Chocolat: (Chocolat 1)

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One of the mean-spirited gossipmongers in Curé Francis’ group, she possesses sharp features and works at the local school. Joline fears that Vianne is a corrupting influence in their community and because of that she refuses to let her son, Jeannot, play with Anouk. Jeannot Drou Vianne is a magnet for the town’s misfits… Vianne gives them chocolate, but also nudges their lives in the right direction… Clearly, chocolate stands for human kindness and consolation. … Jaunty, hopeful and endearing.”— The Guardian(UK)

It may be the season of Lent, but newcomer Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk arrive with the change of the winds on Shrove Tuesday; opening a chocolate boutique nonetheless. And despite it being the season of abstinence, the locals soon find they can’t stay away…before long Vianne’s shop becomes the talk of the community - both good and bad. I often felt sorry for Vianne as she was only trying to do good, not only for her more likeable customers, but for the whole community. Vianne, having come to the town at the Lent, starts to set up a chocolate café there. This, and the fact that she doesn’t go to the church, brings on the hostility of the fanatically devotional cure. But the woman doesn’t pay attention to him. She has in mind to stay here for as much time, as she wants. Kas yra šokoladas? Čia jis daugiau nei saldumynas. Daugiau nei greita nuodėmė. Tai vaistas sužeistoms sieloms ir sužeistoms širdims, o svarbiausia – tai būdas matyti praeitį, matyti ateitį. Net matyti dabartį – nes ją mato toli gražu ne visi, kurie žiūri. Šokoladas padeda matyti žmogų – kas tūno giliai, kas slepiama taip stipriai, taip laikantis įsikibus į savas ir svetimas paslaptis – laikomas iš gėdos, iš kaltės, o dažniausiai tiesiog iš meilės. Meilės, kuri čia dažnai pridengiama dievobaimingumu, tačiau įrodanti, kad nėra nieko dieviškesnio nei tiesiog mylėti ne tik tą, kuris šalia, bet ir tai, kuo esi. Ir ko nori.and in 2012, the second sequel was published, entitled Peaches for Monsieur le Curé. ( Peaches for Father Francis in the US), followed by the fird installment, The Strawberry Thief, in 2019. I also wanted to write about people, and about how the arrival of a single individual can affect the internal politics of a community. My books often focus on small communities and the interaction between their inhabitants. The smaller the group, the more dramatic the consequences when someone introduces change. Lansquenet is not a real place, though it is closely based on a little town I know well and I have tried to make it as authentic as I can. It could be anywhere. The rivalries and jealousies of people are almost the same wherever you go. A surprising yet fitting denouement caps this deftly told tale of lust, greed and love. Francophiles will be drawn to the evocative descriptions of daily village life, while gourmands revel in the mouth-watering descriptions of chocolate preparation. "Chocolat" is a heart warming and enjoyable story. The only downfall: the intense chocolate cravings the whole time you read!

A feisty, fearless eighty-year old woman who is still full of life despite her age and illness who has chosen to live alone rather than put up with the stifling care and nagging of her daughter, Caroline Clairmont. Armande is stubborn to a fault and refuses medical care and is disgusted with the idea of living out her days in a nursing home. She is diabetic and is strictly forbidden by her doctors and Caroline to eat chocolate and other rich food, a fact that she ignores because of her fervor for living life to the fullest. Her zeal for the pleasures of life and her staunch refusal to conform to the norms and conservative views of the townsfolk causes great friction between her and her daughter and Curé Francis. Caroline sees her mother as a bad influence and keeps Armande away from her grandson, Luc. Armande acts as both foil and closest confidante for Vianne, encouraging her to bravely resist conformity and social pressure exerted by Curé Francis and his followers. Josephine Muscat I had forgotten how the book was and the movie had imprinted itself in my thoughts. I didn’t know (or rather remember) both the stories were different. OH MY GOd!! WHYYY? I kept screaming in my head, ‘’ Joanne, follow the movie. FOLLOW the movie.’’ But yeah, nothing happened. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVED the book. I kept reading searching for A’s party because it is one of the BEST scenes in the movie. Ah! It isn’t there in the book. Roux? I refuse to believe that the gypsy’s story turns out the way it does in the book. Movie please?

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I thought Jigs & Reels was a really enjoyable collection of short stories. The collection shows off Harris’s diversity as a writer. The tales in Jigs & Reels touch and the light and dark aspects of life and vary from the funny to the chilling. I also loved the fact Harris included a little note of each story’s origin. (The Book Lover’s Boudoir) Once Armande’s daughter comes to Vianne and having a talk with her, tells that her mother has the serious problems with her health, and her mother must follow the special diet, where the sweeties are not allowed. Vianne talks about it with Armande, but she is a willful woman and says that she’ll do what she wants to do, and eat what she wants to eat. Once the old woman says that there will be her birthday soon and she wants to celebrate it well: to make a party with a lot of guests: she invites not only the citizens, but some of the gypsies as well. The party was a success: the atmosphere was fun and pleasant. Armande is happy to spend her birthday in this company. At the end Vianne and Roux stay alone to clean everything after the party. They spend a night together. The next day Armande dies. Vianne and her six year-old daughter Anouk drift across Europe following the north wind, like Vianne's mother before her. In 1959 they arrive in a quiet French village, overseen by mayor the Comte de Reynaud at the start of Lent. Vianne opens a chocolate shop; despite not fitting in well with the townspeople, begins to make headway with some of the villagers to come to her shop. Reynaud, who will not admit his wife left him, speaks out against Vianne for tempting the people during Lent. For in Chocolat it is love, and not faith, which ultimately holds the key to salvation. Reynaud fears love (and pleasure, which he equates with sin), whereas Vianne embraces it and encourages its free expression. Because of her love for her daughter Vianne must try to exorcize her past; Reynaud is condemned to relive it in sterile isolation. But no-one in this story is beyond redemption; Vianne and Reynaud are both forced to confront their demons in the end, and I like to think that they both learn something about themselves in the process, and are both able at last to rejoin the human race. reikia ne tik tinkamos aplinkos, tinkamos temperatūros ir tinkamo recepto. Jam reikia tiek tinkamo ragautojo, tiek tinkamo šefo. Tokio, kaip Vijana Roše. Šokolado alchemikė, pranašė, bėganti nuo to, ką mato ateityje – kaip bėgo jos mama ir mamos mama. Nes kartais bėgimas irgi yra recepto dalis. Kartais šokoladui reikia net papildomo kartumo. Tokio, kurio prideda kunigas Fransis Reno. Nusidėjėlių kolekcionierius, kantriai laukiantis dar vienos paklydusios sielos, kurią galėtų priimti į mylinčias rankas, krikščioniškai kukliai nuleista galva. Bet rankos, nors ir mylinčios, myli ne besąlygiškai. Tik pritaikant griežtas atrankos ir patikros taisykles – dar griežtesnes nei gaminant patį sudėtingiausią patiekalą. Myli tik po pažadų, priesaikų, visą gyvenimą trunkančių įsipareigojimų ir dviveidiškų maldų Damoklo kardu virš galvos.