Book Club: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

I belong to a wonderful book club. In the time I have been with the group, we have read all the way through Austen, the Brontes, science fiction, non-fiction and classics from every decade. This very evening, we will gather to discuss one of my all time favorite books Chocolat by Joanne Harris. Many of you will know the book from the Oscar nominated film adaptation, starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp. I myself discovered the book after I watched the movie and what a wonderful discovery it was. The book is a much darker creature than the movie. In the book version, the antagonist is the priest, not an aristocrat. Additionally, many of the events that happen in the story are not resolved neatly or at all in the book. In spite of these differences, I believe the book is all the more delicious for its darkness. In honor of this great story (regardless of what medium you use), here are some readalikes for Chocolat by Joanne Harris.

Five Quarters of the Orange: A Novel by Joanne Harris
If you've polished off Chocolat and are hungry for more books in the same style, I recommend continuing with another Joanne Harris book. In this story, you'll discover the same rich language and symbolic use of food and cooking. After many years, Framboise Simon returns incognito to her childhood village in France. She does her best not to let anyone know that she is in fact Framboise Dartigen, the daughter of a woman the entire village still holds accountable for a tragedy that occurred during the German occupation. The reader will jump back and forth with Framboise as she looks from her present to her past to discover what happened during one fateful summer.

 Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Sarah Addison Allen is one of my new favorites. Although she doesn't have the same amount of darkness in her stories as Joanne Harris does, Addison Allen captures that feeling of magical realism. That is, Sarah Addison Allen makes her stories dance on the edge of the fantastic. None of the characters overtly practice magic. Rather, like Vianne in Chocolat, magic trickles through their lives and manifests itself in particular talents or places. In Garden Spells, the town of Bascom, North Carolina is home to Claire Waverley. Claire, like all of the Waverleys before her, has a special talent. Claire's talent lies in cooking - magical things happen if you eat her meals. Claire is content with her quiet life, until her sister Sydney and Sydney's daughter Bay come to town. Unbeknownst to Claire, they are running from something. It will take all of the Waverleys combined talents to help Sydney stop running and aid Claire with letting go and healing past hurts.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
This is the story of the De la Garza family, which consists of Mama Elena and her three daughters: Gertrudis, Rosaura and Tita. They live on a ranch near the Mexican-United States border. This story spans a number of years, but primarily takes place during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1929). Early on in the story Tita falls deeply in love with a neighbor, Pedro. Unfortunately, Mama Elena forbids the marriage, citing a De la Garza tradition that the youngest daughter remain unmarried at home to care for the mother until the mother's death. Pedro instead marries Tita's sister Rosaura, in order to stay close to Tita. Tita consoles herself by working hard in the ranch kitchen. However, when Tita cooks she unwittingly transfers her emotions into the food. This is a beautifully written, sensual story.

 Pomegranate Soup: A Novel by Marsha Mehran
Three Iranian immigrant sisters (Marjan, Bahar and Layla Aminpour) flee to the tiny village of Ballinacroagh, Ireland seeking safety. In order to support themselves, they open a restaurant celebrating the food of their homeland called the Babylon Cafe. At first the villagers are cautious, but soon the three sisters win over friends with their strength, kindness and their exotic cooking. Youngest sister Layla also begins a sweet romance with a young local man. But when a combative and close-minded villager threatens the sister's hard won peace, it's up to the young women and their new allies to prove that they belong in this new place. This is another story that celebrates magical realism through the medium of food.

For more Food Fiction, check out this awesome list, courtesy of Bellingham Public Library.
    

Read like "Pride and Prejudice"

I have wonderful friends. One of the ways my friends show they care is that they will often send me geeky videos, websites, memes, pictures, etc that they think I'll enjoy. Just the other day, one of my friends sent me the following awesome video:

If you haven't already seen this video, this is the official "video blog" of one Lizzie Bennett. Complete with crazy sisters and an overbearing (southern belle) mother, Lizzie talks her way through the arrival of the rich, handsome new neighbor Bing Lee and his mysterious (and apparently hot) friend Darcy. Thus far, this YouTube series is a very clever spoof on "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen.

