Here's my version of the movie: Magical chocolate lady with daughter moves to French city. She makes magical chocolate, everybody eats it, they're happy, fall in love, etc. She falls in love with a gypsy. Everybody's happy, yay, yay, yay. There may have been a conflict but I don't really remember it.
Here's my version of the book: Witch lady with daughter moves to French city. She makes chocolate but it doesn't make everybody happy or really have that magical of powers. She clashes with the town priest, helps people defy him, etc. After pages of subtle digs and not-so-subtle digs at the Catholic church, the priest (and Easter) is defeated by chocolate and pagan happiness. Oh, and yeah, there's a gypsy man but he ends up with somebody else.
Can you see why I'm having trouble digesting the book version? Obviously I have to view them as two separate creations because their stories are so different. The book gave the movie its very basic outlines but wow, the screenplay writers added so much more--and made it a happy, much lighter story, too.
I really didn't enjoy Harris' continual slamming of Catholicism and Christianity. I'm a Christian--not Catholic--but I hate how she portrayed the Christian faith. Honestly, I barely finished the book. She's welcome to her opinion but I don't agree with it. So keep that in mind for my rating.
Rating: 5/10
2 comments:
I love the movie. The book, while very well written, also started to tire on me with the one-sided and negative view of Christianity, Catholicisim, etc. I'll stick with Johnny Depp and watching her cook up all that stuff. Yum.
Completely agree with you! Joanne Harris is a great writer, but wow, did she have an agenda in the book.
That movie is so pretty to watch though...chocolate, Johnny, France...ahhh.
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