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May 05, 2008

Merand rated it:

I loved the movie...but I didn't enjoy the book. Actually, I didn't finish it either because I just wasn't enjoying it. Too many details had been changed from the movie and what really bothered me was the priest. I'm certainly not denying that priests/religious figures have their problems or are total hypocrites and I'm not denying that many horrible things have been done in the name of religion BUT I am tired of reading books where the evil character is the religious leader. Inevitably the More...

13 comments like (18 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2008

Edith rated it:

I liked the style, alternating chapters narrated by the heroine,chocolate shop owner Vianne Rocher, and her nemesis, the village priest. The book creates charming images of creativity and sensitivity on the part of Vianne, contrasted with dark images of guilt and rigidity on the part of the priest. Free spirits versus conforming traditionalists. Love and friendship versus control and manipulation. Color and joie de vivre versus blackness and regret. Hints of deeper mystery in the past.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2008

Madison rated it:

Bitter orange cracknel, apricot marzipan rolls, cerisette russe, white rum truffles, manon blac. crêpes, pain au chocolat, various types of couverture, and countless chocolate beverages, all fill the air of Vianne Rocher’s chocolate shop, La Celeste Praline. Vianne and her young daughter, Anouk, move to Lansquenet hoping to find themselves a permanent home. However, instead they find a criticizing community in which anything not considered normal is outcast. Chocolat, by Joanne Harris, occurs du More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Like so many people I read the book after I saw the movie. I can see why people would be upset with the book after seeing the movie - the book is a different story in many ways. I think the tone of the book threw me off more than anything.

I have to say I really enjoyed both the book and the movie. I think it is rare to read a book and have it be almost verbatim what you experience in the movie (The Princess Bride is the only exception I can think of off the top of my head) so if I l More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 13, 2009

Carly rated it:

I began reading this book before the film came out because I wanted to see the film, and I usually like to read the book first since the book is better. At the beginning of my reading, it was clear why this book was turned into a movie: it had a very clear, plot-driven narrative. As I continued reading, I felt that this book was the first book I'd read that made me understand what a professor of mine meant when he explained Hemingway's Iceberg Theory: that 90% of what a writer is saying is unde More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 25, 2008

Kristen rated it:

Really really good book. Not what I thought it would be. Usually I cringe to read a book that became a movie. But this book makes me want to either move to a small village in France or start making fancy candy. I also liked the narration shifts and alternating perspectives. It put a little edge and anticipation to the story.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2009

Kelly rated it:

Chocolat was good for the sort of fluffy, non-literary sort of book that it is. Vianne, who is a witch of sorts, arrives with her young daughter in a small French town and opens a chocolate shop. Her sensual, outsider ways began to change the lives of the townspeople and invokes the ire of the local priest. This is an enjoyable, light read, but one thing that confused me was when the novel was taking place. I remember reading a part about someone watching videos, but the idea of a priest being u More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2011

Amanda rated it:

(4.5 stars)

Vianne and her daughter Anouk move to a little town in France and open a chocolate shop, which offends the priest in town because she does this right at the start of the Lent season. The two lock into a battle of wills, and the whole town gets drawn into the fight.

I first tried to read this book in fall of 2009 and failed to get very far. However, I watched the movie a few months back and really enjoyed it, so I decided to give the book another chance. I’m so glad More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2011

Melee rated it:

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.)

I liked Chocolat but there were several glaring annoyances that ruined it for me.
I did not appreciate the "chocolate lovers vs. churchgoers" plot. Casting a priest in the role of the villain irritated me. (I echo the others who say this is overdone.) Even so, I think the priest could have More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Vincent rated it:

A warm February wind brings a stranger and her daughter to the small French town of Lansquenet. The stranger is Vianne Rocher who in no time opens a chocolate shop across from the local Catholic Church. This infuriates Father Reynaud who is positive that Vianne has done this intentionally to lead his parishoners into temptation and to make them break their Lenten fasts. Vianne’s presence and friendship does shake up the sleepy little town, but in ways that not even the fanatical priest can pr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 16, 2009

Taylor rated it:

Joanne Harris made me long to move to Europe. More fantasizing about small town, rural life. And the descriptions of the chocolate left me dreaming about rose creams, amaretto, pain au chocolat...why is it that these books that leave me hungry and dissatisfied are some of my favorites? Really.

