell asleep. This is nothing new, but without me there to keep nudging him awake he missed the movie. Loved Runemarks…a core fantasy much like the stories of David Eddings or Terry Brooks, with a cool twist on Norse mythology. (Stephenie Meyer) Folklore/fairytale Gourmand Harris’s tale of sin and guilt embodies a fond familiarity with things French that will doubtless prove irresistible to many readers.”— Publishers Weekly(starred review)