Joanne Harris' book "Chocolat" is a charming read. It is about a mother and daughter (Vianne Rocher and Anouk) who move around a lot, opening up chocolate shops and changing cities wherever they go. This story takes place in a tiny French village called Lansquenet. They are not the typical family you would find in Lansquenet. They don't go to church and they don't dress as conservatively as anyone else and there is no man in their family structure. They make delicious chocolate. In this novel, the priest of the village, Reynaud, decides that they are evil, tempting the villagers to overindulge during lent. A lot goes on in the story, but eventually, Reynaud gives in and indulges in the sweet chocolates of their shop as well. And the people realize that eating chocolate is not a sin. Pleasure is not a sin. They realize that they need to be inclusive in their religious practices, not exclusive. It is quite a touching novel (which was made into a movie) and has a great spiritual message. There is also a sequel to the novel, first published under the title "the Girl with No Shadow," and later under the title "Lollipop Shoes." This goes into some pagan forms of spiritual practice, and is quite an interesting story as Anouk starts to grow up and experiment with her "witch" powers. Sometimes a good story is a great way to get a holy message out there.
P.S. where did all the posts on this blog go??? I know, this post is late, but...where did they all go??
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