This book is full of luscious sentences, beautiful descriptions, and alluring personalities. It's different from the movie - but both have the same spirit of magical glamor. And both make me need More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2011

Purplycookie rated it:

"I believe that being happy is the only important thing. Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or torturous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive."

If you've watched the movie from a few years back and you've only decided just now to pick up the book where the movie was based on, prepare to be surprised (although in what way exactly, I leave it to you). I can hardly believe that a novel so richly packed with meaning could be so relatively short. Harris' prose here is at its f More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2008

Kelly rated it:

I started reading Chocolat for a book club that I was in. I had actually been the one to select it. I wanted to have a chocolate tasting party and thought what better way than to suggest reading a book that centers around chocolate.

I had seen the movie starring Juliet Binoche and Johnny Depp and I loved it so I was looking forward to reading the book to see how it compared.

To my surprise and delight it was a completely different story. Sure there were certain plot po More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2008

Jess rated it:

 Chocolat  is an intriguing novel written by Joanne Harris. She is the author of many famous novels including  The Girl With No Shadow , Gentlemen and Players , and her lastest novel  Runemarks . Many of her novels are set in European countries such as France and England. Joanne receives her inspiration to write about these places from her parents’ different ethnicities. She is proud to say that her books are published in over forty different countries. One of Joanne Harris’s most famous novels

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 01, 2010

Shelly rated it:

Delightfully decadent! You can practically taste the chocolate as you're reading and you can definitely smell it!! Harris does a great job of transporting you to a small village in France. A good read with adult themes and some language.

Watched the movie and found it lacking compared to the book. By changing the priests character to be the mayor much of the nuance of the story is lost. I've come to realize that reading is a lot like eating; you have to savor the subtelties of flavor More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 15, 2008

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) rated it:

I adored the film. It's one of my favorites. So, when I discovered that it was based on a book, I had to read it. And, it's not a bad book. The film adaptation is quite different, although many of the characters are the same. For instance, in the book, Reynaud is the priest not the mayor and Caroline Clairmont is not a widow working for him. Armande is still feisty and Guillaume sweet. Josephine also appears prominently. Roux was far more appealing on screen: I wonder why? ;)

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 08, 2008

Yrinsyde rated it:

This is a powerful book, very evocative of the sights, smells and sounds of France and its food, especially chocolate! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and had to force myself to slow down! I watched the movie afterwards, which did not do justice to the novel at all. It changed the menace from being the catholic priest to the mayor of the town, which destroyed any power that the movie could have had and instead, made it twee. The movie director inserted parts in the plot that were not in the nove More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 28, 2008

Kristin rated it:

The first is Chocolat by Joanne Harris. This book was given to me by Rebecca at our book club Christmas party book exchange. I was very excited to get it because I have been wanting to read it for a long time. I am a Francophile (I think that's the word) I love all things French. I took French in High School and at BYU. I have always wanted to go to France. I like French food. You get the idea. This book was a great armchair travel book. It takes place in a small village in France. It is filled More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Becky rated it:

I did not like this book. I didn't think the author developed the characters well enough that I could even tell them apart by half-way through. There was not enough for me to develop emphathy for anyone in the book except the guy with the little, old dog.

I also have a problem with an author being so blatant about the axe they have to grind with any particular group. I thought the book was anti-religious and anti-Catholic, specifically. I am not of the thought or feeling that anyon More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 06, 2010

Christina rated it:

This book weaves a tale that is intoxicating to the senses. Overwhelming images of chocolate dominant procedings - though really the chocolate is merely a precursor for what happens. It is a light read, in that it did not draw me in as much as other books, but it is a good read nonetheless. Even my normal reviewing style is slightly different because of this book.

While I couldn't help but compare this book to the movie, there is definitely a difference between them. If you need somet More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 18, 2008

Shaya rated it:

The writing was very good. Descriptive, etc. I felt the plot didn't make sense at some points. I followed it fine, but it just didn't seem like certain events should be happening. The priest was very evil. I was surprised that it seemed to be set in rather modern times but the priest's role, or the role he was trying to have, felt like it was set in the past.

