Disappointed, I'm afraid
I pounce on all these kind of books, and I enjoyed this one, after a fashion, but it did recall a similar work that I read several years ago which, on closer examination, turned out to be a novel.
This tale of Brit making good in deepest France is pretty much par for the course, and I was enjoying it for a while, but then it started to get on my nerves. The other characters in the story were so relentlessly eccentric that it became tiring. Obviously the routine of most people's everyday life would make pretty dull reading, but just a sprinkling of the normal would have helped here! When you compare other writers in this genre, and their pen portraits of their friends and neighbours, they manage to be interesting and amusing without being surreally odd! I was reading Michael Wright's "C'est la folie" at the same time as I was reading this, and there is no comparison - Wright is much better! However, if you want an mildly entertaining read, and, like me, will put up with anything if it's about France, then this is OK.
Love and leeks in the country
Michael Salder, having experienced life in Paris ('an Englishman in Paris'), now wants to sample life in the French countryside, so he rents a house in a small village in the Loire valley.
This book amusingly describes his efforts to try and fit in with the local community, his mainly fruitless pursuit of several beautiful women, and his efforts to grow perfect leeks and to transform his overgrown garden so that he has a chance of winning the coveted Best Garden trophy.
As in the previous book, there are lots of lyrical descriptions of mouthwatering food, and equally lyrical descriptions of the lovely women he lusts after. There are some very funny passages, including the alarming incident of the squid in the boot, his thwarted passion for the lovely postwoman, and the outrageous strategy he employs to try and win the Best Garden competition.
If you enjoyed 'An Englishman in Paris' you will certainly enjoy this one, which I think is even funnier.
An englishman a la campagne
I'm not a great reader but could not put his down. Its very easy and accessible to read, using a fair spattering of french, but he translates it too, so don't be put off. It has also proved an invaluable tool to learning phrases of french which are more colloquial. A must!!!
