Book Review of The Girl With No Shadow

Sequel to Chocolat by Joanne Harris is Chocolate Magic

Jan 18, 2009

The magic of chocolate and prose combine in this sequel to Chocolat, weaving a spell over the reader until the very last word is consumed.

Joanne Harris has the gift of weaving magic with her words, not unlike the gift she bestows on her main character, Vianne Rocher, who works magic in her chocolaterie in this latest novel, The Girl With No Shadow.

Sequel to Chocolat

In this sequel to her 1999 best seller, Chocolat, Joanne enchants the reader, serving up a delectable adventure that leaves one hungering for more. Her chocolate-laced prose is so real, the reader can almost taste and smell the truffles and mendiants cooling in the kitchen. Just as Vianne keeps her customers coming back for more chocolate magic, Joanne Harris keeps her readers coming back for more word magic.

Chocolate Magic

Vianne now lives in Montmartre, quietly running a chocolate shop that barely makes ends meet. She has changed her name to Yanne Charbonneau, and she no longer does magic. She wants to live an ordinary life with her daughter, Anouk, and her second daughter, born after her affair with Roux, Rosette. In spite of her banishment of magic, Anouk and Rosette both have powers that are as strong as their mother’s, and this lures a new woman into their lives, who can sense their powers and sees opportunity.

Beautiful, funny, and friendly, Zozie easily slips into their lives and cheers the shop with her bright clothes, lollipop shoes, and warm spirit. She has the magic to turn the shop into a financial success. Grateful for a friend and happy to be able to support herself and her daughters again, Vianne teaches Zozie her chocolate-making skills. However, Vianne never forgets that for every gift there is a price. It isn’t until too late that she finds out what Zozie’s price will be.

Vianne Rocher Still in Love With Roux

This book, like Chocolat, is peopled with characters that are quirky and endearing. Roux breezes back into town, only to find that Vianne, now Yanne, is engaged to be married to a successful, yet insecure property owner named Thierry. Yet Roux and Vianne have never stopped loving each other, and they struggle with how to handle their circumstances.

Questions about Vianne’s childhood are answered in this book, and she finally faces what she has been running from all these years, every time the wind changes. When the wind begins to pick up again, on Christmas Eve, Vianne decides not to run, but to stand and fight, for her life, her family, and her happiness.

Outside of the United States and Canada this book is sold under the name The Lollipop Shoes.

For more delectable books with a theme around mystery and food, see my book review of How To Cook a Tart, by Nina Killham

The copyright of the article Book Review of The Girl With No Shadow in British/UK Fiction is owned by Suzanne Pitner. Permission to republish Book Review of The Girl With No Shadow in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.