The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate [Paperback]

Rhett DeVane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003

Welcome to the town of Chattahoochee, Florida. Imagine living down the road from a mental institution and growing up in a world still drenched in the traditions of the South.

For Hattie Davis, she couldn't wait to get away. Returning home for her mother's funeral, she is drawn in by the arrival of a dear and flamboyant childhood friend, Jake Witherspoon. Despite the unfortunate situation that has brought them together, a memoir of an old family friend inspires them to join forces and take the town by storm.

Yet their new entrepreneurial lives are brutally interrupted when Jake is kidnapped and beaten by two local teenage boys. Apparently, the discovery of Jake's homosexuality comes easier for Hattie than some others. This touching tale of a Southern town's revival and a woman's coming of age--even over the hill--is something you will laugh, cry and cheer over.

Interwoven with an air of magical realism, The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate is a rich tale of small town humor, tragedy, and the extraordinary twists of fate. Take a trip through the looking glass and come home to the South.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

DeVane's small-town southern tale of hatred, chocolate pecan pies, humidity, and humanity is shot through with a praline-flavored magic realism and peppered with recipes. National media attention after the brutal beating of local homosexual Jake, Hattie Davis' friend from childhood, brings about all manner of self-realizations in this engaging, swift-moving novel. There is heroine Hattie's, of course, and also those of several of her fellow townspeople. Readers of this first in a prospective series of novels set in the Florida panhandle, where DeVane was born and raised, will revel in its atmosphere and such twists as the fact that the village idiot is canny enough to appreciate that because he is so easily disregarded, he becomes invisible and, therefore, stands to see more than others. Reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate (1991) but featuring prejudice against "fagots" (readin', writin', and 'rithmetic in 1960s Chattahoochee, Florida, leave a bit to be desired). Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Rhett DeVane is a true Southerner, born and raised in the piney woods of the North Florida panhandle. Originally from Chattahoochee, Florida, she now lives in Tallahassee where she is completing a series of Southern fiction novels. Rhett is owned by two cats, Sisko and Saki, and a rescued Florida Cracker Retriever named Shelly.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Rabid Press (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974303909
• ISBN-13: 978-0974303901
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,969,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a native of the South, Rhett DeVane pens fiction that draws readers into the region--its people, its color, its flavor. She is the sole author of two southern fiction novels set in the Panhandle of Florida--"The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate" and "Up the Devil's Belly". A third in this series, "Mama's Comfort Food",was released in the spring of 2011.
Rhett coauthored a political drama, "Accidental Ambition" with retired state of Florida senator Robert McKnight.The novel won a Premier Book Award for 2010. A vampire parody, "Evenings on Dark Island", was coauthored with Larry Rock.

Humor provides a continuous thread in all of her writing, regardless of the genre. Rhett seeks to tell stories with heart, in ways to entertain and uplift. In her words, "I try to shed a little light in this dark world."

Come join Rhett on the front porch. You'll feel as if you're among friends. She'll save you a rocker, a cathead biscuit and a glass of sweet tea.

Visit Rhett's website www.rhettdevane.com for news of upcoming releases and a taste of the Deep South at its best.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Read!, October 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate (Paperback)

This book falls way out of the genre that I am used to reading (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, & true crime), but this book impressed me greatly. It's very down-to-earth, filled with tales of a small Southern town and its people. Being originally south of the Mason-Dixon, it actually made me miss the little town I was born and raised in - no small feat indeed! The characters are incredibly well defined, the story itself is very compelling, and by the end (which came too early in my opinion), you're considering knocking on the author's door, asking for the rest of the story. This is one book you cannot put down once you start reading.

In short, this is one hell of a read and worth far more than the $14.95 list price. You really can't put a price on nostalgia, and this book should bring back memories for young and old from all parts of this great nation.

And there's some great recipes sprinkled throughout the book. Chocolate lovers will kick themselves if they don't check this out!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate, August 17, 2004

By 

C. Carr "DixieDawg" (Suwanee, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate (Paperback)

Rhett DeVane's Madhatter is a wonderful book - I highly recommend it for pleasure and thought! It is touching and makes you think about situations "other people" find themselves in. Her wonderful sense of Southern humor (my favorite brand) is heartwarming. She has woven a beautiful story in with thought- provoking life - things that are real and happen everyday somewhere - whether we chose to acknowledge it or not. I am a reader - not a reviewer - I DO LOVE TO READ - about 40 books a year - Rhett's is DIVINE!

Cheryl, Suwanee, GA

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just The Way It Is, February 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate (Paperback)

The Madhatters Guide To Chocolate held my interest from the beginning. Also being from a small town and living the country life, I could relate to a lot of things that the book was about. I can't wait for the next book to see what becomes of Hattie and Holston, Bobby the brother. It seemed so real. Living in the town next by, I could relate to some of these characters. I loved the inserts, receipes, etc.