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Amazon.co.uk Review
One by one the locals succumb to Vianne's concoctions. Harris weaves their secrets and troubles, their loves and desires, into this, her third novel, with the lightest touch. Sad, polite Guillame and his dying dog. Thieving, beaten-up Joséphine Muscat. Schoolchildren who declare it "hypercool" when Vianne says they can help eat the window display--a gingerbread house complete with witch. And Armande, still vigorous in her 80s, who can see Anouk's "imaginary" rabbit Pantoufle, and recognises Vianne for who she really is. However, certain villagers--including Armande's snobby daughter and Joséphine's violent husband--side with Reynaud. So when Vianne announces a Grand Festival of Chocolate commencing Easter Sunday, it's all-out war. War between church and chocolate, between good and evil, between love and dogma.
Reminiscent of Herman Hesse's short story Augustus, Chocolat is an utterly delicious novel, coated in the gentlest of magic, which proves--indisputably and without preaching--that soft centres are best. --Lisa Gee
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful and hugely evocative magically rich offering,
By A Customer
This review is from: Chocolat (Film Tie-in) (Paperback)
This book falls outside most genres, and I am surprised it has been turned into a film. Not because it is a bad book, or even because it is non-genre (although that often confuses film makers) but because its strength is the use of language and description of people, moods and food. This is wonderful on the written page but never easily tranfers to film.The beauty of the book is its timeless appraoch to people, religion, feelings, and the textures of life that are often not written about. The book covers a lot of ground, dealing with different types of people (each with their own voice) with their loves and interests and fears and jealousies. It has a bit of memories, but mainly it is based in the small village, and the richness of texture comes from the characters who populate it. It is a book that could appeal to all, certainly anyone who has an interest in what people are like, and how small communities only need a minor event to change their outlook and (small) world-view
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Chocolat is sweet, but the aftertaste soon fades,
This review is from: Chocolat (Film Tie-in) (Paperback)
I will refrain from a plot summary as it is adequately described above and on the cover.Chocolat is a decently written modern novel. The author excels at description - do not read this book on an empty stomach. I have seen most of the film, and for once think the film might be better than the book. The minor characters are to me, far more entertaining that the main characters. My heaviest criticism is that the book has rather sterotypical characters and virtually no character development. Much of the story can be readily and accurately anticipated by anyone familiar with standard plot devices. The characters are too resolute and unbending, so much so that they seem like stiff cardboard cutouts instead of actual, changeable people. I simply don't believe the characterizations. And I don't know how she managed to open a chocolate shop with such nice things in about 3 days, it would take an entire team of people! The book is also generally hedonistic, the main character saying she believes in 'what makes you happy'. It pits hedonism against an extreme form of self-control. Let's face it, you need a mix of both, and this book fails to engage in any sort of real debate or examination of what makes a good society tick, leaving it feeling rather unsophisticated. Chocolat is aimed at a general audience who just want a mildly entertaining fast read. I do not recommend it to anyone who wants anything different. It will make you smile in places, but it won't linger with you for any great amount of time. It does contain entertaining secondary characters and descriptions, but seems to lack in every other department. Thus I'd rate it 2/5.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book if you forget the hype,
By
This review is from: Chocolat (Film Tie-in) (Paperback)
Having been a bit reluctant to read Chocolat because of the incredible write-up its been given I forgot all the hype and enjoyed it. It wasn't the easiest of books to read, but Ms Harris manages to paint a vivid image of the village and its people. From a personal point of view I would have liked to get more closely acquainted with Josephine and Roux, but I can understand why she would have chosen to leave those details out.It's obvious that we're supposed to take Vianne's side against Reynaud and "the establishment", but at times I struggled to like her character as her attitude wasn't always very appealing. Several bits and pieces of Vianne's and Reynaud's pasts, that were used to explain the present, were not sufficiently detailed for me to give this book 5 stars, I sometimes found myself lost in a dream sequence. The plot in itself was also a bit thin in places and I almost found Armande's fate more interesting than the struggle between Vianne and Reynaud. On a whole I think that this is a good book, but I don't really understand what all the fuss has been about.
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