You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Cherie and I are starting Chocolat today.

Come join us in the discussion, whether you have already read it or are going to start it sometime soon.

Everyone's welcome.

Read only after completing Chapter 1.

I found it odd that the carnival revelers, immediately went back to a "sober life", after the parade. I would want to go have a pint with my neighbors, laugh it up, and extend that "warm feeling" for a while longer!

I have heard of the tradition of bring a new broom to your new house to sweep away "bad energy". Never heard of beating pots and pans to cleanse your home.

Read only after completing Chapter 2.

Vianne is awakened at six in the morning by the church bells. She notes that the clock is set at "six-twenty to baffle the devil". What does that signify?

I interpret it to mean that in doing so, everyone will be at mass before the devil figures it out. Has anyone heard of this?

This book is one of my favourites. It stays with me even now and I read it AGES ago. I remember reading it and actually needing chocolate as I could smell it and even taste it. It is a wonderful book magic and food. I feel in love with Vianne Rocher straight away and her love for her daughter. Joanne Harris has a way of writing that makes you feel taste and smell all that's going on in the book. The book is far better than the film.

Almeta wrote: "I have heard of the tradition of bring a new broom to your new house to sweep away "bad energy". Never heard of beating pots and pans to cleanse your home. ."

I hadn't heard of it with regards to cleansing a house but I remember beating pots and pans while walking round the edge of a field with a group of people I was camping with to "beat the bounds" in order to cleanse the area! Yes I am weird!

Almeta wrote: "Read only after completing Chapter 2.

Vianne is awakened at six in the morning by the church bells. She notes that the clock is set at "six-twenty to baffle the devil". What does that signify?
..."

I'm not sure. I like your interpretation though and I think that's how I took it too. However, I am now wondering whether 6:20 is a specific section in the bible which might have relevance. I'm not familiar at all with the bible so I couldn't even hazard a guess which book it is from.

Tasha wrote: " I feel in love with Vianne Rocher straight away and her love for her daughter...."

She used Anouchja, her daughter and her imaginary rabbit, Pantoufle as the model for Anouk.

Happy reading you all - I enjoyed Chocolat years ago. There are two more books in the series - The Girl with No Shadow (original title was The Lollipop Shoes) and Peaches for Father Francis (also known as Peaches for Monsieur le Curé). Also, I loved Joanne Harris' Gentlemen and Players- a very different book but extremely enjoyable and loved the way it was written - check it out!

Sarah wrote: " However, I am now wondering whether 6:20 is a specific section in the bible which might have relevance. I'm not familiar at all with the bible so I couldn't even hazard a guess which book it is from. ..."

Hard to investigate that without knowing what book.

I did, however, feel compelled to look up "beat the bounds", which referenced the Psalms. Unfortunately Psalm 6 only goes to 6:10, there is not a 6:20!☻ (King James version)

Since the Psalms are songs...it would have been cool if that connection could have been made to our Name That Tune Challenge. Alas, it is not to be.

I'm not a Bible scholar either. I'm giving up and going back to reading.☺

I had a quick google search for beating the bounds and it mentions the church quite a bit which is interesting - I didn't realise it had any link to christianity at all.

Yes it's difficult not knowing what 6:20 relates to.

"Vianne is awakened at six in the morning by the church bells. She notes that the clock is set at "six-twenty to baffle the devil". What does that signify?"

Theory here... if the clock is set 20 minutes late, when the devil arrives they are already safely awake and at church? Maybe its a twist on the Irish proverb about being in heaven before the devil knows you've died.

I like that Janice. I've not heard that proverb before.

Janice wrote: ""Theory here... if the clock is set 20 minutes late, when the devil arrives they are already safely awake and at church? Maybe its a twist on the Irish proverb about being in heaven before the devil knows you've died. ..."

That's my theory also.

Irish Toast:

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you're gone.

Read only after completing Chapter 3.

Wow! This priest is wound pretty tightly.

