Chocolat (novel)


Chocolat is a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris. It tells the story of Vianne Rocher, a young single mother, who arrives in the French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes at the beginning of Lent with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk. Vianne has arrived to open a chocolaterieLa Céleste Pralinewhich is on the square opposite the church. During the traditional season of fasting and self-denial; she gently changes the lives of the villagers who visit her with a combination of sympathy, subversion and a little magic.
This scandalises Francis Reynaud, the village priest, and his supporters. As tensions run high, the community is increasingly divided. As Easter approaches the ritual of the Church is pit against the indulgence of chocolate, and Father Reynaud and Vianne Rocher face an inevitable showdown.
Harris has indicated that several of the characters were influenced by individuals in her life: Her daughter forms the basis for the young Anouk, including her imaginary kangaroo, Pantoufle. Harris' strong-willed and independent great-grandmother influenced her portrayal of both Vianne and the elderly Armande.
The Lollipop Shoes, a sequel, was published in the United Kingdom in 2007.
In 2012, a further sequel was published, entitled Peaches for Monsieur le Curé.

Plot

Vianne Rocher, with her daughter Anouk, come to the small French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. They are brought by "the wind" during the last days of Carnival to open a :fr:Chocolaterie|chocolaterie, La Céleste Praline. The village priest, Francis Reynaud, is initially mystified by their arrival because Lent has just begun, but his confusion turns rapidly to anger when he understands that Vianne holds dangerous beliefs, does not obey the church and "flouts" the unspoken rules that he feels should govern his "flock".
Vianne, we learn from her personal thoughts, is a witch, though she does not use the word. Her mother and she were wanderers, going from one city to another. Her mother strove to inspire the same need for freedom in her daughter, who is more social and passive. They were born with gifts, and used a kind of "domestic magic" to earn their living. Throughout her life, Vianne has been running from the "Black Man", a recurring motif in her mother's folklore. When her mother dies of terminal cancer, Vianne continues on her own, trying to evade the Black Man and the mysterious force of the wind and settle down to a normal life.
The chocolaterie is an old dream of hers. She has an innate talent for cooking and a charming personality. She tries to fit in and help her customers. She starts to build a group of regular customers, and, to Reynaud's dismay, she doesn't go out of business.
Reynaud attempts to have Vianne run out of town, and he talks about her every Sunday at church. Some people initially stay away, but not for long. His conflict with her becomes his personal crusade. Vianne, however, announces a "Grand Festival of Chocolate", to be held on Easter Sunday.

Characters

It won the Creative Freedom Award and the Whittaker Gold and Platinum Awards.
It was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and the Scripter Award.
Charles de Lint praised the novel, saying "Harris's prose is an absolute delight" comparing Chocolat to Like Water for Chocolate.

Setting

The village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes is a fictional village in the Gers region of South-Western France, featured in the novels of Joanne Harris. Situated on the river Tannes, a tributary of the Garonne, it is described as "a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bordeaux". A small rural community of only a few hundred people, it is the setting of the novel Chocolat as well as Harris' later novels, Blackberry Wine and Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. There seems to be evidence to suggest that Lansquenet-sous-Tannes was based on the town of Nérac, on the river Baïse, where Harris spent some of her childhood holidays, and which is very close to a tiny village called Vianne.
The name of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes is ambiguous. The word "lansquenet" refers to an old card game. "Sous Tannes", or "under the Tannes" is also phonetically identical to the French word "soutane", a priest's cassock. This may be a reference to the traditionalist, Catholic nature of the community depicted in the Chocolat books. Lansquenet is portrayed as an insular, close community, run by gossip and the Church.
Most of the inhabitants are elderly; young people have mostly moved to the towns and cities to find work. It is an old bastide and retains the fortress mentality of its past. Outsiders are not welcome; old grudges linger; the inhabitants of neighbouring villages are seen as traditional enemies. Similarly in Peaches for Monsieur le Curé, the presence of a community of Moroccan immigrants, with their new customs and different religious beliefs, causes friction. Lansquenet has acquired a significant following among Harris' readers. In a piece written for the Telegraph in July 2012, she describes her own affection for Lansquenet, as well as that of her readers, many of whom have written to her to say that they have found the place, and therefore know that it exists.

Film adaptation

The film adaptation was released in 2000, directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin and Johnny Depp. It was nominated for 8 BAFTAS and 5 Oscars.

Release details

A sequel to Chocolat, entitled The Lollipop Shoes, was published in 2007. A further chapter in Vianne's story, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé followed in 2012.