Craving-inducing, mouth-watering image found here. Dang.
While cruising Goodwill's book section the other day, I spied and snagged the sequel to Chocolat: The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris.
Good grief.
In spite of the fact that the plot line is completely mesmerizing and the characters intriguing, I just can't in good conscience recommend this book to anyone.
Really.
I didn't read the book Chocolat, but had seen the movie, so I thought I was prepared with the basic premise of the story, and that the sequel would make sense. And it did. But what I wasn't prepared for and isn't really exploited fully in the movie, is the real main character: chocolate.
Chocolate in all forms described in exquisite detail. Confections. Truffles. Creamy milk, white, and dark chocolate. Forms of chocolate candies that I had never heard of before but instantly craved. Hot chocolate spiked with liqueurs served by the steaming mugful. Pastries and cakes baked with sumptuous amounts of chocolate. I could go on for paragraphs and paragraphs here, but to save my very tenuous grip on healthy eating, I won't. Breathe, Julia. Just breathe.....
I read The Girl With No Shadow in a 24 hour span, mostly at night, my eyes gobbling up the text as eagerly as I would have eaten all those chocolates that were so amazingly described. And, in the morning, after a few hours of sleep, I immediately headed down to the grocery story to score a few bars of dark chocolate. I burrowed around in my pantry to find a tin of high-quality drinking chocolate that my daughter had given to me at Christmas.
And so while munching on 72% Ghiradelli and sipping Theo dark sipping chocolate, I finished reading the book by noon.
Consider yourself warned.
3 comments:
But Julia, dark chocolate is now health food, right? Try Theo chocolate's 100% Cocoa Nibs and then you'll really be feeling smug. No sugar. None. Nada. I put them in Greek Yogurt with a few drops of Stevia. 100% guilt-free chocolate! Their 91% bar is 91% guilt free and mighty tasty as well. Next time you're in Seattle, be sure to tour the factory. Free samples!
And I thought I was a chocolate expert but... 100%? 91%? Wow! I think that i have munched 81% but the others I now know about? Gimme, gimme, want to try, Amazon here I come!!!!!!! The book sounds interesting, have seen the film, didn't know how much I missed by not reading the book, might just stray into the book section of Amazon, do I need another book for the groaning bookshelf, No I do not, will I buy this book? Probably and blame it on Julia and OD-ing on high % chocolate ;)
p.s. for goodness sake DO NOT tell my dentist about the above post, it could be a lengthy discussion about the lack of suger content but I still think he isn't a chocolate munching person (his waistline gives a hint of that....) and I do not think he would approve. I'll just get the lecture again.
Post a Comment