I thought his "confessions" to mon pe`re (view spoiler)[ were to his heavenly father, until the last paragraph mentioned the interruptions of a nurse! (hide spoiler)]

Thanks Almeta for posting the full proverb. I'd heard the first part before but not the second part.

Yes I thought the same too Almeta about his confessions. And yes the priest really does need to learn to chill out.

Darn, darn, darn! The audio version is soooooo abridged! I just got curious and decided to look at the book. I cannot believe how much is left out. Part of me wants to listen but I will die of curiosity to see what is missing and I cannot listen AND read AND sew. I like the story. She was just telling about her mother.

I will read your comments later. I just wanted to jump in here and report. I will go back to listening to Scarlet while I sew. At least it is one of my chunkster books.

TA TA!!!

Cherie wrote: "Darn, darn, darn! The audio version is soooooo abridged! I just got curious and decided to look at the book. I cannot believe how much is left out. ..."

I wonder if your audio version is based on the movie and not the book. Reading some of the comments that compare the two...they are apparently quite different.

I was listing my thoughts chapter by chapter, but I got so caught up in the book that I kept going without interruption.

THEN I got caught up in everyone's Toppler Songs!

I'll be back to finish up my notes.

That's a shame about your audio version Cherie. I do hate abridged versions of audiobooks. And I think this book needs to be experienced in it's entirety. It is simply beautiful!

Cherie wrote: "Darn, darn, darn! The audio version is soooooo abridged! I just got curious and decided to look at the book. I cannot believe how much is left out. ..."

Did you decide to stick with the audio or read the paper copy?

Ok. The toppler is over but I am still reading. I did not continue with the audio, but it was good listening. The narrator's voice was fine but there were strange pauses. I never got past the chapter where she was telling about her mother having cancer and them traveling all over.

I liked the pots and pans bit to clear out the ghosts and bad atmosphere left in the house. I had to look up the salt and bread by the door. I got the salt but not the bread. I know nothing about the church clock ether but I loved the story Vianne told about the bells all flying to Rome for the Pope to bless them!

This is my first Joanne Harris book. I love the writing and the wonderful characters!

Vianne kind of reminds me of the lady in The Good Witch TV movies. "It's not me." Etc.

I am just starting chapter 25. Some thoughts:
Whoa - the priest guy is wound tighter than an old analogue watch. Just watching to see if/when he is going to burst out of the watch case!
I love the old woman! The old man and his dog was sooo sad. Yay for Josephine! That Muscat guy is seriously scary...

That's it for now. Morning will be here too soon.
I am saving the toppler thread to read tomorrow.

Yes I loved the old woman too (I can't remember what her name was now) and yes the old man and his dog was sad. I loved all the boating people. I can't recall who you mean when you say "Muscat guy"?!

Cherie wrote: "I love the old woman! ..."

The book is dedicated "to the memory of my great-grandmother Marie Andre' Sarin (1882-1968)". Harris has said that she was the model for Armande (and some of Vianne).

"Armande’s red petticoats belong to her, as does the manner of Armande’s death, her refusal to conform and her impudent zest for life. Vianne’s belief in magic also belongs to her, as do many of her recipes."

Thanks for sharing that Almeta. I do not recall reading that about Harris' great-grandmother.

Sarah wrote: "Yes I loved the old woman too (I can't remember what her name was now) and yes the old man and his dog was sad. I loved all the boating people. I can't recall who you mean when you say "Muscat guy"?!"

Oh - sorry, I meant Josephine's husband - the owner of the sleezy cafe (view spoiler)[the one who set the boat on fire and the priest saw him sneaking away after (hide spoiler)].

I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next and find out about the old priest in the hospital and what happened to him.
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All of the talk about chocolate candy etc finally got to me yesterday. I broke down and bought a small container of my favorite chololate ice cream. It is made by 2nd St. Creamery and is called "Marry Me Chocolate". yes, yes, yes! http://www.2ndstcreamery.com/products/

Ch 28 - The priest is working in the garden in the grave yard - trying to root out the weeds.

