“In my books, I use food to reach and unite people”
Joan Harris (Barnsley, UK, 1964), He spills that innocent magic out of his charactersas a hero of ChocolateThe novel that made him famous all over the world, especially after the film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny DeppoJoan Avils is one of the stars of this edition of Celsius 232.
author of twenty novelsFor his contributions to Anglo-Saxon culture, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for stories, scripts for plays, scripts for opera, scripts for audiovisual productions, a musical and several books of the kitchen.
Joan loves the little things when she talks about her first trip to Celsius 232. “I loved the food, it was the best meal I’ve ever had. Avilés is beautiful, it is a very welcoming place, as if welcoming you. And the buildings, the architecture of the city, are magnificent. And it’s been a little over a day since I’ve been here, and in those hours I’ve met more people than in years past.
“The magic is in the stories we tell ourselves”
‘chocolate’ cover
Since Celsius 232 is a splendid literature festival, we asked him if there was any imagination present in his works. “Unmistakable. My first book was about vampires and the second about ghostsAlmost all of my novels contain supernatural aspects, elements of folklore, myths, legends…even the books that appeal to all audiences are more commercial”
A magic that the author finds in the very fact of living: “I think that the magic present in traditional folklore, It’s a metaphor for change, change. One of the reasons we tell stories with magic and fantasy is because we want to believe that we have the ability to change ourselves, to change the world, to change others, to change the way we see the world.
“I think,” he said, “that” The potential for change is something the imagination gives us through literature.Through fantastic lands, new universes, new worlds. So yeah, I think magic happens in everyone’s life and in the stories we tell ourselves.
“Food allows us to reach other cultures”
Cover of ‘Five neighborhoods of Orange’
Besides writing several cookbooks, food is present in almost all of his work, including Chocolate“It’s a priority for everyone” and a universal experience for all human beingsAnd so in stories, food is also very important in the narrative.
“Food can also be a useful method – he continues –, to reach other cultures, to reach other peoples, other readers… There are also cultural elements in the way we eat or express our culture through food. Not to mention that food is very much associated with family and friends.
“However,” he said, There is also guilt in food, especially in Western culture. Due to not eating or having too much. Should we eat this? Shouldn’t we be eating this? And in folklore, in fairy tales, food has always had a symbolic role.
“A role that Joan pursues, which can also be transformative. For example, the apple in the story of Adam and Eve, Aphrodite and Paris, and even in fairy tales like Snow White. So I use this magic element of food in my books. I use food as a metaphor for something, for example, to reach people, for tolerance,
For example, in my novel five orange wedgesFood is like a bone of contention within the community. and in Secret Peach PerfumeThe protagonists are two communities separated for ideological reasons, which suddenly have to stick together for a culinary festival. For me, food is a metaphor for people who talk about,
“I’m not addicted to chocolate”
After having written four novels in the universe ChocolateIn this article, we ask Joan Harris what that meal is for her. “I love it, but I’m not addicted to chocolate,” she admits. I am very interested in the folklore that surrounds it and in the history of chocolate, How this chocolate culture grew from a small South American tribe who knew cocoa and how it became so important in the world. ,
,Today it is one of the most universal flavors -to add-. Thus, chocolate has its own narrative in history and is also associated with mythology and folklore.
“The success of Chocolate allowed me to be a writer”
It was released on March 4, 1999 Chocolate, where Joan tells the story of Vian Rocher, a young single mother who comes to a small French town to open a chocolate factory, with her six-year-old daughter, named Anouk. Despite initial reluctance, he triumphed over the parishioners. Thank you for his rebellion, his empathy and a little magic.
“What I wanted, he admits in front of us, was Talk about the power of food to bring people togetherCelebrate these traditional family meals from childhood. And talk about tolerance, religion… and motherhood. Because it’s also a love story between a mother and her daughter.”
The novel was so successful that in just one year (2000) a Hollywood movie was released. Directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp and Judi DenchuWho was nominated for five Oscars.
“I love the film – he admits – it’s not exactly my book, but I didn’t expect it to be either. I think the casting was great and the director did a great job.And through the music, he created an atmosphere that was different from what I imagined, but it was fascinating.”
‘Chocolate’ Movie Poster Details
The success of the novel allows her to skip class (for 13 years, she was a professor of French language and literature). “I was finally able to dedicate myself to writing, which was my dream. And no, I don’t miss being a teacher. or at least not enough to go back(Laughs)
During these 23 years devoted to writing, he published four novels of the universe. Chocolate, he is asked if his life ran parallel to that of the hero. “It is inevitable that there are similarities. We are not the same person but we have been through similar things many times. What most resembles us is in this role of mother.because when I was writing ChocolateI had a little girl of four, then when I published the books, we both saw how our girls had grown up. I needed to reflect this development in my life in my character.
As to whether she’ll continue to write more Vivian stories, Joan tells us, “Maybe. Right now I want to write about his daughter, and I also want to see the hero’s pastwhat happened to them before ChocolateI would like to know what young Vivian was like before becoming a mother and opening a chocolate factory.
play in a band
Cover of “The Secret Scent of Peach”
Joan’s first occupation was to become a singer, although she admits “she didn’t have the necessary talent”. But for many years he has been playing bass in a folk band. ,Music is a dream for me. And a way to take the story the other way, The connection between writing and playing an instrument is very deep. And some of my recent books are based on traditional European tales, which are very rich in folk tales and tales.
“There are a lot of folk songs that are very interesting and can be used to create something original in the story,” he says. These stories can be turned into a musical, into a play with musical elements. And I created a kind of music with my band that combines those two things, storytelling and music.,
“During the pandemic we have not been able to perform live, but we have already recorded two CDs and are about to release a third and return to live performances. I hope for Christmas,
We also asked him about Brexit. “It’s a disaster. Fortunately, I also have a French passport (his mother was French and she had dual nationality) and I have more freedom of movement, but This is very harmful for many people, especially for artists., which has several restrictions. This is already causing a lot of economic problems and people are starting to realize that this was a mistake.
he is fascinated by mythology
Cover of “The Gospel According to Loki”
As you saw in the interview, Joan Harris has a passion for mythology. and one of his latest books is Gospel According to the People (2019). ,From an early age I read mythology books and loved Norse mythologyBecause it is very close to our culture. Especially in the part of the UK where I live, which is very steeped in Scandinavian tradition. There are many linguistic and folkloric elements that are similar because they came to us and left a part of this culture. That’s why I’m so interested in this topic.
Young people know these Norse myths from the Thor movies, so we asked them how believable they were. “There is no version of these myths that can be considered canonical” -Insurance-. Because these myths were transmitted by oral tradition and were written down after the Christianization of Europe. And the Christians only told us what they wanted to know about this tradition. Until the 17th century when they started trying to save this culture.
“So,” he said, One can only have a vague idea of what these stories really were, as they kept changing. We can say that it is a story that is still alive. And now young people are discovering it through these superhero movies. These mythological characters are constantly reinvented and express themselves differently according to social developments.
About her projects, Joan Harris tells us: “I am currently working on two things, a fairy tale which is already finished and which takes place in London; You a bit of a novel CarrieDr Stephen KingWhat’s new is that my protagonist, instead of being a teenager and her powers that come with coming of age, is an older woman who receives these gifts as she goes through menopause. So, It’s a Carrie in her fifties,
As for a possible adaptation of another of his novels to the cinema, Joan Harris confides to us: “I would love to. I always leave the doors open when it comes to selling the rights to my novels in cinemas. But we already know how slow the process is. So I’m not too worried. If it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t happen, nothing happens, I like to write.