Since the book was written, there have been countless adaptations of books, movies, stage and television shows. There have been the good (Colin Firth), the bad ("Pemberly Ranch" or "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" anyone?) and the decidedly odd ("Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts"** - no, I'm not kidding). Everyone has an adaptation that they love and in honor of the above video, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan
This book was one of my first adaptation reading experiences. In this book, Londoner Jasmin Field is a columist for a woman's magazine. At the beginning of the story, Jasmin is coerced into auditioning for a role in a stage production of "Pride and Prejudice" that will raise money for charity. To everyone's surprise (including her own) Jasmin scores the leading role of Elizabeth Bennet. Playing opposite her as Mr. Darcy is wealthy, talented, Oscar-winning and arrogant actor Harry Noble. In addition to starring in the play, Harry Noble is also acting as director and financier to the production. Of course, sparks fly between Harry and Jasmin and the classic story is played out in the modern setting, with a complete cast of characters. I think what I liked best about this version is that it is just different enough to make me feel as though the author wasn't adapting sentence by sentence. The characters have their own quirks and personalities, while still being true to the original story. I also liked some of the adaptations to modern technologies, for example, Harry Noble saves Jasmin's family reputation by keeping them out of the tabloids.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel
Funnily enough, I didn't like reading "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" at all. Instead of being amused by the changes to the story, I found myself being put out by the tweaks to some of my favorite lines from the book. Reading that book, frankly, felt like some sort of evil, zombie-loving editor had gone through and added sentences or paragraphs that all looked wildly out of place. I kept visualizing the original graceful prose written in cursive, with the new additions scribbled over it in red crayon (some of the jokes were quite juvenile). Having said all that, when I picked up the graphic novel edition I was completely entertained. I enjoyed the heck out of the illiustrations of the Bennet sisters wreaking havoc on the invading zombie hordes. This story was made to be in graphic novel format - with minimal text and lots of action packed pictures.



By the way, the original "Pride and Prejudice" has also been converted to graphic novel format. If you have reluctant readers in your life, or you just want to have a graphic novel reading experience of this Austen classic, I would absolutely recommend you pick up "Pride & Prejudice" by Nancy Butler. The cover for the book is especially clever, as it has been made to look like the cover of a magazine.

Bride and Prejudice (2005)
All right! One of my first movie suggestions. "Bride and Prejudice" is a Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and it is, simply put, a blast to watch. Lalita Bakshi is one of four sisters in a family living in Amritsar, India. When Lalita and her family attend the wedding of a friend, they meet London barrister Balraj and his good friend Will Darcy. Darcy is wealthy, arrogant and gives Lalita the impression that he is very disdainful of India and Indian culture. Initially, Lalita can't stand Darcy but as the story progresses her impressions of him change. This leads to misunderstandings, wacky capers and eventually happy endings all around. In addition to a well-done adaptation of the classic story, there are several song and dance numbers that are quite fun to watch.

**I just have to share the summary for "Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts" - I've not read it but I'm half curious to after reading this hilarious blurb from NoveList. "Imagine that Jane Austen had written the opening line of her satirical novel Pride and Prejudice this way: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good romp and a good wife - although not necessarily from the same person or from the opposite sex." In Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts Mr. Darcy has never been more devilish and the seemingly chaste Elizabeth never more turned on. The entire cast of characters from Austen's classic is here in this rewrite that goes all the way. This time Mr. Bingley and his sister both have designs on Mr. Darcy's manhood; Elizabeth's BFF Charlotte marries their family's strange relation and stumbles upon a secret world of feminine relations more to her liking; and, in this telling, men are not necessarily the the only dominating sex. And of course there's some good old fashioned bodice ripping that shows no pride or prejudice and reveals hot hidden lusts in every page-turning chapter".

People I'm Going to Miss

I'm sorry to say that one of the ways I deal with loss is denial and avoidance. Some of my all time favorite authors passed away last year and I have been furiously burying my head in the sand in an attempt to make the whole issue go away. However, as most people know, this method doesn't work forever. It is with a heavy heart that I finally acknowledge that Russell Hoban, Diana Wynne Jones and Anne McCaffrey passed away in 2011. Here, to honor their memories, are some of their books that I loved.