This could be me and my on-going battle with the blackberry vines in my back and side yard:

"What I feel is a king of helplessness, for as I dig and prune and cut, the serried green armies simply fill the spaces at my back, pushing out long green tongues of derision at my efforts."

He said he had ordered a hundred plants from the nursery man, docile plants that he will put in by rows. Boy, he is dreaming...

Ch 29 (view spoiler)[ oh, Armande is going blind. She wants to die with some dignity - on her own terms. I can understand that.

Oh, Vianne telling of her mother's death - by taxi.
I know it is not funny, but I am sitting here giggling
like a ninny at that sentence. I cannot imagine how horrifying it was to watch it happen, but I CAN imagine her relief as she said. (hide spoiler)]

Cherie wrote: "Darn, darn, darn! The audio version is soooooo abridged! I just got curious and decided to look at the book. I cannot believe how much is left out. Part of me wants to listen but I will die of c..."

I have an unabridged audio I can send you. Send private message and I can email you the book.

Cherie wrote: "This could be me and my on-going battle with the blackberry vines in my back and side yard"

You need to hire some goats.

I am at chapter 36. I am not sure I want it to end yet so I will not finish tonight. Is something going to happen at the party for Armande? And on Sunday?

My thoughts on the last chapters: (view spoiler)[I was not surprised to find out that Francis set the fire the first time that the gypsies were burned out, but to hear that he had killed people and the old priest absolved it. Then, the revelation that he shared about his mother and the old priest having sex in the church. Now, we know why the old one is in the hospital. Can you imagine that he IS trapped in that body and able to hear everything. What retribution! What is it that Francis has not done yet?

Did I catch it correctly? Were Vianne and her mother always running because her mother had kidnapped her when she was a baby!?

I like Josephine going back to fix up the cafe after her husband left. I like her and Roux. (hide spoiler)]

@ Rusalka - I would love to have a pigmy
goat, but I am in the city limits - no livestock allowed. My sister's German shepherd used to chew her rose bushes right down to the ground but I think she wild have balked at the blackberries. I just keep hacking them back and digging the roots. I guess it gives me something to do for exercise!

@ Debbie - thanks for the offer, but reading this one is fine by me. The audio was only something I would have liked for the toppler while I was sewing. :)

Oh yes, now I know who you been by the Muscat guy Cherie. Yes he was horrid.

Your spoiler re: always on the move - that seems to ring a bell for me so I think you did catch it right (view spoiler)[I was under the impression from the start that they were on the run because they were witches, as her mother did also have a gift (and I assumed it was hereditary). They ran from the "Black man" which I assumed was a member of the clergy. But if Vianne was snatched, they probably ran to stay ahead of the cops. (hide spoiler)]

A chapter before I go to work. After the Birthady party and Armande has gone to bed. (view spoiler)[Roux and Vianne together in the garden. I didn't expect that. :0) (hide spoiler)]

Me neither Cherie but I thought it fit well at the same time.

Sarah wrote: "Oh yes, now I know who you been by the Muscat guy Cherie. Yes he was horrid.

Your spoiler re: always on the move - that seems to ring a bell for me so I think you did catch it right [spoilers remo..."

2nd for always on the move (view spoiler)[I think the Black Man could have been the cops yes, but also clergy or the church "do-gooders" who wanted to take the little girl away from a single (possibly un-wed mother) and give her what they considered "a better life". The Black Man - "being the hand of God" or the person who wanted to punish her. Punishing her for - being a witch, an unwed mother, a kidnapper - all of them. (hide spoiler)] Vianne only knew that her mother loved her, unconditionally!

I finished the book this afternoon. (view spoiler)[about Vianne and Roux. I thought it was a "little" strange, but it seemed like she was attracted to him.
I thought it was well written. I could not have imagined any kind of steamy sex scene.

