Review: Chocolate, By Joanne Harris

Title: Chocolat
Author: Joanne Harris
Publisher: Penguin Group
Publishing Date: January 28, 2000
Length: 242 pages
Summary: (from book) In tiny little Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful, unmarried newcomer Vianne Rocher and her young daughter sweep into the pinched little town on a wave of gossip. On the heels of the carnival, Vianne promptly opens a chocolate shop right across the square from the church, and thus begins to wreak havoc with the town's Lenten vows. Vianne finds herself embroiled in a battle for the town's souls with the local priest, Father Reynaud, who tries to cast Vianne-with her unconventional, gypsy-like ways-as the village Jezebel. Soon she has effected a civil war in the little country town between those who prefer the cold comforts of the church and those who revel in the warm delights of chocolate.
But each box of chocolates she sells comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness and a dramatic confrontation between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival.
My Thoughts: This was a cute book. The way the author writes was absolutely breathtaking. I found myself sucked in and read this book in one sitting. The characters were instantly lovable and I feel like we have become fast friends. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite from among them, though I found Luc's story with his grandmother to be particularly touching. Vianne was a mysterious soul and while I would not classify her as a witch, she does have some peculiar habits. (Forking fingers, reading cards,)  I am not a fan of magic of any kind, but this felt like more gypsy superstition than black magic to me. The one thing I feel a little sketchy on was the obvious disapproval of the Catholic church, but it was still a fun story nonetheless. The story of the bells at Easter had to be my favorite part.
Things To Be Cautious Of: Sadly, there's a bit to be warned about. Had I known, I might not have read the book.
Language: Several uses of BI**, two BA***, the F word (which I found most shocking and very offensive) used about five times.
Awkward: Father Reynaud hints at a traumatic childhood experience and you find out that it has to do with him seeing people *making out*
A dirty man eyes Vianne; Vianne has a serious *make out* session in the garden with a character. No details, nothing graphic, but mentions lack of clothing. This is the first time I've ever encountered something like this in a story and I was a little disconcerted.
Violence: One man is abusive and beats his wife.

~o0o~
I will be watching the movie Chocolat and will give my opinion as well as compare it to the book later on.

The movie was adorable. I might have liked it better than the book. It was very different from the book, and I think that might be why I liked it. The preacher turned out to be an adorable young adult and the antagonist, if you will, was a character not even in the book-the mayor. This was made before Johnny Depp's career really took off and it's a little odd to see him in a serious role. His Irish accent was awful; not going to lie. He has grown leaps and bounds since then. I liked reading the book first and then seeing the movie- I felt like I had more of a psychological insight into the character's minds from reading the book and that gave me more a connection and understanding for the motives of their actions.