Customer Reviews

The Discovery of Chocolate

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spanish notary and companion to the infamous Cortez, Diego happens upon the lovely Ignacia in the court of Montezuma in Mexico serving a wonderous drink which she has concocted from the very beans the natives use for currency. From his first sip, he is entranced, abandoning all thoughts of his beloved at home and just about everything else as he plunges headlong into a sensuous affair where he discovers the secrets of preparing the world's most delectable chocolate as well as the contours of his lover's body. As they are about to be separated by the destruction of Montezuma's great city, Diego and Ignacia vow never to love another and drink a special concoction to validate their committment. Little does Diego realize that the elixir enables him to slow down his aging so that every ten years of his life is likened to 100 years of normal human existence. He spends the next 400 years looking for his lost love and contemplating his ephemeral pleasures. Believing Ignacia to be dead, he and his ageless dog,Pedro, encounter some of history's more interesting chocolate connosseurs.
My one problem with this book was in the way that Diego realizes that what he thinks is a short time is actually a very long time spanning many generations of people. Somehow Diego seems to transport himself through some kind of time warp which moves him rapidly forward on the timeline of history without actually sensing the time pass at all. When he is actually in the company of other humans, time again seems to slow down to the normal pace; it is only between the various encounters and locales that time seems to take on this wormhole quality.
Diego's melancholy with regard to his frustrated efforts to find Ignacia at times becomes tedious, otherwise, some of his comments regarding life and pleasure are insightful and amusing.
All around, I felt this book well worth the effort spend reading it. In particular, I loved the descriptions of the spices and the techniques used to create some of the sinfully delicious sounding chocolate delicacies. Reading the author's thoroughly sensual prose was akin to popping the highest quality dark chocolate in my mouth and savoring its melt and aftertaste.

Runcie's debut novel is a captivating fable about the mystery and history of chocolate. The story is told through the eyes of Diego de Godoy and begins in 1518 with his quest for a unique gift for his lady love, Isabella. This mission takes him to Mexico with Cortes, where despite his pure motives, he falls in love with Ignacia, from whom Diego receives the gift of chocolate. This beverage also imparts the gift of very, very long life.

This new romance cut short by Cortes' sack of the city of Mexico, Diego's journey continues across continents and time. He meets the Marquis de Sade while imprisoned in the Bastille, Dr. Freud while in Vienna, and Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein while crossing the Atlantic on his way to Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Through chocolate, Diego finds love, and through love, Diego discovers life. This dear story is told in rich, sensual language, and I was entranced throughout. The novel exercised my heartstrings continually, it and left me tearful and emotionally spent - but ever so pleased.

This is a delightful novel. It's almost a short Anne Rice. Simply put, the cacoa bean is used to create an elixir of immortality and, like most of the vampires of Rice, our erstwhile hero Diego de Godoy wanders back from the New World to Spain and beyond attempting to reseek his lost Aztec love, Ignacia. With his faithful dog who makes the perfect silent partner over four centuries, Godoy perfects the chocolate art and the ties between both it and love are there as a major theme. The novel is a series of episodes, from the Bastille, to Freud, from Hershey to the whore houses and each one touches on the almost epicurean meddling in important historical moments until Diego realises that he simply missed his love by a matter of not thinking.
I highly recommend this. It is an almost dreamy telling, easy on the eye and, whilst it can be though-provoking, is almost wickedly sensual in its cares.

New fiction writer Runcie has cleverly concocted a fable-like tale that takes us through the centuries and around the world. The main character, Diego de Goday, is challenged by his lover, Isabella to bring her something that is "unique," "spectacular," and worthy of getting her love.

