Joanne Harris, 1999
Random House
320 pp.
In Brief
When the exotic stranger Vianne Rocher arrives in the old French village of Lansquenet and opens a chocolate boutique called "La Celeste Praline" directly across the square from the church, Father Reynaud identifies her as a serious danger to his flock. It is the beginning of Lent: the traditional season of self-denial. The priest says she'll be out of business by Easter.
To make matters worse, Vianne does not go to church and has a penchant for superstition. Like her mother, she can read Tarot cards. But she begins to win over customers with her smiles, her intuition for everyone's favourites, and her delightful confections. Her shop provides a place, too, for secrets to be whispered, grievances aired. She begins to shake up the rigid morality of the community. Vianne's plans for an Easter Chocolate Festival divide the whole community. Can the solemnity of the Church compare with the pagan passion of a chocolate éclair?
For the first time, here is a novel in which chocolate enjoys its true importance, emerging as an agent of transformation. Rich, clever, and mischievous, reminiscent of a folk tale or fable, this is a triumphant read with a memorable character at its heart.
Says Harris: "You might see [Vianne] as an archetype or a mythical figure. I prefer to see her as the lone gunslinger who blows into the town, has a showdown with the man in the black hat, then moves on relentless. But on another level she is a perfectly real person with real insecurities and a very human desire for love and acceptance. Her qualities too -- kindness, love, tolerance -- are very human." Vianne and her young daughter Anouk, come into town on Shrove Tuesday. "Carnivals make us uneasy," saysHarris, "because of what they represent: the residual memory of blood sacrifice (it is after all from the word "carne" that the term arises), of pagan celebration. And they represent a loss of inhibition; carnival time is a time at which almost anything is possible."
The book became an international best-seller, and was optioned to film quickly. The Oscar-nominated movie, with its star-studded cast including Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, whose previous film The Cider House Rules (based on a John Irving novel) also looks at issues of community and moral standards, though in a less lighthearted vein. (From the Publisher)
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
ReplyDeleteThe way to Hell is paved with slabs of chocolate according to Father Francis Reynaud, the priest of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the tiny French village that is the setting for Joanne Harris’s charming novel, ‘Chocolat’.
Reynaud, wrestling with his own inner demons, is ill equipped to lead anyone else away from the slippery slopes of temptation and sin, a fact that he seems oblivious to. He watches with impotent rage as his hitherto obedient parish flock to the new chocolaterie, opened by the mysterious Vianne Rocher. He decides that drastic steps must be taken to stem this flow towards decadence, but will his measures work?
‘Chocolat’ pits unbending religious fanaticism against the allure of chocolate, and all it represents – sensuality, freedom from self-imposed inhibitions, and simple happiness.
Vianne’s non-judgmental acceptance of people’s foibles, her accommodation of an eclectic array of beliefs, and lack of adherence to social conventions, or calcifying religious convictions, puts her at odds with Reynaud - intolerant of human weaknesses, while at the same time, weighed down by his own guilty secrets, and imploding with repressed desires.
Ms. Harris takes a few well-aimed zingers against the Catholic Church, but in her over-zealous criticism, one can’t help wondering if she’ll throw the baby out with the bath water.
Though the pace is a little slow, and the plot leaves some loose ends untied, her narrative style is truly mouth-watering. Reynaud seems better depicted than the character Vianne, who never really springs off the page with the same degree of intensity. Occasionally, the humor seems forced, but the final chapters culminate in a wickedly delightful dénouement. We can’t help but applaud when hypocrisy and intolerance so effectively prove to be their own undoing.
It’s a bittersweet truth that it’s difficult to wage a victorious war against chocolate. Many dieters have learned this to their anguish. But still, I can’t help but feel for Father Reynaud in his predicament. How can people gorge so recklessly on chocolate, even if it is darker than the Devil’s deeds, with no fear of the natural consequences – Cavities! Acne! Obesity!
After all, mindless indulgence, with regard to chocolate, or anything else, comes at a price. By failing to explore this aspect, the author has lost an opportunity to make a good book better.
Chocolat by Joanne Harris is glorious treat to "Chocolate" itself! Like people, chocolate comes in myriad shapes and flavors, each unique and delectable onto itself. She portrays various facets of how Chocolate or Life can be delicious or dangerous depending on the choices made.
ReplyDeleteVianne blows in like cool wind and mystically surrounds people with her genuine love and acceptance. Like fruit filled Chocolate she enlivens the spirit of a sad man who is anticipating the loss of his faithful canine friend; like White Chocolate,she helps relax hidden tensions, imposed by a controlling mother in a boy who is yearning to bond with his grandmother; like Bitter Dark Chocolate, she instills courage in a battered woman to stand up for her dignity and freedom and so it goes...
On the other had we have Father Renaud, who in the name of religion suppresses and chastises his parish. He himself like an overweight, unhealthy chocoate addict, is an uptight, unhappy victim of obsession for power and control.
Chocolat is a mouthwatering story about the triumph of love, compassion, courage, wisdom and freedom over hate, fear, selfishness and anger.
Thanks to Good Samaritans like Vianne, who from time to time steer life back on course when darkness, turmoil like Renaud are rocking it out of control..