Book-It '10! Book #23
The Fifty Books Challenge, year two! This was a library request.
Title: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Details: Copyright 1999, Penguin Press
Synopsis (By Way of Front Flap): "In tiny 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 wreck havoc with the town's Lenton 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.
A literary confection that has already become an international sensation, Chocolat lingers in the memory like the taste of a splendidly aged Burgundy. It is an enchanting and timeless story about temptation, pleasure, and what a complete waste of time it is to deny yourself anything."
Why I Wanted to Read It: This came up on a search for Pagan fiction. I'd heard about this book before, mentioned in Judika Illes's The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World under notable works of fiction about Witches. Also, my aunt is an enthusiast of the movie adaption (I'm fairly sure she didn't read the book) and enthused I should see it as it's "about Witches!".
How I Liked It: The author's gift for setting is quite strong and thorough, but sadly her characterization is a bit lacking. We're provided with a strong supporting cast, but we're only given hints of their lives. It's something to be said that Harris has drawn the reader in enough to want more from these characters, but the lack there of is distracting. The main character herself is not immune to this and she somehow manages to be the flattest character in the entire book, despite it being narrated from her point of view. She's an almost infallible, saint-like (so to speak) voice of common sense and little else. We get glimpses of a deeper self in her memories of her complex relationship with late mother and how that interplays into the relationship with her own daughter, but again, it's only a hint; a more fleshed out version of Vianne Rocher would help the novel immensely.
As far as the Pagan themes, it (if not pertaining to the particular "organized" version of our religions) is consistent in the traditional theme of Paganism versus The Church. A broader use of the word Pagan could eschew religion (that is, organized religion) and therefore dogma altogether, and the embracing of what feels right by instinct (enjoying a harmless pleasure) rather than what mainstream society (in this case, Christianity) tells us is wrong. Although not necessarily static characters, those on the side of Christian righteousness in the book are nearly all proven to be hypocrites to what they purport to believe in above all else. A physically and mentally abusive spouse, adultery, racial/class prejudice and bigotry, arson, theft, and dishonesty all belong on the side of the Church in this novel. The "magic" of the main character's shop is not as fantastic (in the sense of "of fantasy") as the book jacket leads the reader to believe: the central protagonist's magic is more down to earth and closer to the real thing. Her encouragement of "doing the right thing" (particularly what the characters know in their hearts to be the right thing) is more the source behind the aiding and curing of her customers more than magic chocolates in their purchases. As far as a more direct representation of Paganism is concerned, the main character refers to her mother's teachings of magic (high) and her disappointment in her daughter's choice of magic (low, particularly kitchen magic, the type Vianne largely practices). As well, she consults Tarot cards that belonged to her mother which are packed away with her mother's other Ritual tools, such as "cards, herbs, books, oils, the scented ink she used for scrying, runes, charms, crystals, candles of many colors" (pg 124)) tools which Vianne uses to cast a Ritual of her own later in the book for divination (as opposed to her usual method of scrying in her chocolate. Present in her chocolate festival for Easter is a figure of the Goddess Eostre (from whom Easter got its name), with a sheaf of corn and a basket of eggs. Although when questioned in the book what she believes in, Vianne responds "'I believe that being happy is the only important thing.'" (pg 135), many references are made to reincarnation, including one in which Vianne conducts a Ritual to try and divine in what body the soul of a deceased character in the novel currently resides in (if any). An elderly, eccentric character delivers the strongest argument (other than Vianne's practices and her noting that her late mother proclaimed herself to be a witch) for Vianne's Pagan identity when she inquires during her first encounter with Vianne about whether or not the town's priest (the central antagonist of the book) knows she's a Witch. Vianne doesn't deny this, but merely inquires why the elderly woman believes Vianne is a Witch. The woman responds by suggesting that it takes one to know one.
All in all, a story that feels unfinished and not quite whole, but is compelling enough that the reader actually cares that it's unfinished and not quite whole. Interestingly, the author has written a sequel to the book, entitled The Lollipop Shoes (released in America as The Girl with No Shadow) which hopefully fills in the blanks Chocolat has left.
Notable: I have not seen the film adaption of this novel, but apparently a change was made that many Pagans feel was crucial. The role of the disapproving, judgmental (and hypocritical) prosecuting priest is converted into the village mayor, thus a secular authority (albeit an apparently devout one) rather than a religious one which would certainly change a main theme in the book of organized religion (Christianity) versus "secularism", largely interchangeable with what such "Christians" would believe to be Paganism. It would be interesting the know the reason for the change (although one can assume it's to downplay or disguise the role of religion in the plot, thus making it more palatable by a larger section of the public as well as to try and prevent protests from various fundamentalist Christian groups, particularly Catholic ones) in the film and to see if the story still "works" despite the switch. It's hard to shake the idea that a crucial element is lost by removing the archetype of the Witch-hunting/persecuting priest.