He travels with the conquistadors and is introduced to the most delectable of tastes, "chocolatl" by a woman, Ignacia with whom he falls in love. He returns to Isabella, feeling he has brought the perfect item, but a series of mishaps banish him from the Spanish court and send him on many travels. He discovers that he had been given an elixir by Ignacia that has made him immortal. Chocolate lovers and dieters beware. This book will tempt your willpower and make your tastebuds salivate for the raspberry creams that Diego makes with the Marquis de Sade in the Bastille or the apricot, chocolate cake that he accidentally makes for a family. Whether he is in the Bastille, on Freud's couch in Vienna, trying to figure out why he is unhappy, or in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Diego loves chocolate and can tempt everyone he meets with it. His travels finally take him full circle - he once again meets up with Ignacia. And with her, his love, and his beloved chocolate he ends up making the true "discovery of chocolate." The book is fun to read and whets one's appetite with its description of both chocolate dishes and Mexican dishes.

The Discovery of Chocolate is a great Book Club selection: it's a fast-moving romantic adventure that prompts readers to consider the effects of following one's passion (in this case, the love of chocolate), making good on promises, and the idea that one can, perhaps, have too much of a good thing. The overall premise is enticing, and the lush descriptions of Diego & Ignacia's romance is satisfying; however, the story seemed to rush past opportunities to discuss the sometimes crucial effects that timing, coincidence, and personal choices make on our lives. The question of what any of us would do with if we could live practically forever, or, is there such a thing as "one true love" were disappointinly glossed over. On another note, I wondered if this book were written by a woman, would have been dismissed as a "romance."

While this book is certainly about chocolate and history, it's mostly about life and love. It asks questions like "How can I enjoy the beauties of life when I know they are fleeting?" and "Does the fragility/brevity of life make it more precious/meaningful?" It seemed only fitting that I savoured every word while also regretting that each word brought me closer to the end of the book. And yet, the flavour of this lovely book remains with me, days after its last word left me with a satisfied smile. To ponder these deep and wonderful paradoxes of enjoying a life which is fleeting, read Mandy Smith's " Life is Too Important To Be Taken Seriously".

I picked this book up on a whim, and while I am a great lover of both historical fiction and chocolate, I still have to rate this book as three stars(not four, technical error). The best thing about it is the mouth-watering descriptions of the chocolate confections Diego and his friends whip up. The time is fleeting (never a good thing when immortality is involved in a plotline) and the characters are brief and flat. Though it was a fun romp of a book with a good storyline, I think it perhaps could have been more effective as a collection of short stories about chocolate through the ages. Still, it's a decent book, and worth picking up for a bit of a vacation from "heavy literature."

A facinating history of the evolution of chocolate. From the ancient mayans to france to america, it is a wonderful journey garnished with a tale of romance.

"Although it is true that I have been considered lunatic on many occasions in the last five hundred years, it must be stated, at the very beginning of this sad and extraordinary tale, that I have been most grievously misunderstood. The elixer of life was drunk in all innocence and my dog had nothing to do with it."

How can you not feel compelled to read on? This first intriguing paragraph reeled me into what turned out to be a beautiful story, well written, surprising, articulate, and moving. I especially enjoyed the thoroughly descriptive culinary and philosophical moments. It was utterly wonderful.

The Discovery of Chocolate by James Runcie is a sweet fable about a man, a woman, and chocolate. Imagine an immortal Forrest Gump and you have a rough idea what's in store. It's a quick read and it's fun.

A young man named Diego de Godoy sets sail for Mexico with Cortez and his conquistadors begin ransacking the lands. Diego falls madly in love with Ignacia who offers him a drink called chocolatl. Alas, Diego must leave Ignacia. She gives him a spicy brew of chocolatl and says: "If you are alive then I am alive. Never cease in your search of me." And the adventure begins.

Diego is sweetly naïve and it takes him 100 years to realize that he does not age as others do. His slowness to grasp facts is a running gag. Diego meets many famous people: Herr Sacher (Sachertorte), Mr Fry, (Fry's Cocoa Powder),and of course Mr. Hershey himself. However, the conversations Diego has with the Marquis de Sade are packed with double entendres and are a scream to read.

If you read the acknowledgements at the end of a book, you'll find out that there really was a Diego de Godoy on Cortez' expedition.

This is a good old-fashioned "man on a quest" story with a twist. I love the dialogue and Runcie's delightful word play. This novel practically begs to be made into a movie and rightfully so. Calling Mike Myers, Mr Myers, James Runcie on the line for you.