Lina DC 09/07/2020Amazing!It all starts in Kidinsborough, England. Anna Trent is a 30-year-old woman who works as a taster at a chocolate factory, a steady job in a city where job opportunities are few. But her life changes completely when she suffers an accident inside the factory, which makes Anna need to spend time in the hospital, where she meets her school French teacher, Mrs. Claire Shawcourt.
The two end up approaching and exchanging confidences during hospitalization. Claire feels incomplete after her accident and the lack of perspective on finding a good local job makes her even more sad. Claire confesses that she spent time in Paris in her youth and that it was a unique experience and begins to encourage Anna to do the same. Claire is so convinced that she can get Anna a job with an old acquaintance in one of the most traditional chocolate shops in Paris.
Claire is going through a difficult time, has no confidence in herself and is struggling to accept her new self. So after being discharged from the hospital and being locked up at home with a possible depression, she is encouraged to give life a new chance and what would be better for that than spending a few months in Paris?
"In fact, in addition to getting closer to Claire, the accident had really made me change. Before him, I accepted all of them, and the realization that I was not actually invincible was quite painful. I called it recovery, but in fact , it was more like a hiding place. " (p. 88)
The work in the studio is completely different from what Anna was used to at the factory. For starters, chocolates are handcrafted, fresh, and his coworkers, Frederic and Benoit, take the craft very seriously. Chocolate is an art and Anna will be inspired by new knowledge.
At the core of the store, we have Thierry, Frederic, Benoit and Alice. Thierry is a charismatic, expansive man (and it is not because of his size). Wherever he goes he is recognized and valued. He's the type of person who steals the show, even without intention. He clings to life tooth and nail, trying to make the most of every moment, unlike his partner, Alice. Alice is arrogant, looks at people with a pointed nose and does not like it when people approach Thierry emotionally, which causes a feeling of discomfort between her and Anna from the first contact. Frederic is the gallant, the cliché of what we imagine to be a French man. Each day a different "girlfriend" and her lines with the opposite sex are always full of praise and flattery. Benoit has been in the studio since he was young, works hard and speaks very little. It is a monosyllabic giant.
Despite the small apartment, Anna has the company of the great Sami. Sami works in the costume department at the Paris Opera, working hard and earning little. But meeting so many people at work gives him access to various parties and meetings, which he loves. He's a confident person, who loves himself and doesn't give a damn what others think about him. It is because of Sami and one of her nights out that Anna will meet Laurent and see the nuances of her family.
Paris is charming in a unique way. Little by little, Anna understands and assimilates the joy of life of Parisians and tries to balance the hard work she has in the Le Chapeau Chocolat studio, with the famous Thierry Girard and the parties and celebrations that her roommate Sami, lives participating in.
"But there was also something in Paris that had awakened me. After the accident, after my illness, everything in Kidinsborough seemed very cold, gray and lifeless." (p. 194)
In parallel to Anna's story, the reader is taken on a journey through time and goes back to 1972, where he will learn the story of young Claire (the same Claire who becomes Anna's French teacher at school). Claire is the daughter of a strict religious and lives in England with her parents, until the opportunity arises to spend a few months as an au pair in France. Growing up under rigid upbringing, Paris is a completely different world from the young one, where people are more liberal and where the social circle of the family with whom they are staying is full of wonder compared to the simple life they lead with their parents.
As the weeks go by, Claire gets out of her shell and ends up meeting a man who will change her life irrevocably. It is during these passages of the past that the reader will know the deepest feelings of this beloved character.
"The lovely chocolate shop in Paris" is a delightful read, not only because its protagonist is the nectar of the gods, known to us, mere mortals, like chocolate, but because it presents the reader with not one but TWO stories about two strong women, who matured and became exceptional in inspiring Paris.
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