Title: Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Details: Copyright 1999, Penguin Press
Synopsis (By Way of Front Flap): "In tiny 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 wreck havoc with the town's Lenton 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.
A literary confection that has already become an international sensation, Chocolat lingers in the memory like the taste of a splendidly aged Burgundy. It is an enchanting and timeless story about temptation, pleasure, and what a complete waste of time it is to deny yourself anything."
Why I Wanted to Read It: This came up on a search for Pagan fiction. I'd heard about this book before, mentioned in Judika Illes's The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World under notable works of fiction about Witches. Also, my aunt is an enthusiast of the movie adaption (I'm fairly sure she didn't read the book) and enthused I should see it as it's "about Witches!".
How I Liked It: The author's gift for setting is quite strong and thorough, but sadly her characterization is a bit lacking. We're provided with a strong supporting cast, but we're only given hints of their lives. It's something to be said that Harris has drawn the reader in enough to want more from these characters, but the lack there of is distracting. The main character herself is not immune to this and she somehow manages to be the flattest character in the entire book, despite it being narrated from her point of view. She's an almost infallible, saint-like (so to speak) voice of common sense and little else. We get glimpses of a deeper self in her memories of her complex relationship with late mother and how that interplays into the relationship with her own daughter, but again, it's only a hint; a more fleshed out version of Vianne Rocher would help the novel immensely.
As far as the Pagan themes, it (if not pertaining to the particular "organized" version of our religions) is consistent in the traditional theme of Paganism versus The Church. A broader use of the word Pagan could eschew religion (that is, organized religion) and therefore dogma altogether, and the embracing of what feels right by instinct (enjoying a harmless pleasure) rather than what mainstream society (in this case, Christianity) tells us is wrong. Although not necessarily static characters, those on the side of Christian righteousness in the book are nearly all proven to be hypocrites to what they purport to believe in above all else. A physically and mentally abusive spouse, adultery, racial/class prejudice and bigotry, arson, theft, and dishonesty all belong on the side of the Church in this novel. The "magic" of the main character's shop is not as fantastic (in the sense of "of fantasy") as the book jacket leads the reader to believe: the central protagonist's magic is more down to earth and closer to the real thing. Her encouragement of "doing the right thing" (particularly what the characters know in their hearts to be the right thing) is more the source behind the aiding and curing of her customers more than magic chocolates in their purchases. As far as a more direct representation of Paganism is concerned, the main character refers to her mother's teachings of magic (high) and her disappointment in her daughter's choice of magic (low, particularly kitchen magic, the type Vianne largely practices). As well, she consults Tarot cards that belonged to her mother which are packed away with her mother's other Ritual tools, such as "cards, herbs, books, oils, the scented ink she used for scrying, runes, charms, crystals, candles of many colors" (pg 124)) tools which Vianne uses to cast a Ritual of her own later in the book for divination (as opposed to her usual method of scrying in her chocolate. Present in her chocolate festival for Easter is a figure of the Goddess Eostre (from whom Easter got its name), with a sheaf of corn and a basket of eggs. Although when questioned in the book what she believes in, Vianne responds "'I believe that being happy is the only important thing.'" (pg 135), many references are made to reincarnation, including one in which Vianne conducts a Ritual to try and divine in what body the soul of a deceased character in the novel currently resides in (if any). An elderly, eccentric character delivers the strongest argument (other than Vianne's practices and her noting that her late mother proclaimed herself to be a witch) for Vianne's Pagan identity when she inquires during her first encounter with Vianne about whether or not the town's priest (the central antagonist of the book) knows she's a Witch. Vianne doesn't deny this, but merely inquires why the elderly woman believes Vianne is a Witch. The woman responds by suggesting that it takes one to know one.
All in all, a story that feels unfinished and not quite whole, but is compelling enough that the reader actually cares that it's unfinished and not quite whole. Interestingly, the author has written a sequel to the book, entitled The Lollipop Shoes (released in America as The Girl with No Shadow) which hopefully fills in the blanks Chocolat has left.
Notable: I have not seen the film adaption of this novel, but apparently a change was made that many Pagans feel was crucial. The role of the disapproving, judgmental (and hypocritical) prosecuting priest is converted into the village mayor, thus a secular authority (albeit an apparently devout one) rather than a religious one which would certainly change a main theme in the book of organized religion (Christianity) versus "secularism", largely interchangeable with what such "Christians" would believe to be Paganism. It would be interesting the know the reason for the change (although one can assume it's to downplay or disguise the role of religion in the plot, thus making it more palatable by a larger section of the public as well as to try and prevent protests from various fundamentalist Christian groups, particularly Catholic ones) in the film and to see if the story still "works" despite the switch. It's hard to shake the idea that a crucial element is lost by removing the archetype of the Witch-hunting/persecuting priest.