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unablelemon's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Animal death
ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
I read this because it's creeping up on Easter and it's a family tradition to rewatch the film adaptation every year. There are several differences between the book and the movie, including a lot of events that take place either in a different order or were cobbled together into one scene in the movie where they were two separate events in the novel, and of course some characters were left out. Others were added in who weren't in the book, which I did not expect, but honestly most of the characters were perfectly cast.
I'm not sure what else to say without getting into spoilers. The ending is VERY different in the book, and I don't often say this, but I preferred the ending in the movie. I can see why the ending as written wouldn't have played well with test audiences. I don't know if that's what happened, but I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying, as if the author couldn't quite decide where to go next. I don't always have a problem with ambiguous endings, but it felt out of place here.
Otherwise, this was thoroughly delightful, and--apart from the ending--I feel like if you're a fan of the movie, you will definitely enjoy this book.
I'm not sure what else to say without getting into spoilers. The ending is VERY different in the book, and I don't often say this, but I preferred the ending in the movie. I can see why the ending as written wouldn't have played well with test audiences. I don't know if that's what happened, but I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying, as if the author couldn't quite decide where to go next. I don't always have a problem with ambiguous endings, but it felt out of place here.
Otherwise, this was thoroughly delightful, and--apart from the ending--I feel like if you're a fan of the movie, you will definitely enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Racism, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death
All the graphic-to-moderate details mentioned are major themes, and also included in the film adaptation, so if you've seen the movie that's a good indicator for what to expect. The one animal death is NOT included in the movie, and it's of an old and deeply loved pet dying of natural causes, and happens off-page.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.cheye13's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Xenophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Classism, and Chronic illness
Minor: Murder, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
havelock's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
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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