Chocolat (French) Paperback – 14 Mar 2000

Absolutely fantastic! The best book read for a long time: Witty, amusing with beautiful prose. Great relationships. I have read all of her books and this is definitely the best.

Unfortunately, by the time I read this I had already seen the film, and therefore picked up the book thinking that I would know exactly what would happen - I was wrong. Although the film is loosely based on the book, the book has a depth that the film doesn't even touch upon. The characters in the book are much more complex and the story is much deeper and much darker as the histories of the characters are explained in a way that it is impossible to depict in a film. The story of Vianne and her daughter Anouk who move to a rather stuffy and old-fashioned village in the French countryside is a compelling read. As the new people in town they cause waves of unconventionality to spread through a town that was used to hiding scandal under the carpet. A fantastic story with wonderfully developed characters that either warm you to the heart or make your skin crawl. You have to read it.

This is such a lovely book, full of tenderness, varied emotions and depth. It follows a lady and her daughter and their relationships within a rural French village. The film is great in its own right, but if you can, read this first as it gives real complexity to the characters that you cannot find in the film.

Strangely I watched the film first and read the book later and even now I am undecided as to which I prefer. The characters in the book are rich and you easily connect with the main character Vianne, and you harbor a strong hatred for Reynaud. However I did feel disappointed about Vianne relationship to Roux in the book as it was so powerful in the film and I feel that the author tried to hook them at the end but then decided against it which made it slightly disjointed. Overall a magical read full of delicious chocolate images that leave you hungry for days!

I found this book to be surprisingly addictive (much like its title!). Having not seen the film I had little idea of the story line but have to admit, I found it thoroughly compelling. It is a gentle easy read, a litte humour, a little romance, nothing too over the top or dramatic. Instead it was more just an insight into two very different peoples life's and I really enjoyed it!

I only saw the film after I read the book, and I have to admit that the book is much much better. The relationships in the book reach much deeper than is depicted in the film, the descriptions made my mouth water and the images conjured up by Joanne Harris were very vivid.This book is a great book: definitely one to take on journeys. It's satisfying, filling, and very enticing