The prequel can be a funny thing. Mention to some Star Wars fans and you can get twitches. But for other readers it’s just a new beginning and that’s when yu start the new adventures. In Joanne Harris’ lyrical and thoughtful novel Vianne we meet the lead of their novel Chocolate in the events leading up to that novel’s start and for me as a much newer reader to this series I found it an impressive place and a memorable tale.

It’s Marseille in 1993 and 21 year old Sylviane arrives alone mourning her mother and carrying an unborn child. Choices await as to where she goes next. Time to settle down, explore the world or something else. With just a few francs in her pockets, a false passport and a light set of luggage options seem limited but she befriends Louis a grumpy bistro owner and starts to learn to cook all under another new name Vianne. But Vianne has always had her mother’s gift for magic and divining the past and future and starts to learn about Louis and his assorted regulars. The past has changed them and possibly a new future can be shaped. At the same time Vianne meets two would be businessmen all planning a new shop to take the city by storm and Vianne finds herself drawn to their new product Chocolate.

Reading is a funny business sometimes and so far I’ve read the fourth book in this series only but for me this prequel is a great jumping in point. Harris always impressed me with their storytelling this is a tale mixing emotion, magic and perhaps that important mixture of those two in another form the power of food.

Vianne jumps out as a fascinating character to me. A young adult also mourning no longer being a child and having lost her sole parent. Now faced with growing into being a mother and not at all sure where she goes next. But despite all that daunting decision making she is still kind, humorous and follows her instincts for good and bad. As our narrator we get all her thoughts and experiences and Harris ensures she is interesting throughout be that describing the power of food, the way she sees into people or her experiences running around the world. She is very much the catalyst of change in the story but also someone seeking their own purpose in life.

With the arrival of Louis and also the chocolatiers Guy and Mahmed we have two personal mysteries to solve and also watch the plots intertwine. With Louis who is a beautifully grumpy yet we see kind character we also see like Vianne a character in mourning but in his case for over 20 years. Vianne learning to cook uses his wife Margot’s cookbook and through her notes and Vianne’s own magical abilities we unpeel the dark secrets behind the little group. This poses a question for Vianne should she just keep her head down and become the mother some think she should be or can she get involved? We see Vianne get over confidant, scared and determined and I liked that Harris keeps us guessing as to how this will pan out. Does tragedy or joy take Vianne to her future in Chocolat?

The other plotline is Vianne learning about chocolate and this allows both for a fascinating plotline as we explore a different set of secrets but also experiences with the homeless and immigrant communities. There is a running theme of seeing people for who they really are and just as much as we learn our main characters all have secrets there is a point here made very well that the public can also see groups they class as just undesirable and don’t see the personal tales everyone carries. It gives the book its heart that there is nothing wrong with paying attention and being kind.

Both streams though bring the fantastical to the story. As a reader who came into Harris via their more clearly marked fantasy tales this combined all the elements I’ve come to enjoy. Magic here can be strange signs made by hands, the power of food to link to memories that Vianne can be experiencing to a strange woman who appears to Vianne alone. There is a great feeling of a world just behind our own that Vianne can perceive (but not yet fully understand) and I loved how these scenes make changes to reality or make us see what goes on behind our characters lives. No one is perfect in this take but learning to live with their better selves is a key lesson explored.

I found myself soon after reading this putting Chcolat into my TBR pile so I can finally see what happened next but just as a delicious pleasing reading experience this was just what I needed. A lyrical read, full of heart and kindness and a touch of magic; what more can anyone want? Highly recommended!

How indulgent it felt to be immersed in Joanne Harris's charming world of Chocolat, in this, Vianne Rocher's origin story. For me it was like crossing the blissful feeling of sinking into a steamy hot bath after a cold, wet day crossed with encountering a friend you adored but lost touch with years ago. Warm, immediately cosy and all embracing, at ease. A joy of the most unexpected variety that transports the reader back into Vianne's orbit hot on the heels of her mother's death in New York and her return to France. She arrives in France with little money, early in pregnancy and looking to settle into a job and find a place to stay. She is offered a room at a cafe and takes on the challenge of cooking for her keep.

