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At the beginning of Lent, an unwed mother opens a decadent chocolate shop in a tiny,
religious French village that hasn't changed for a 100 years. Scorned as a Jezebel and a
witch by some and revered for her confectionary healing by others, Vianne asks, "I
sell dreams, small comforts, sweet harmless temptations to bring down a multitude of
saints crash-crash-crashing among the hazels and nougatines...
"Is that so bad?"
Joanne Harris, part French and English, intersperses her novel's sumptuous prose with
French expressions and the sights, smells, and flavors she grew up with in her own
grandmother's sweetshop. A modern day fairy tale which advises us to succumb to life's
overlooked pleasures, CHOCOLAT is a feast for the romantic senses.
--- Reviewed by Krista Madsen
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