Vianne

Secrets are a big theme in this book. Everyone seems to have one! Why do you think the author chose to focus on what we don’t see about people, rather than what we do?

Homelessness (and home) is an important theme, too. What is Vianne’s attitude to the homeless community, and how does this contrast with the attitudes of those around her? Why do you think this is?

Food is a recurring theme throughout this book, as in the others in this series. Is the author’s portrayal of food and cooking different in VIANNE? Why do you think this is?

Why do you think Vianne is so sensitive about what she owes to people like Louis and Guy, and how does she try to repay the “debt”?

Why does Margot’s story become so important to the young Vianne? In what way does her rapport with Margot affect her choices?

Who is Khamasseen, the woman from Rue du Panier? Why do you think only Vianne sees her?

What do you think is the importance in this book of the Bonne Mere, the golden statue of the Virgin that dominates the city?

Why do you think Louis chooses to visit Margot, not at her own memorial, but at another one?

What do you think first attracts Vianne to the idea of making chocolate?

Why do you think it’s important to Vianne that her baby should be a girl?

Once Vianne realizes that the woman with whom she has spent her life is not her birth mother, why does she not seek out her birth family?

Why do you think she wants Edmond to know about his birth family?

Margot has this rose in her garden, named after her favourite author’s most famous creation. What role do roses play in this book, in your opinion?

Louis is very protective of his Margot’s recipes. Why? What recipes from your own life would you want to protect in this way?

Motherhood is an important theme in this story. In what way does the author make it a central part of the plot?

What do you think the Man in Black represents for Vianne’s mother? Does it mean the same thing to Vianne?

Vianne is very good at knowing what other people want (and getting it for them), but not always so good at knowing (or getting) what she wants. How do you explain this contradiction?

Why do you think Louis rejects Edmond, the son Margot so desperately wanted?

Why do you think Vianne is so drawn to the little bastide with her name? Do you think she’ll ever end up there?

Vianne loves her mother, but has mixed feelings about her too. Why do you think this is, and what do you think it means for Vianne, as she approaches how to be a mother?