The basic story is that a woman and her daughter move into a small French town and set up a chocolate shop. She befriends many More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 01, 2008

Suzanne rated it:

Liked the book better than the film. The book reflects the threat traditional French clerics felt toward a mysterious single mother who moves to a small village and opens a chocolate shop across the street from the town's cathedral. Her lack of guilt and clear sensuality are symbolized in the chocolate creations on display in her shop. Little by little the repressed villagers thaw..much to the outrage of the town's priest.
The film is different. Clearly the producers didn't want to appe More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Amanda rated it:

It seems I took my time reading the book Chocolat.

As for 'getting into the book' that was difficult. I kept comparing the book with the movie.
What a huge difference! Even the 'looks' are different. In the book Vianne has long black hair, and Roux, played by Johnny Depp in the movie, has red hair.

The movie is really great, but it is not like the book. So much detail has gone missing in the movie.

I enjoyed the book very much, but I would rather s More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Steve rated it:

Vianne Rocher is a confident woman with a young girl, Anouk. For all of her life Vianne has travelled around, never staying in one place for very long. However now she wants her and Anouk, her daughter, to find a place to settle down and live in. They come to the small town of Lansquenet in rural France, and rent out the old Bakery, shut for many years now. They make quite a stir in the very traditional village, not only because they don t go to Church, but also because Vianne is opening a Choc More...

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Nov 04, 2011

Sorcha added it

Chocolat is, on the surface, about tempatation but is more about need.[return][return]Vianne arrives in a french village, opening up her decadant Chocolatierie just as Lent is beginning, much to the annoyance of the local parish priest, who is attempting to preach about sacrifice and penance.[return][return]However Vianne has a knack of knowing what people need even if they dont necessarily want it - so ensuring that the grandmother is in the sho when her grandson (who she hasnt see in ages due More...

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Dec 07, 2010

Kirsty added it

Wonderful fun. I'm sure everybody but me knows the story by now as I remember this being made into a film a few years ago that I never got around to going to see. Just for the record this is the story of what happens when Vianne Rocher blows into a small village France at the beginning of the traditionally austere Lent period and opens a luxurious chocolate shop. The local curate and his groupies are not at all happy.

I wasn't expecting a great plot from this, but just as in Coastliners I got

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Mar 11, 2009

Becky rated it:

So. I finished it. Finally. My thoughts? Well, I didn't hate it. But I sure was hoping to like it more than I did. With a name like Chocolat, I expected it to be, well, delicious. And perhaps other readers find it so. Told in alternating voices--a holier-than-thou-priest, Reynaud, and a wicked-worldly woman, a chocolate-maker, Vianne Rocher, the book--set in France--follows the Lenten season from its opening festivals (Fat Tuesday?) through Easter morn. A woman and her young child (complete with More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2009

Gette added it

Vianne Rocher and her young daughter Anouk sweeps into the little French town of Lansquenet one day and opens a chocolate shop across the square from the local church.[return][return]It is Lent, and parishioners are breaking their vows faster at record speed. The priest Pere Reynaud, is livid. Vianne must be a witch, he decides, and vows to run her out of town before the Chocolate Festival she is planning for Easter.[return][return]He may not be getting very much support from the villagers howev More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Anne rated it:

I've read this book so many times, I don't even know how to go about reviewing it. One interesting thing I noticed this time around is that the book is in fact set in the 1990s--people watch TV and make microwave pizza, there are mentions of "the summer of '75," which couldn't possibly be 1875. It's easy to skip over details like that because the film version (which is also lovely) moves the story into the 1950s or '60s, possibly because in 2000 it was hard to believe that anybody li More...

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Oct 16, 2011

Kristen rated it:

"Chocolat" is easily one of my favorite novels - the escapism is fantastic, the food descriptions are mouth-watering, the plot and prose are beautiful. I can hardly believe that a novel so richly packed with meaning could be so relatively short and such a quick read. Harris' prose here is at its finest, as we follow the narratives of Vianne the free-spirited chocolate-creating witch, and Reynaud the guilt-stricken oppressive village priest.
Each narrative is uniquely told, with p More...

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