This novel tells us the magical story of a small french town turned upside down by the arrival of Vianne Roche,a chocolate confectioner who opens her chocolaterie in the town just at the beginning of Lent which marks a period of abstinence.Vianne and her daughter Anouk are free spirited souls not tethered to any beliefs and Vianne has a gift to see into peoples souls.However there are many in the town who are against Vianne,chief amongst them being the local priest Father Reynaud who cannot bear the fact that Vianne is a non-believer and takes it upon himself to spoil her planned chocolate festival.Vianne,however owing to her friendly demeanour and open-minded acceptance towards all succeeds in befriending many of the town locals like Josephine,who finally musters the courage to leave her abusive spouse.Guillaume who eventually learns to let go of his sick dog and move on and Amande an elderly lady who shares the same free spirit as Vianne.She also welcomes Roux and his tribe of gypsies when they arrive in the town and are looked down upon by all the other residents.How Vianne deals with all the others in the town and Father Reynaud and the lessons we learn along the way is what makes this an enchanting read.
My Views:I savoured this book and didnt want it to end.It is a beautiful story which teaches us that humanity is above everything else.That we should be open-minded and accepting towards others,how to face our fears,how to be tolerant,how to learn to let go and how everyone deserves a chance to live life on their own terms.This book was magical,the story flowed effortlessly and there was not a single moment of boredom.The chocoholic in me was delighted at the delicious decriptions of chocolate.I loved the little french town of Lansequenet-Sous-Tannes and felt that I had been there already.At the heart of this story is the age old fight between good and evil,but what I liked was that it was not all black and white.Even Father Reynaud was as real as anyone else with his moments of doubt,his guilt,his justification of what he thinks is right.His character was portrayed as someone who is not all black but with shades of gray like everyone else.I admired Vianne for her free spirit .Above all,I loved the subtle hint at magic.I look forward to read more by this author.I am so glad that I picked up a fantastic book to end the year :)
I rate it a 4 out of 5.
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