The Chocolate Challenge

Many thanks to Louisa Treger for inviting me to take up the Chocolate Challenge: three books, three reviews, three types of chocolate. How delicious! You can read Louisa’s take on the challenge on her Facebook page LouisaTregerWriter and you can also follow her on Twitter @louisatreger. Keep an eye out for her upcoming novel, The Lodger, published by St Martin’s Press on October 14th! It’s one not to miss!!

Dark

What can I say? I love dark chocolate – it’s often a very fine chocolate: rich, a bit sophisticated, sometimes even bitter. It’s not the chocolate for a quick snack – you want to savor it. It even goes well with a glass of full-bodied red wine.

So thinking about books and dark chocolate brings to mind a complex, rich, possibly bittersweet book. Not an easy read perhaps— it could even be disturbing— but ultimately satisfying.

The book which I would suggest for those craving dark chocolate is The Post Office Girl by the Austrian master, Stefan Zweig. Like Vienna’s classic dark chocolate sachertorte, Zweig is the epitome of Old European sophistication, encapsulating its rich cultural heritage. His name and works conjure up Viennese coffee houses and the glittering world of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – before the debacle of World War I. Zweig has recently been in the news as the inspiration for Ralph Fiennes’ uber-concierge in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. The movie also recaptures the essence of that lost world, and while incredibly funny – it has an unexpectedly tragic twist (no more spoilers!).

The Post Office Girl is Zweig’s posthumous masterpiece – not comic at all, but tender, with hopeful moments married to the utmost despair. Christine is an Austrian girl whose family has been ruined in the aftermath of World War I and the relentless hyperinflation that swept over the defeated powers. She is given a glimpse of a shining, glamorous world when her aunt – like a fairy godmother – invites her to a grand hotel in the Swiss Alps. The first half of the novel is a Cinderella-like tale, and there lies the hopefulness, but the second half is a darker Brothers Grimm tale spiraling into despair. Zweig’s world collapsed with the rise of Nazi Germany, and his hopefulness did not survive – his novel cannot sustain it either.

I read the book on another mountaintop in the French Alps during a family ski vacation, and couldn’t put it down. The language was so rich, so beautiful; the despair was haunting. The novel stayed with me for ages – the rich taste of Viennese sachertorte and dark bittersweet chocolate lingering.

Milk

Milk chocolate is easier on the palate. It reminds me of the delicious chocolate treats of childhood or the comforting taste of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. It lies somewhere between comfort food and a special delight. In book terms, milk chocolate demands a tried and tested favorite. Not too light and not too demanding – something just right and satisfying. It may be a cliché, but I have to turn to an all-time classic (and my favorite book) – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. What can I say? Even re-reading it for the who-knows-what time still brings a sense of joy and discovery. Darcy’s pride, Elizabeth’s prejudice, the humorous (or annoying) supporting cast of characters—it is still fresh and enchanting. It is also the type of book that you can confidently recommend to a stranger – just like milk chocolate would be the safest choice for a gift. Sure, it’s probably over-recommended, but there is a reason for its being a classic.

White

Reading some of the other Chocolate Challenge reviews, it seems clear that white chocolate is by far the least favorite of the three. I can understand why – a bit too sweet and not chocolaty enough. Some question if it is even chocolate! However, as with many other things, there is a time and place for it and I can think of nothing more delicious than a white chocolate and macadamia nut cookie. Absolutely divine, the cookie melts in your mouth and in that context white chocolate clearly works. It comes into its own.

So, turning to white chocolate books – these would be the ones that work best at particular times and places – at least for me! Perhaps you can call them genre books – I would just say they are fabulous reads. The beach read, the thriller, the intriguing mystery, the historical romance. I have a whole slew of favorites in varying categories – all satisfying for a certain time and place – even a particular craving.

So here I am cheating a little by not limiting myself to one book, but then, who can stop at just one cookie?

So here is a quick, very much NOT definitive list: Fairytale romantic cravings – A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. Romantics with a twist – Elegance and The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro. Mystery and Thriller cravings: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and almost any Agatha Christie, but especially Murder on the Orient Express. Sweeping historical cravings – The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye (the best). Slightly less massive historicals – The Shadow Catcher and A Place in the Hills by Michelle Paver.

I could go on, there are as many options as variants on white chocolate/macadamia cookie recipes (add cranberries, add oatmeal, double chunks…endless). But they will definitively satisfy a craving!

♦

So my chocolate days are done – I am now passing on this yummy challenge to Chantel Acevedo. Check out her wonderful website ChantelAcevedo.com with her new book A Falling Star, as well as her other books including Love and Ghost Letters. Her blog can be found at yucababy.blogspot.com and you can follow her on twitter @chantelacevedo.