Originally published Friday, April 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Sequel to "Chocolat" isn't quite as sweet
Although this slow-to-build sequel is less enchanting than its predecessor, Joanne Harris' sensuous writing in The Girl with No Shadow" entertains.
Special to The Seattle Times
"The Girl with No Shadow"
by Joanne Harris
Morrow, 444 pp., $24.95
Joanne Harris has authored nine books, but she's best known for her 1997 novel, "Chocolat," which was later adapted for the screen. Her new offering, "The Girl with No Shadow" (in bookstores Tuesday), is a sequel to "Chocolat" and begins after an interlude of four years.
Vianne Rocher, a confection maker, leaves the little French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, renounces her supernatural powers, drops her old identity and adopts the name of Yanne Charbonneau. She arrives in Paris, accompanied by her two daughters, 12-year-old Anouk and 4-year-old Rosette. Soon she opens an unpretentious little chocolaterie in Montmartre that initially attracts little attention.
Yanne's landlord, a good-natured, affluent man named Thierry Le Tresser, begins to court her. In due time, he gives her an engagement ring. She accepts it somewhat reluctantly, ever mindful of the fact that she hasn't yet revealed her past. Nor is she sure of her feelings for him.
In the midst of all this, Zozie de l'Alba, a charismatic identity thief with a bohemian lifestyle, comes into Yanne's life. Under Zozie's influence, the chocolaterie gets a makeover and she sets about charming the neighborhood into visiting the shop.
Yanne is happy to focus on baking once again and trusts Zozie, blissfully unaware of her motives. Zozie, as it turns out, has the powers of a witch. In time, she befriends Anouk and secretly corrupts her.
The appearance of Roux, a former lover of Yanne, leads to tension between him and Thierry. Now Yanne must choose between her two men and rescue her fragile new life from the evil effects of Zozie.
Although this slow-to-build sequel is less enchanting than its predecessor, Harris' sensuous writing — a feast of bonbons and truffles — entertains.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Local books: Illustrated Goethe, the Battle of Seattle and Wheedle on the Needle
Lit Life: Author Timothy Egan shares a bit of NW history with the world in 'The Big Burn'
50 years: Kan. town grieves 'In Cold Blood' deaths
Author Ken Auletta, 'Googled: The End of the World as We Know It,' at the Seattle Public Library
Book Review: Story of WWII told through 3 generals

Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Ken Auletta talks about Google with Brier Dudley at the Seattle Central Library.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect
- Prosecutors consider charges against suspect in police shooting
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- Steve Kelley | Hasselbeck gives Seahawks' sagging season a stay of execution
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Bill Clinton meets with Senate Dems on health care
- Trucker dies as big-rig plummets off SF bridge
- McGinn next Seattle mayor; Mallahan concedes as vote gap widens
- Washington coordinator Nick Holt says his Huskies defense is improving
- Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
258 - House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate
247 - Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
172 - Prosecutors prepare charges against suspect in police shooting
143 - Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers
135 - Obama puts heat on Senate to speed health bill
123 - Resolute Fort Hood soldiers ready for return
119 - McGinn more than doubles his lead over Mallahan
101 - Cutaia says replay handled properly on Austin TD
69 - Josh Smith picks UCLA
69
- For 80-year-old Maple Valley man, hoops aren't just a dream
- Plans call for Triangle to become West Seattle gateway
- Three more fires ignite in Greenwood
- 'Missing' SeaTac man found with new name, in new state
- Pakistani-American cafe, bar owner on verge of being Granite Falls mayor
- Silver Lake restaurant destroyed by fire
- Taste | Ruth Reichl still reigns as queen of America's culinary scene
- All You Can Eat | Fruit flies: thrill to the kill
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tours Seattle's Swedish after health-care vote
- Police: DNA from officer's slaying matches suspect





