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tea_at_mole_end's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Violence, Suicide, Xenophobia, Hate crime, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
thingslucyreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Very very different from the movie, though the core characters and events are the same. A rare occasion where both pieces of work stand together, complimenting each other without being diminished by their differences. Ultimately I think I prefer the film, if only because I really enjoyed the Reynaud/Caroline romance, which is wholly absent from the novel, and I liked Caroline’s characterisation in the film better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
Use of the g-slur for travelling people, racist sentiments and stereotypes about them expressed during Reynaud’s POV chapters and encouraged among the other residents by him. I’ve tagged for suicide also but it’s less that and more voluntary, self-inflicted euthanasia. This character has an illness that she purposely ignores in favour of enjoying the last years of her life - I do not share this illness so can’t say if it’s a negative or positive portrayal.juliarchetype's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Medical content, Physical abuse, Death, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
mariakureads's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I came to read this from watching the movie and I enjoyed the differences between both but I do like the book a lot better.
The duo POV from Vianne and Father Reynaud were interesting to read as they view each other and the town and how each one wields some power through it all and it created a very beautiful and magical world especially from Vianne whereas Father Reynaud views the world in a practical light, there was a different kind of magic.
Harris wrote a very magical book that hooked me from the opening paragraph with its lush descriptions and details. The characters were an interesting mix of views and traits that were real and fantastical within the word building of this sleepy town.
The duo POV from Vianne and Father Reynaud were interesting to read as they view each other and the town and how each one wields some power through it all and it created a very beautiful and magical world especially from Vianne whereas Father Reynaud views the world in a practical light, there was a different kind of magic.
Harris wrote a very magical book that hooked me from the opening paragraph with its lush descriptions and details. The characters were an interesting mix of views and traits that were real and fantastical within the word building of this sleepy town.
Content Warnings
Minor: Terminal illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
chalkletters's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Chocolat seems the perfect book to review before the Easter weekend. Not only will Joanne Harris's delicious descriptions of the wares of La Celeste Praline whet one’s appetite for Sunday's chocolate eggs, but the main plot of the book concerns Vianne's Easter chocolate festival, and Father Reynaud's outrage that it might diminish the religious significance of the holiday.
In the years since I last read Chocolat, I'd managed to forget almost everything except the two extremes of this story. From the beginning, Vianne's story of the bells being blessed and carrying chocolate home to their bell towers, and, from the end, Father Reynaud's temptation in the window of Vianne's shop.
What I'd forgotten was Vianne's magical abilities, which came as a pleasant surprise this time around. I find stories of genuine witchcraft in the real world appropriately spell-binding, perhaps because they allow me to believe in magic, even if only in the context of the book's world. Vianne scrying in molten chocolate is just one example of Joanna Harris’s inventiveness in bringing together fortune-telling and cooking.
The characters in Chocolat are lovingly captured. Though my favourites are all among Vianne's friends, rather than her enemies, I can't help but notice that Joanne Harris gives even the antagonists a complexity which, sometimes, makes them sympathetic. I love Joséphine, Roux, Vianne and Armande best, but Father Reynaud is fascinating, and I was never annoyed to be given a new chapter from his perspective.
I hadn't realised that Chocolat had sequels, but I will eagerly add them to my to-read-list, along with everything else Joanne Harris has written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, and Violence
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