A review by ashtheaudiomancer
Chocolat by Joanne Harris

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.
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