Chocolat (Paperback)

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.