Russell Hoban is best known (to me) for his children's picture books featuring Frances, a precocious little girl badger. Frances is a wonderful character - one with all sorts of human characteristics, from stubbornness to creativity. Over the course of several books, Frances has all sorts of common childhood adventures. I adored Frances because I recognized in her some of the same characteristics I saw in myself. In particular, I loved the little songs Frances made up and sang whenever she was struggling to understand a particular issue - be it a new baby sister or friendships. I received my first Frances book when I became a big sister (just like Frances!) and I can't tell you how much it comforted me to know that other people (and badgers) went through the same thing. I often recommend Frances books for beginning readers or kids who enjoy reading along to a picture book. Another wonderful aspect to these picture books was that Hoban's wife illustrated them - what a wonderful partnership. Whenever I leaf through one of Hoban's picture books, Frances still charms my socks off all these years later. Russell Hoban, thank you for your lovely 'every-girl' character - you will be missed.

If there was one author I was genuinely devastated about, it was Diana Wynne Jones. Jones was an incredibly prolific children's fantasy author and one of my all time favorite writers. She wrote with a deft hand and produced fantasies that were not only lyrical and creative, but also smart. Jones never fell into the trap of assuming that children would be satisfied with (or wouldn't notice) lazy writing. Although the books were geared towards children, they appealed to readers of all ages. Just look at the book "Howl's Moving Castle", which inspired Hayao Miyazaki to make a gorgeous film adaptation. Jones wrote fantasies that were unique and spoke to issues we have all faced, including prejudice and finding one's own place in the world. Long before I read Harry Potter, I read about Jones' Chrestomanci - a powerful enchanter who could move between realities and had nine lives. If you want to start from the beginning, Jones' Chrestomanci stories have been collected in volumes. Begin with "The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume I", although I will have to admit that two of my favorite stories in the Chrestomanci universe come much later.

The first is "The Pinhoe Egg", in which a young student of the Chrestomanci finds that a small village has been suppressing good magic and snarling up the balance of nearly everything. This young student (Cat) and a girl from the village must work together to bring things back into balance again. This is another one of those stories where the seemingly smallest and least important people become the most important (I love stories like these). The eventual, triumphant wild breaking out of magical beings is all thanks to Cat and his friend from the village. My other favorite book is "Enchanted Glass", where a young orphan seeks shelter with a magician. This orphan discovers family, friends and his own strength - and he also finds out about the curious nature of a magical stained-glass window. Diana Wynne Jones was one of the first fantasy authors to awaken my imagination. Indeed, she is one of the reasons that I love fantasy - world building, hidden truths and all. So, Diana, thank you - from the bottom of my heart - for writing furiously and keeping me in wonderful, complex fantastical stories.

My final farewell goes to Anne McCaffrey, dragon-lady and creator of the wonderful world of Pern. I owe all of my youthful dragon riding fantasies to Anne McCaffrey (although, really, who wouldn't love a friendly dragon who adores you and flies you about?). As famous as that world was, Anne McCaffrey was not just about dragons. She also wrote about Acorna the unicorn girl, a group of people called Talents who flew ships and had amazing mental powers, survivors on alien worlds, miners with powerful connections to their gemstones and many other wonders. McCaffrey's books were my bridges, both to the genre of science-fiction and a little bit more mature reading. Her books are also what we in the library world call "stretches". I had never enjoyed science-fiction until I read one of her books - thereafter, I knew that science-fiction could be enjoyed (and even loved). I tend to be a huge fan of world-building and McCaffrey builds wonderful places by the score. Although I'm only going to list two books that I loved, I must stress that I loved most of her other books as well.

"Freedom's Landing" is the first book in a quartet and a fairly recent discovery by yours truly. Kristin Bjornsen lived a normal life in Denver, Colorado until a hostile alien race called the Catteni moved in and conquered planet earth. Being a resourceful woman, Kristin escapes slavery and flees into the woods. Her bare existence is threatened when she runs into a rogue Catteni. The two are captured and then abandoned with hundreds of other slaves on a new planet. The Catteni wish to see if the planet is fit for colonization. The slaves all work together to make this strange place into a survivable home. However, soon it becomes apparent that Kristin, her Catteni ally and the rest of the slaves must be prepared to defend their home from more than just the Catteni overlords.

