In my last entry - which was WAY too long ago - I mentioned that I would add my thoughts on the book I decided to read for our European trip.  I was required to write a book report on the book that I chose, so I thought I would just post that for you to read!  The book I read is called Chocolat, and the author is Joanne Harris.  I hope that, after reading what I have to say, you'll find the book as irresistible as I did!  =)  Here it is:

The book I chose to read while we were in Paris and Barcelona is Chocolat, by Joanne Harris.  I had seen the movie based off of the book, but I had no idea the book existed.  I chose to read Chocolat because the film had so intrigued me; I wanted to have a deeper understanding of the very complex characters and a fuller view of the intricacies in the plot.  I had high expectations for the book after watching the film, and was in no way disappointed.  Because of its unique and well-developed characters, engaging ideas, and beautiful diction and imagery, Chocolat is a book I would willingly recommend.

The story starts out with the main character, Vianne Rocher, and her daughter Anouk making a new beginning in the small, deeply conservative town of Lansquenet.  They buy and renovate an old bakery in the center of the village, turning it into La Celeste Praline, a tempting little chocolaterie full to bursting with delectable sweets.  While business is slow at first, the villagers soon discover and relish the high quality of the chocolates, which prove to be entirely irresistible.  Each villager is closed off, hard, and cold when he or she meets Vianne for the first time.  However, this universal pinched and fettered attitude soon wares off as Vianne begins to warm the cold, still town with her unfeigned happiness, genuine contentment, and deep concern for the well-being of those around her.  Before long, La Celeste Praline has a devoted following of regular customers and Vianne has been accepted into the hearts of about half of Lansquenet.

The other half, however, is an entirely different story.  While some of the townspeople welcome the breath of fresh air that Vianne brings with her, there are several folk who shun the woman and her natural, easy, slightly impertinent ways.  The leader of this bunch is the town’s reverend, Pere Reynaud.  Reynaud sees Vianne as a rival, a woman determined to derail the townspeople from their spiritual walks by using her chocolate as an insurmountable temptation.  He accuses her of playing to the weakness of his flock and causing them to succumb to their forbidden desires.  This really isn’t Vianne’s intent, and she refuses to let Reynaud discourage her or control his congregation so strictly.  Not being a church-goer herself – and therefore deepening Reynaud’s suspicion of her – she opens the chocolate shop on the first day of Lent, exactly when the people of the town are meant to be forgoing their indulgences.

The rest of the book details the struggle Vianne goes through in order to be accepted by the society of Lansquenet while helping others along the way.  Through Vianne, people in the town learn what it feels like to live again, although there is a constant shadow thrown by the restrictive and hypocritical Reynaud.  Josephine, a sweet woman dealing with the hardship of an alcoholic and abusive husband, finally gains the courage to leave the man who has been making her life miserable, much to the joy of Vianne – and the consternation of Reynaud.  One of the oldest – and strangest – residents of Lansquenet, Armande, throws caution to the wind and chooses to indulge herself and enjoy the last few months of her life before her serious diabetes causes her to go blind and eventually pass away.  A group of river gypsies find a true friend in Vianne and become partially accepted in Lansquenet for the first time, another unwelcome change in the eyes of the pious Reynaud.  Vianne uses her chocolates and her uncanny, eerily accurate perception of people’s personalities and struggles to introduce warmth and joy to the town of Lansquenet again, bringing certain villagers peace and unity while also causing controversy and strife between other residents of the town.

Vianne rejoices in the happiness she is able to bring to others through her chocolates and her kind, honest words.  She becomes increasingly uncomfortable, however, as Reynaud’s disapproval and opposition slowly begins to ware on her.  Vianne was raised by a mother who dabbled in witchcraft – an area with which she is somewhat familiar herself – and was constantly on the move, running from the so-called Black Man who represented evil and death.  Vianne has carried this constant upheaval and movement into her own life and struggles against the terror she has for Reynaud – her own personal Black Man – while deeply desiring to stay in Lansquenet, both for the sake of her young daughter and because she herself has become attached to her friends there.  She gains her own courage from the people she has been able to help and strives to find the same freedom they have discovered through her encouragement. 

Vianne’s fight against Reynaud climaxes on Easter Sunday, when she opens La Celeste Praline for a weeklong chocolate festival.  Naturally, Reynaud is highly enraged, perceiving this festival as Vianne’s final attempt to turn the people’s focus away from God and towards worldly pleasure.  Determined to win in his own struggle against temptation, Reynaud decides to enter Vianne’s shop early on Easter morning and destroy her supply of candy.  He emerges in the shop with a club in hand, completely bent on anonymous destruction, but instead finally succumbs to the desires he has been suppressing since he first laid eyes on the new chocolaterie months ago.  Rather than smashing the chocolates, he gorges himself on truffle after truffle until he is discovered by Vianne herself.  Humiliated to the extreme, he flees the shop and isn’t heard of again. 

It is assumed that Vianne has won her fight against the Black Man and against her own fear.  The people of Lansquenet are free from the domineering grip of the reverend and are happy and content with their lives once more.  Vianne could easily choose to stay, as both she and her daughter so keenly desire.  Whether she stays or not, the reader never discovers.  One is left with a feeling of quiet triumph, uneasy contentment, and halting satisfaction – the way Vianne feels at the end of her long struggle against fear.

Chocolat is a book unlike any I have read before.  I love the beautiful, delectable description of the lush, rich chocolates, pastries, and cakes Vianne creates.  I love the way the characters are developed so deeply – really, the plot is centered around character development rather than around a storyline.  I didn’t appreciate the way Christians were depicted – as domineering, restrictive, and hypocritical people determined to suck pleasure out of the lives of themselves and of others – but the rest of the book captured my heart, and I could almost imagine myself there in the story as we explored Versailles and the small, historical towns of the Basque Country.

So there you have it!  Read and enjoy.  =)