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Today, 7th July, is World Chocolate Day. What would be more perfect than checking out a list of delectable books on chocolate, and adding them to your to-be-read list?
Chocolate. The food of the gods, coming from the cocoa tree, with a botanical name that validates this – Theobroma cacao, the drink of the gods. Absolutely irresistible, luscious, yummy goodness that is known to be a mood elevator. After all, even JK Rowling could not resist making chocolate the perfect antidote to being attacked by Dementors, those soul sucking monsters that suck away all emotions and happy memories.
When you say books on chocolate, the very first name that comes to any self-respecting bibliophile’s mind is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A fantastic fantasy of a book, perfect for the subject, chocolate. Yum.
But let us look at some books on chocolate that are written by women authors. And no, I’m not just talking about cookbooks with recipes involving chocolate, or books on chocolate that talk of its history, sometimes a very bloody history. I want to talk about fiction, books that can transport you to another world altogether, as chocolate themed books should, quite a few of them in the genre of magic realism.
Joanne Harris
The mysterious Vianne Rocher and her daughter come to a sleepy town during the month of Lent and set up a chocolaterie, and churn up so much more than a scrumptious cup of hot chocolate. A delicious and almost subversive romp that will keep you wanting more from this author.
While Chocolat was a delicious mesmerizing of our senses, this sequel is much more of dark chocolate. Bitter, yet with the unmistakable hint of that delicious sweetness that lingers – let’s find out what happens to Vianne, and most importantly, to her daughter Anouk…
Laura Esquivel
As the youngest daughter in the family in 19th century Mexico, Tita cannot marry, and must stay back to take care of her mother. What happens when the man she loves and whose cooking has mesmerised her marries her sister just so that he can stay close to her?
Cathy Lamb
Chocolate might just save the protagonist, Julia, from drowning in her sorrows. Baking with it feeds her soul, and gives her the much needed strength.
Jenny Colgan
Anna Trent works with the finest chocolate in Paris, making handmade goodies for the rich, a far cry from her earlier job in a chocolate factory in England. But her life changes when something unexpected happens.
Carole Mathews
Four women come together over their love of chocolate. Their sisterhood holds up under some stressful times, and the chocolate helps them get through these. This is the first in a series.
Suzanne Selfors
Emmeline has a secret gift – she can churn milk into chocolate – a gift she unexpectedly discovers at a low in her life. Will that take her where she wants to be? Magical realism, as all chocolate stories should be.
Philippa Gregory
We associate the name of Philippa Gregory with period historical fiction, long sagas of court intrigue. But here the author shows her mastery on the short story – not just historical fiction, but many other genres. Worth picking up for your collection.
Laura Madeleine
In 1909 Paris, a young man encounters the daughter of a famous Patisserie owner, and gets introduced to the magic of chocolate. 80 years later, a young PhD student comes across a photograph of her grandfather as a young man, with some intriguing words written on the back. An engaging tale of two stories almost a century apart.
Christine Son
Three Asian American women, almost stereotypically overachievers (that’s what Asian Americans are, right?) very different from each other who are close friends yet keep secrets from each other. They come together for a weekend getaway, and then all gloves are off. Where does chocolate come into this? Find out.
Krista Lynne Jensen
Jillian comes from a dysfunctional home that had an alcoholic mother, but has built a guarded and almost regimented world for herself as a single woman working at a publishing house, a writer working on her masterpiece, and the only addiction she’ll permit herself, her daily chocolate. But the only constant is change, isn’t it?
Teri Wilson
A modern take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the protagonist of this book has grown up learning to make chocolates in their family chocolaterie, and about the bitter feud between the two leading chocolaterie families in town. What happens in this modern day love story?
In her role as the Senior Editor & Community Manager at Women's Web, Sandhya Renukamba is fortunate to associate every day with a whole lot of smart and fabulous writers and readers. A doctor read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
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