As with all books in this series, Vianne makes the reader quite peckish with all the beautifully succulent descriptions of food and food preparation. When the reader finally has control of their hunger we pivot with Vianne into her introduction to chocolate. The transition from savoury to the richness of chocolate does make one feel as if we are following a lovely French meal with a chocolate pud. Sinful but utterly delicious. Wholly necessary and right.

As with all the books in this series, I was charmed and delighted by this novel. All the people Vianne meets and are able to help, in a fashion, whilst she is in Marseilles is perfectly crafted and spot on, as if we have not parted from Vianne in years. Her voice and desire to help others with her special gifts is completely captivating as are the people who surround her in this yarn. A real joy.

So if you read Chocolat years ago, or even enjoyed the film, this is just the book for you.

How magical to be back in Vianne's enchanting xocolatl world again! Such a perfect addition to Vianne's story, adding depth and flavour to the story many of us know so well and furnishing us with a beautiful background to her life before Anouk and Lansquenet-sous-Tannes. But this is more than just a character backstory: it's populated with charming (and not-so charming) characters in their own right, with histories and relationships of their own that feel somehow independent of Vianne's history yet intrinsically connected to it. Delicious in every way!

It took me a chapter or two to really settle into this, but when I did I was hooked.
Another beautiful piece of storytelling from Joanne Harris. Gentle, elegantly written and evocative.

I actually found out about this book from Sarah McCartney at 4160 Tuesdays, when she spoke about making a perfume, inspired by a scene in the book, with the author. I couldn't wait to smell it and I really, REALLY couldn't wait to read this book. The Chocolat series, and some of Joanne Harris's standalone books, brought me so much joy for many years. I think it's time for a re-read of them all, but we're here to talk about her latest offering. ‘Vianne’ is a prequel. It's the origin story we didn't know we needed but need it we do!

The book is infused with evocative, beautiful turns of phrase, highlight-worthy passages and an eclectic cast of characters who leap from the pages. Smells are described vividly and Harris clearly knows her olfactory onions - no stereotypical French pun intended. Reading the book whilst wearing the perfume (Vianne’s Confession) has been an utterly joyful and all-encompassing experience - one which I highly recommend. Joanne Harris is to literature what Sarah McCartney is to perfumery - truly gifted and touched by magic. No spoilers but suffice it to say, ‘Vianne’ is right up there with Harris’s best work. I adored it!

In this prequel to the Chocolat series, twenty-one-year-old Vianne, newly pregnant and mourning for her mother, finds herself leaving New York for Marseille.

As we have come to expect from this series, the novel is full of lucious descriptions of food and chocolate and entertwining stories of the lives which Vianne changes for the better.

However, this novel feels less plot driven than the others and doesn’t fit the series in the same way: the characters are never mentioned again except for a fleeting reference to Guy; there is no reference to the silver cat charm or bear or dog toys that belonged to Sylvianne Callou; and the sense that chocolate making was in her longer past is disrupted.

An evocative novel without the heart or sense of storyline of the rest of the series: perhaps we didn’t really need a prequel.

I've been waiting years for this book and it certainly didn't disappoint!
The story takes place in the years prior to us first meeting Vianne in 'Chocolat' and gives us an insight into her upbringing and life up to that point. Vianne is in her early twenties. She's in the early stages of pregnancy and has just lost her mother, someone whose influence has shaped the path of her entire existence up to this point. Suddenly alone and free from her mother's sense of urgency to keep moving from place to place, Vianne finds herself torn; her mother's voice is still very strong, telling her to never stay in one place too long, but it's conflicting with her own desire to put down roots and stay in Marseille.
Joanne Harris' books are a sensory delight from beginning to end and this was no exception. The richness of detail, and the vivid descriptions of smells, sounds and textures made for an absorbing reading experience that I didn't want to end. The theme of motherhood is strong throughout; the loss of Vianne's mother, Vianne's own pregnancy, and a surrogate mother figure in the form of Louis' late wife, Margot, all come together to show how these maternal influences guide and shape our lives.

A total delight. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Love this author and absolutely loved Chocolat - book and film
I thoroughly enjoyed this read

Very uplifting and perfect for summer

Highly recommend

After a childhood constantly travelling with her mother, Vianne is now on her own and can choose her lifestyle. She gets a job helping in a restaurant and is taught how to cook all the dishes using an old recipe book. She quickly becomes part of the village and later works in a chocolatier and learns how to make the chocolates.
This is a fitting prequel to Chocolat - but beware! It makes you want to eat (and / or drink) chocolate.