I was sad about Armande, but I knew it was going to be her last act after the party. I guess it might not be a bad way to take yourself out. I never really thought about it before this.

The priest with "the pig mentality" was also a surprise. I did not know how Harris was going to end the story, but that was almost funny. I never thought he would consider destroying all of the Easter stuff, but when he started eating all of the pieces in the window I decided that he was going to be discovered, somehow.

The last chapter about the wind changing and leaving or staying seems to have left the story open. Is this an ongoing story? (hide spoiler)]

There are two more books in the series which feature Vianne and her family. I have the second book, The Girl with No Shadow (my version is called The Lollipop Shoes). As I enjoyed Chocolat so much I really want to carry on with the series.

Oh good Sarah - was hoping someone would go on with the series. There's something je ne sais quoi about Joanne Harris' series that speaks to me - I think it's that whisper in the wind....

The third looks more appealing to me as it is set in the same village as Chocolat whereas the second one is somewhere else in France. But I need to read them in order!

The second one is good too. Also check out Gentlemen and Players - very different book but one of my all-time favorites.

@Lilia - I have that one on my wishlist already thanks. I think I added it after you mentioned it over at Around The World group! Small world...

@Cherie - if you enjoyed the writing style of Harris, you should check out Five Quarters of the Orange which we read last year as a group read. Many of us gave it 5 stars.

I loved Chocolat. It's one of the first books I read again for fun after I finished school. I have The Lollipop Shoes on my chunkster options too. I really wanted to read Gentlemen and Players this year, but I could have my arm twisted if others are reading it. Just need to finish the current two I'm reading first...

I have The Girl With No Shadow as well. We could do a buddy read on that one if anyone is interested.

Five Quarters of the Orange was a great read.

Rusalka wrote: "I loved Chocolat. It's one of the first books I read again for fun after I finished school. I have The Lollipop Shoes on my chunkster options too. I really wanted to rea..."

Sarah wrote: "@Lilia - I have that one on my wishlist already thanks. I think I added it after you mentioned it over at Around The World group! Small world...

@Cherie - if you enjoyed the writing style of Harri..."

I did not remember that she had written Five Quarters of the Orange - I loved it! I read it with the group some time ago. Darn - I fibbed on my review for Chocolat.

Okay - I just bought the next two Chocolat books and Like Water for Chocolate. Mickey may have to wait a little while longer to get on my wall. I can fit in the Chocolat series where Circle of Frends is. What is two more books before I am done?

I thought you had joined us for the discussion of Five Quarters...! It is hard to keep hard of which books have been read. Without Goodreads, I'd be lost for keeping track!

Definitely would like to read book 2 - buddy read sounds like a plan!

If you are not too full up with Buddy reads, Sarah, I am ready to start the 2nd book. I am going to read it either way.

Anyone else is welcome. Let me know and I will start a thread for a buddy read for the 2nd Chocolat book or should we just continue it in this thread?

Maybe we can rename it "Chocolat Series"

I have started the second book. It is about the same time frame as the first one, but four years later. It was confusing at first. It starts off with a person who steals identities and people's money. There are three voices now too. It is a much darker story. Vianne is now called Yanne and Anouk, age 11 is called Annie. The child that was fathered by Roux is almost 4. Her name is Rosette. The new voices are Annie and Zozie. I don't like her.

I am on part 3, Friday, 16 November (view spoiler)[Yanne is engaged to be married. She thinks she is doing it for the girls. Zozie has just gotten Annie to admit about Pantoufle. (hide spoiler)]

You have me intrigued Cherie! I might have to work it in to my next chunkster section.

It's getting more and more interesting, isn't it Cherie? Rosette is a cool and smart young kid and I like Anouk/Annie although watch out for Zozie!

Yes, Lilisa, it is different. Annie just made friends with the boy with the heart problem. I am worried about Zozie. Is she evil or just bad?