The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris

The special vanilla beans, one of the two prominent magical realism elements in the novel, act as a symbol of the power of sense memory. In Pierre’s first encounter with the vanilla beans, he tastes one and instantly feels that time has stopped, transporting him to the memory of his school friend Jean-Yves. In this moment of contentment, he realizes for the first time that he has always been in love with his friend. The experience inspires him to open his bakery in Compiègne and bring this magical ingredient to the people of his hometown.

The vanilla beans also serve as a link between Woods’s dual timelines. When Edith uses Pierre’s vanilla liqueur in her hot chocolate and cupcakes, it has the magical effect that it had on Pierre in the past—triggering significant, often repressed or forgotten, memories. Woods’s narrative emphasizes that it’s not only the memories that are important but the feelings they evoke as well. The magic of the vanilla beans inspires feelings of contentment, happiness, and comfort, even in potentially painful memories, pointing to the novel’s thematic exploration of Grief and Healing. The vanilla beans lead Edith, who uses work and her efforts to help others to avoid thinking about her grief, to sit with her mother’s death and finally begin to heal.