Joanne Harris first rose to fame with the novel 'Chocolat', which has been followed by several sequels over the years. Now we get the 'origin story' of the central character, the mysterious Vianne Rocher. Before she was a mother and a chocolate shop owner in a traditional French village, Vianne was a lonely young woman, newly pregnant and newly arrived in Marseilles. Her own mother, who had lived an itinerant lifestyle, has recently died and now Vianne has the chance to reinvent herself, or maybe to be her real self. But first she has to work out who or what that is.

It works well as a forerunner to 'Chocolat' and an introduction its central character. As it's a prequel, it could be read before any of the other books, but it isn't essential to read them in order, as many readers will already be familiar with the character and her subsequent adventures. Many of the experiences that form Vianne into the person we meet in 'Chocolat' stem from the period in this novel. This is where she first learns to make chocolate, where she first uses her magic to try to enhance the lives of others in small but profound ways, and where she decides the course of her future life - an unsettled, itinerant one just like her mother's.

Vianne is more uncertain in this story, as befits her younger self, and she is more likeable for it. In the subsequent novels she at least appears to be more assured, and rather spooky in her abilities. Whereas here you can see her more as a victim of circumstances, as someone who has made sacrifices to help strangers, and who is choosing to use her knowledge of magic for good rather than to enrich herself or hurt people.

Similarly to 'Chocolat', Vianne meets a range of people with a range of problems, and she uses her magic and cooking to transform their lives, but often at a price she did not expect. Harris shows a good understanding of people at the margins of society, the miserable reality of homelessness and of those who are not accepted for whatever reason.

If you enjoy literary novels and don't mind a bit of the supernatural in them, then these are really well written and enjoyable books that I would highly recommend.

Vianne is a prequel to the hugely popular "Chocolat" (aka Vianne Rocher) series by Joanne Harris, consisting of
Vianne
Chocolat
The Lollipop Shoes
Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé
The Strawberry Thief.

And Vianne, with Harris's typical evocative writing, is a truly worthy addition to the series.

We meet Vianne as she arrives in France, just after the death of her mother and this tragedy, provides the reader with some clues to the mystery of "..the man in black.." and why Vianne has always lived with a sense of fear.

This story is not fast-paced but there is plenty happening as Vianne makes several tenuous friendships before building a life in Marseille. She learns to cook and of course, she develops a love of chocolate and this forms a foundation for the future of the series.

The language is atmospheric and conjures up the sounds and smells of the utterly delicious recipes that Vianne, Louis, Guy & Mahmed create.

Read this book and love it!

Five stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The style of writing is like you are reading in a dream state; everything feels both heightened and not quite real at the same time. It took me back to the very first time I encountered the film Chocolat and you would know immediately that this is the same type of story by the same author. It answers many questions but leaves you with more by the end. Be warned, try not to read this book when you’re hungry as the constant references to food will have you dreaming of your next meal.

Fans of Joanne Harris and her book Chocolate needed this book.. even if they thought thye didn't

It speaks to the senses and the continuing story of Vianne is every bit as delicious as the story of her mother.

It is rich in description, Filled with drama and a little emotional

Just divine

5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2025/05/20/review-vianne-chocolat-0-by-joanne-harris/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: Just the Most Delicious Book

I don’t think I can do this book justice in a review but I’ll give it a try. In a nutshell, I loved this book. Think of all the most lovely words you can imagine, delicious, scrumptious, whimsical, beautiful, delightful, a joy to read, and then times them by ten and that’s my experience reading this book.

This book actually brings to us Vianne’s story, long anticipated and now arrived to tantalise us with decadent chocolate, breathtaking recipes and a story of found family all embellished with a little magical realism. We learn about Vianne and her past and the time she spends in Marseille before finally opening her chocolaterie in Lansquenet.

Firstly, I would say that if you haven’t read any of the books from this series this book is the perfect start of the journey. You can certainly read this as a standalone and maybe if you pick this one up you’ll know whether or not you want to continue the rest of the journey.

