I hear our M'sieur le Curé already has it in for you ... Does he know you're a witch?

Lansquenet-sous-Tannes--"a blip on the fast road between Toulouse and Bourdeaux"--and new home to Vianne Rocher, her six-year-old daughter Anouk, and Anouk's "imaginary" rabbit, Pantoufle. They arrive "on the wind of the carnival", and, a couple of days later, Vianne opens a luxuriant chocolate shop. "La Céleste Praline" bubbles over with the most tempting of confections, topped with an irresistible selection of rich, smooth chocolate drinks. It's Lent, the shop is opposite the church (which Vianne and Anouk don't attend) it's open on Sundays and Francis Reynaud, the austere parish priest with the "measuring, feline look" is not exactly happy.

As one by one the villagers sidle into the shop to sample Vianne's concoctions, we learn of their characters and secrets, their loves and desires, their troubles and hopes. Sad, polite Guillame and his dying dog. Shoplifting, beaten Joséphine Muscat. And Armande Voizin, still vigorous and perceptive in her 80s, who can see Pantoufle, and recognises Vianne for who she really is.

But Reynaud has his power base. And when Vianne advertises a Grand Festival of Chocolate to start on Easter Sunday, it's all-out war. War between church and chocolate.

Read clearly and precisely by Samantha Bond--whose voice is almost choclatey enough for Vianne--and Gareth Armstrong -- who sounds marginally too rich for Reynaud--this is an elegant adaptation of an utterly delicious novel, the denouement of which brings a new, literal meaning to the phrase "a sticky end", and which proves, indisputably, that soft centres are best. --Lisa Gee

2008-08-29 Life is Like a Box of Chocolates...

Looking at all the reviews below, opinion seem to be split between favouring and disliking this book. I'd seen the film a while ago, hadn't read any of these reviews and borrowed it as a bit of light holiday reading. After completing it, I have to plant myself firmly in the negative camp.

Without re-iterating the arguments below, I measure the value of a novel in it's ability to generate a page-turning plot, well-rounded characters that you actually care about and, most importantly, to give the reader a revelatory insight either into themselves or the world around them.

Unfortunately this book does none of these things, unless of course I'm mistaken and rural France is a religiously repressed society ruled by tyrannical priests who gorge themselves in sinful acts such as arson, adultery and...eating chocolate. I'm sure the writer is mistaken.

The book is told from the perspective of two characters - Vianne Rocher (single mum, free spirit, mystical, likes cooking) and Curé Reynaud (priest, and therefore morally ambiguous, The Black Man). At the beginning of every chapter the only way we know who is narrating is that Reynaud says 'pére' a lot as he speaks to his comatosed forbear.

The plot revolves around Vianne opening her chocolat shop, the effect this has on the villagers, and Reynaud's battle to try and get her, and the temptation she brings with her, out of the village. And that's it.

It's not all bad, however, as the saving grace of the book is Armande's (old lady, diabetic, mystical) relationship with her grandson Luc (young man, s-stammers a lot), although these scenes are few and far between.

The magical, mystical element of the book was also lost on me. It leaves the reader thinking at the end, as with the whole of the book, what's the point?

Apparently life is like a box of chocolates as you never know what you're going to get. Unfortunately with this book, they're all coffee flavoured.

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth - avoid.