I am a mighty revamped cover. Fear me.

"The Rowan" is the other book that I absolutely adored. This book is the first in a series where people called Talents are among the most valued citizens in the universe. The Talents are able to transport everything from cargo to people between planets with their mental powers. The Rowan is a young orphan with an incredibly powerful Talent who is discovered in the ruins of a settlement. She grows up isolated because of the incredible strength of her Talent. It isn't until The Rowan is a young woman that she makes a connection with another similarly strong Talent on a distant star that she escapes from her self-imposed isolation and decides to trust in the love of another person. **Side note: Don't judge the book by the cover on the right. Had I seen that cover, I may never have picked up the book in the first place. The cover girl has crazy eyes.

My Favorite Unknowns

If you read enough books, eventually you'll come across reads that have never, ever graced the New York Times bestseller list. In fact, as you struggle to find a copy, you realize that this book you read may not have ever graced any recognizable list anywhere. This doesn't mean that the book has no value. Rather, dear reader, it means that you have found a diamond in the rough. A story that has spoken to you where it has not spoken to many people before. In short, you've found a choosy book - and it's up to you whether to share it or not. I have found very few books that have not been recognized by someone in my acquaintance, but the following reads have stumped even some of my librarian friends.

Instructions by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Charles Vess
 Rarely do I read a book and then rush home and buy it the first chance I get. However, as soon as I had finished this wonderfully charming picture book, I sprinted home and did exactly that. This poem by Gaiman was first published in A Wolf at the Door but has since been reborn in this short book. The illustrations are also gorgeous - Vess has made them as charming and whimsical as the prose. "Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before" begins the poem. The reader and the quester (or are they the same thing?) are guided through a familiar landscape filled with the scraps of famous fairy-tales, folklore and old stories. I loved the 'advice' that is offered to the reader, on everything from being polite to overcoming obstacles to never, ever losing hope.

The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristin D. Randle
I always have the greatest difficulty describing books that I wholeheartedly adore. This book was the 'Twilight' of my early teenagerdom - I still have my worn copy that I re-read every one and a while. In this book, the main character and narrator (Ginny) has had to face some tough changes. Her beloved older brother has left for college and she and her entire family have moved across the country. As Ginny adjusts to a new school, she finds herself becoming fascinated with a strange boy named Smitty Tibbs. Smitty is beautiful and intelligent but has never interacted with another living soul. In fact, his classmates call him the Alien because he acts so strangely. As Ginny gets drawn into Smitty's life, she has to decide whether she can live with the secrets in Smitty's past. I have always loved Ginny because I identified with her so strongly. Here was a girl who wasn't stunningly beautiful, who didn't have magical help or stumble onto the perfect answer. Instead, Ginny felt more like someone you could actually encounter. She felt normal and very real. The title, by the way, refers to something Ginny says in the first chapter in the book. She says that we all have to remember we're never 'the only alien on the planet'. Even though we may feel like it, we're never alone in our struggles and issues.

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
I have always been a romantic soul. Of course, between present day and my early teens my tastes have matured (er...immensely) but I often find myself coming back to this old favorite whenever I require a very gentle romance. Valancy lives a miserable existence as the odd one out in her very unpleasant family. At 29, she's never fallen in love, rebelled or even had many moments of undiluted happiness. All of her enjoyment comes from reading her favorite books and daydreaming about life in a mystical Blue Castle. One day, Valancy is informed via a letter from her doctor that she hasn't long to live. She has a heart condition that will make her heart give out within a year at most. After Valancy reads the letter, she vows that she will live life to the fullest. She begins at once, much to the horror of her snobbish family, and ends up doing all kinds of 'shocking' things like becoming friends with the town scapegraces and cutting her hair (oh horrors). She revels in all the adventure, love and wonder that life has to offer. By the end of the book, Valancy has finally discovered all the joy that she only had in her imaginary Blue Castle. This book is full of gratification, from a very sweet romance, to devilish relish when Valancy finally stands up to her awful family and comes into her own. L.M. Montgomery, by the way, is also the author of the Anne of Green Gables series.