Secondly Vianne is a wonderful character. She isn’t perfect, she makes mistakes but her heart is in the right place. She’s torn between following the path set by her mama and wanting to forge her own course. And, in this addition she is in the very early stages of pregnancy. Vianne has a way of bringing light into other’s lives – usually she doesn’t stay around long enough to affect such changes, usually eager to make an exit before she’s caught by darkness.

Thirdly, the writing is exquisite. It’s so evocative. You can smell the aromas, the descriptions of the places, the scents. But, I warn you, you may need cake, warm chocolate and other little delights because this book will surely test you and make you want to delve into hand made treats. I mean, quite literally, I’ve spent the last three days with a loudly grumbling stomach.

I loved the story. Vianne finds shelter at a jaded bistrot under the care of its owner Louis. Louis has been in mourning for many years since his pregnant wife passed away. His little kitchen and the book of recipes his wife annotated have remained the same since but he reluctantly allows Vianne into this little shrine to begin to learn how to cook. Vianne spends her first month in Marseille between the little bistrot that is slowly coming back to life with the delicious aromas on the wind tempting customers through the doors and with a couple of friends she has made who are endeavouring to open a chocolaterie, where Vianne discovers her love for chocolate and the magic it helps to achieve.

This is not an action packed read with adventure and disasters around every corner. It’s an exploration into, not only Vianne’s but, the lives of the people she encounters and the little changes that gradually come about to help them come alive again. There is sadness here. Both for Vianne and Louis. Vianne wants to stay true to her mother, to run before attachments are formed and roots pull her down but she wants to make a difference too. You can really see elements of the woman she is about to become and I really enjoyed reading her story.

In conclusion, if you haven’t read any of the Chocolat series this is a perfect place to start. If you’re already a fan then prepare to be happy because Vianne is an absolute delight.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 5 out of 5 deliciously sweet stars

I’m sharing my thoughts about a much anticipated read. Vianne is the prequel to the much beloved Chocolat series. It tells the story of Vianne before she lands up in Lansquenet.

Reading Joanne Harris’s writing is a very sensual experience and by that I mean appealing to all the senses. Whether that’s the feeling of thistledown on a summer breeze in Marseille, the smell of pretzels and beer in New York, the sights and sounds of a fish market or the taste and aroma of fresh herbs and garlic cooking, Harris creates a vivid picture that immerses her readers in Vianne’s world. Talking of food, there are the most delectable descriptions of cooking throughout the book which will have your mouth watering and may inspire you to cook some wonderful creations in your own kitchen.

I enjoyed reading about Vianne’s back story, knowing where life leads her. This book could be experienced in different ways by different readers. Some like me, will consider Vianne an old friend and recognise references to and elements of the future novels. Others will be meeting her for the first time and I’m almost jealous knowing they can follow her story from here for the first time.

There’s a mystical element running through the book with tarot cards, rituals and Vianne’s ability to see and read people’s ‘colours’, and understand them so clearly. Even making chocolate seems to be imbued with some kind of magic.

Although I enjoyed the book I did find it a bit of a slow-burn read or perhaps I should call it a gently told story. Until the last quarter or so of the story, it’s an intense look at what makes Vianne who she is and how she came to learn about the skills of chocolate making. The last part of the book brings together the many strands which Joanne Harris has been winding subtly throughout the book in a satisfying way. There are still a few years between where we leave Vianne in this book and where we meet her in Chocolat. I wonder if the author has plans to fill in the gaps in another book. I’d be keen to read it if she does.

It was so easy to return to Vianne and the wonderful writing style of Joanne Harris.
Even though it has been several years since I read Chocolat, reading Vianne brought back so many memories; the wind, a little bit of magic and of course scenes from the film.
Beautiful prose took me straight back to France .
Loved it.

From the very start Joanne Harris's beautiful prose draws you in and enchants you. The characters are beautifully depicted and the descriptions of the food and the chocolate-making are mouth-watering. However, as the book progressed I felt that it needed a bit more story and a bit less description and I found myself yearning for a plot and some depth. We heard the history of chocolate mentioned so many times that it became a little wearing and I found myself really disliking Vianne's mother and her obsession of moving on when the wind changed or when there was any danger of putting down roots. Overall a good read but it dragged slightly towards the end.

