Joanne Harris

Vianne Rocher is called back to Lasquenet by a letter from beyond the grave... When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she has no choice but to follow the wind that blows her back to Lansquenet, the village in which eight years ago, she opened up a chocolate shop. But returning to her old home, Vianne is completely unprepared for what she is to find there. Women veiled in black, the scent of spices and peppermint tea - and there, on the bank of the river Tannes, facing the church, a minaret.

Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé

Nona G

And so I've finished the "Chocolat" series... and I loved it as a whole, although each book left its own footprint as well. I will start by saying that this third installment is just as well written as the previous two and Joanne Harris keeps creating magic with her words, sending us directly to Lansquenet and into a cultural conflict that we encounter more and more in this day and age.

It's a book built on the conflict between the Western world and the Muslim beliefs that seem to be more and more a part of our daily lives. How do we navigate through this, keeping our own culture, but not being disrespectful of other peoples' culture? How do we maintain security without trespassing on other peoples' beliefs, freedom without being judgemental, how do we build a community when so many different morality systems are clashing? These are questions that are appearing more and more often nowadays.

The subject itself makes me uncomfortable. I'm a woman who militates for freedom for all women and I don't understand oppression and submissiveness. Maybe it's one of the reasons why this book doesn't stand as high as the other two with me.

But I also think the author shifted a bit from the first two novels and went too political while leaving aside most of what made Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes so wonderful - the magic, the chocolate, the love. It all got a bit tiresome at some point, especially since the book ran a bit too long and went into too many details and too many characters. I have no idea who half the characters are or the exact relationship between most of them. 

I also found the ending a bit forced. Somehow, people went out of their way to demonstrate they were completely different from the characters built during the first novel. I didn't buy into Josephine's story nor did I manage to get invested in Reynaud's fate. It was all too clean, too put together in the end. And the fact that all mysteries are revealed during the last pages leaves me slightly annoyed.

Still, the book is lovely, mostly due to Joanne Harris' talent. But I feel Vianne's story should have ended differently.

The tantalizing sequel to the blockbuster New York Times bestseller Chocolat Even before it was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, Joanne Harris’s Chocolat entranced readers with its mix of hedonism, whimsy, and, of course, chocolate. Now, at last, Chocolat’s heroine returns to the beautiful French village of Lansquenet in another, equally beguiling tale. When Vianne Rocher receives a letter from beyond the grave, she has no choice but to return to Lansquenet, where she once owned a chocolate shop and learned the meaning of home. But returning to one’s past can be a dangerous pursuit, and Vianne and her daughters find the beautiful French village changed in unexpected ways: women veiled in black, the scent of spices in the air, and—facing the church—a minaret. Most surprising of all, her old nemesis, Francis Reynaud, desperately needs her help. Can Vianne work her magic once again?

Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé

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