Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Book Review - Chocolat by Joanne Harris


I don't know why it has taken me so long to get around to reading this book! I love the film and I have actually borrowed the book at least 3 times and never even opened it. Until this time. When I couldn't put it down.

And I loved it.

Joanne Harris skillfully paints wonderful characters and invokes magical imagery with simple words. The village setting really could be in any time - it is only the outside world that dates the novel. Harris draws from myth and legend as well as shrewd observation to give us not just a beautiful and satisfying story but also a mystical version of a moral tale. It's a great read, but don't expect it to bear much resemblance to the film - or should that read the other way around??

Chocolat reads as a modern day fairytale - but with the dark bits left in - and is well worth a read.

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