Vianne by Joanne Harris is a prequel to her beloved Chocolat and gives the reader a look into Vianne's life before she came to Lansquenet and opened her chocolaterie. Pregnant and grieving the death of her mother, Vianne follows the wind and finds herself in Marseille where she charms her way into a job at the local bistro. For the first time her life is in her own hands, but now it is not just her life, it is also the baby she is carrying, the baby that she knows deep within is a daughter. Her new boss Louis is a man lost in grief of his own, still mourning the loss of his wife and child years before, and something about Vianne's plight makes him want to take her in and teach her. Slowly Vianne builds a life in Marseille, making friends including Guy and Mahmed, two men who are trying to open up a chocolaterie in Marseille, and teach Vianne all about chocolate and its magic. Of course Vianne is not without magic of her own, as reader of the previous books already know, but it is here in Marseilles that she really starts to find a way to use her abilities to help those around her. It is not all happiness and light however as Vianne begins to fear that the mysterious man in black who haunted her mother has now followed her here and out of fear of what that may mean for those she has come to love and cherish she reluctantly decides that she must leave them behind and follow the wind once again.
While this is a prequel to Chocolat, and many readers will already be familiar with Vianne and her story, this book could absolutely be read as a stand alone or by someone who has not read the other books. There is a wonderful seam of magic that flows through the story, and I loved learning more about Vianne, her mysterious past had always fascinated me and this book goes a long way to satisfying that curiosity without dampening any of the magic of the series. Once again the cast of supporting characters that surround Vianne in Marseille are wonderfully brought to life, it was so easy to picture them in my minds eye while reading and I was really invested in their journeys as the book unfolded.
When I picked up this book I was expecting descriptions of food that would make my mouth water and I was certainly not disappointed, this book is a love letter to food and the joy and healing that cooking for someone or being cooked for can bring., from simple peasant foods to exotic chocolate creations food is at the heart of this story.
This is a magical story and I loved every word, it made me so happy from beginning to end.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Set 6 years before Vianne and Anouk arrive in Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, it is July 1993 and 21-year-old Sylviane Rochas arrives in Marseille after her mother’s death.

Vianne has never known a traditional home or family, and we learn more about how her and her mother moved with the wind throughout her childhood, always running away from The Man in Black. Vianne’s struggles within herself are a continuing theme - should she continue her mother’s life of never settling and letting people in, or put down roots for her and her daughter?

When Vianne arrives in Marseille she is newly pregnant and has nowhere to go. She is soon befriended by Louis Martin, the kind owner of La Bonne Mere bistro. Still grieving for his wife, Louis begins teaching Vianne her family recipes and she finds comfort in learning to cook and feeling connected to Margot’s notes. She then meets Guy who teaches her all about chocolate making and we see how her skills in Chocolat originated as she creates unique treats and develops her skill for knowing which will be everyone’s favourites.

The tone of Vianne’s voice is so ethereal and comforting, almost lyrical. And with all the gorgeous descriptions of the French cooking, and the chocolate making, it really sparks your senses as you’re reading, making you hungry and relaxed at the same time!

As always with Joanne there are some wonderful characters - Louis and Emile are both quite grumpy and stubborn, but slowly open up and move on from their past pain through Vianne’s magic and the temptation of the chocolate. And the mysterious Khamasseen - is she good at staying hidden when she wants to be or is she only in Vianne’s imagination? I was never sure!

A magical delight - which has made me want to go back and read all the others in the series!

I was late to discovering the Chocolat series, only reading the first one in 2021, but it's one of my favourite fictional worlds to spend time in.

Seeing a glimpse into Vianne's world before the events of the series enriches the series beautifully! But, it's also a fantastic story on its own. Young Vianne is a compelling and likeable character and I loved the supporting cast too (particularly Guy, Stéphan, Margot, Loïc). Harris has a phenomenal skill in bringing off-screen characters (Margot, Maman, Anouk) to life!

The story takes us from the Eastern Seaboard to France and follows Vianne's foray into cooking with food writing I could sink my teeth into. I loved the transition from the cooking Margot's savoury meals in the bistrot to the dessert course at the chocolaterie! As always, the writing was top-shelf with phrases and descriptions to savour and enjoy.

If you love the Chocolat series, check this out.
If you love food writing, particularly à la France, check this out.
If you love a great storytelling with characters you can cheer on, check this out.

I'm already looking forward to reading this again.