The Truth and Loads of Laughs
Well done you! One of the few (only?) books to tell it like it is. Having lived abroad, off and on, for years, I have never really found a book that paints the broad strokes of the ex-pat experience well and accurately. It seems a few here have missed the point about the whole venture -- the writer and his wife are drawn as hapless souls on the rough seas of being foreigners abroad -- there is no self-importance whatsoever. In fact, given the picture the author offers, he couldn't possibly be that unlucky or incapable of pulling the thing together! Hilarious at parts, sad and subdued at others.
An absolute joy to read and see things that are most true about the hardships (funny to say this as they live in a chateau!) of being in a foreign place with no support, no family, no buttress or fallback -- the confusion, the sometime alienation, the joy of a job well done and acknowledgement of a task failed.
Please, I'll have another! Keep on telling us about your extraordinary journey.
dull and disappointing
I was given this book by someone who thought I'd find it an interesting read due to the similarities with our own life change, although ours is on a smaller scale, we've bought and renovated a villa in Tuscany and now run it as a B&B. There was the odd thing in the book that I recognised, and somtimes winced at but as with some of the other reviews I couldn't like the author and was not surprised at the 'ending'. He didn't seem willing to put in the hard work and effort needed to succeed in what he'd taken on. In part that is the honesty of the book, he's chosen to present himself in that way, but it made me feel cross to read as he seemed unrealistic. With this sort of 'real life' book you have to want them to succeed, to care enough to read their story (like Martin Kirby in Spain, Mother's Garden I think it was called) or find it funny like the Chris Stewart series, but sadly neither the case with this one.
Hardly entertaining...........
I have read many books on this theme, and I have to say that this author is the most annoying and self centered of any I have come across.Why is he amazed that there are financial difficulties associated with a vast property? He wants to be Lord of the Manor and is prepared to exploit artisans, the children of friends and various others in order to satisfy this wish, whilst being unwilling to make much of an effort himself. He derides his guests for the temerity to complain about dirty uncompleted accommodation and a garden full of cat poo, which he actually told them was edible! He resented the presence of wedding parties and the idea of making their stay pleasant seems alien to him unless all guests remain silent and invisible. I finished the book, only in the hope that he, his wife and their stangely named children would leave the chateau and return to a life where he was able to support his family using the talents he had, which sadly do not include hopitality.
Honest and Thoroughly Delicious
"A Chateau of One's Own" is one of the most honest, compelling travel memoirs I have ever encountered (and I've ready many through the years).
So many ex-pat abroad writings are filled with the clever locals in constant, wily conflict with the author; cutesy, unbelievable stories about unlikely events; and an underlying current that always tells the reader who is really, in the end, in charge. Not at all the case with Mr. Juneau's 'Chateau.'
From my experiences abroad, I sense that the author is telling us the truth -- unvarnished and clear. Of course, it is funny and sweet by turns, but he never strays too far from the essential core of ex-pat life -- oftentimes, it is difficult and hostile mixed with occasional bursts of sunlight, wine and fragrant wisteria! So many other books want us to know that they've made the right choice, their choice is in fact superior. Mr. Juneau acknowledges the tedium and challenges while taking time to share also the beauty and glory of France.
It seems many readers want their travelogues neatly packaged, tidy and jovial. 'Chateau' shows a man and his family who are really coming to grips with what it means to be happy, where one can be happy, how and why and with whom. In this sense, 'A Chateau of One's Own' is a real journey, not a touristic voyage. It is the real story of real people looking for real joy. They don't always find it but they're willing to take the risks to make it at least possible.
Well-conceived, nicely written, witty and quite fun. It's one of the best of the genre. Most highly recommended.
A disappointing book
I read this book partly because I am embarking on a somewhat similar project elsewhere in Europe. However, I found the book poorly edited, the writing full of repetition and bad punctuation and the author unlikeable. (He may be a lovely person really, but I didn't warm to him through his writing, and how could he burden his poor children with those names??) I didn't laugh once, despite the promises on the cover.
