Joanne Harris’ popular 1999 novel, Chocolat, was made into a 2000 film directed by Lasse Hallström that starred Juliette Binoche as Vianne who arrives in a French village with her six year-old daughter to open a small chocolaterie. (If you haven’t read the novel or seen the film, both are recommended.) Since Vianne spent most of her life “following the wind” with her nomadic mother, Jeanne, she’s used to being viewed as an outsider. But opening a chocolate shop right before Lent, tempting Catholics with treats they should be resisting, earns her a dangerous enemy, Comte de Reynaud, the mayor. (In the film he was played by the talented Alfred Molina.) Eventually Vianne and her daughter, Anouk, are embraced by the villagers and Vianne falls in love with Roux, a Romani “river rat” played by Johnny Depp. Despite these developments, many questions about Vianne’s beginnings remained unanswered. With this prequel, appropriately named Vianne, Joanne Harris fills in those gaps.
New York was the last place Vianne lived, staying by Jeanne’s bedside while she died of cancer, and then scattering her mother’s ashes in the New York harbor. Vianne is pregnant, the result of a random encounter. She arrives in Marseille with the clothes she’s wearing, a canvas bag, her papers, a map book of France and her mother’s Tarot cards in a sandalwood box. With barely five hundred francs and no family, she needs to find a job and a place to live.
Expecting a child, Vianne often wonders what makes a good mother. Was Jeanne a good mother? They were a pair, always on the move, Jeanne fearful of “the man in black,” chasing them from city to city. Vianne never had a home, relatives, or friends. She was discouraged from keeping toys, even her beloved stuffed rabbit, Molfetta. While Vianne longed for the stability other children had, casting off her mother’s ways proves to be tough. Even when she becomes somewhat settled in Marseille, she knows she will soon have to move on. “Take what you can from the world, and move on before it knows what you’ve taken,” her mother’s voice whispers to her. But the baby in her womb is sending different signals. She names the baby Anouk, and promises her she will always be safe.
Stopping at an old-fashioned bistro called La Bonne Mère, Vianne enjoys a bowl of bouillabaisse with lots of bread. When the owner, Louis Martin, asks if she’d like some wine, she tells him she’s pregnant. He asks if she has a place to stay and offers her a room above the bistrot that he often rents out to guests.
Vianne never lived anywhere long enough to learn how to cook, but she knows she can learn. Louis puts her to the test, asking her to make the dish she enjoyed, the cafe’s signature bouillabaisse. Vianne nails that dish and then others, using as a guide the recipes written down by Louis’s wife, Margot. While the ingredients and directions are straightforward, what intrigues Vianne are the observations, quotes, and poems written in the margins. Vianne learns that Margot died after giving birth to a son, Edmond. While Louis says his son didn’t survive, Vianne believes he may still be alive and vows to find him.
Vianne’s introduction to chocolate comes from meeting Guy and Mahmed who are opening a chocolaterie in a rundown part of the city. Louis warns her that the area is dangerous, but Vianne knows she’s been in far worse places and continues to see the two men. Guy is the magician with chocolate, and Mahmed the business person who worries they will run out of money before they can open.
Vianne should be content that she is setting down roots for herself and Anouk but her mother’s voice is too strong. Leaving a note for Louis, she packs up and moves on. This time, Guy finds her and brings her back. Louis, however, won’t forgive her. She takes a room over the chocolaterie and devotes herself to helping them launch their business.
Was Jeanne a witch? And has Vianne inherited some of her abilities to “read” other people, the colors that surround them indicating their moods. Like Jeanne, she’s often using the Tarot cards to discern a situation. And a strange woman, Khamaseen, keeps appearing to Vianne in various disguises, commenting on what’s happening and making predictions.
Despite Jeanne’s warning not to get too involved in people’s lives, Vianne is powerless to stop. Will her interference do more harm than good? And will she stay in Marseille or leave to start again in another town?
Of course we know the answer to that last question because of Chocolat. And the next village she visits will also be influenced by her clairvoyant abilities as well as by her talent to create incredibly delicious chocolates.
Vianne
Joanne Harris
Top photo: Bigstock
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