This book offers original and delightful expat experiences and not a fish out of water but fish in a different and rather strange fishbowl story.

In the beginning, it took a bit of doing by Patricia, the author, to convince her husband to move to France to a second house, equal to what snowbirds do in Florida, USA.

The purchase of the couple’s house took some doing, and what the property covered, a part of another house as well, came as a shock to me as well as it must have to them at the time, but they threw themselves into it and fixed the place to their hearts’ content, in spite of the fun-loving, not-too-responsible workers like the builder P’tit Gui .

The best thing this couple did was to mingle with the French and be hospitable, but even so, they were still “English” to the natives of the Morbignan la Crèbe community in the Languedoc area of France. This, however, went two ways according to what I read.

As much as the two were considered to be English, the natives stayed French with idiosyncrasies to them, too, as they took some things flippantly, in a playful and sometimes satirical tone, however acting as expected by the French on the outside. I thought, in general, they certainly adapted well to their new environment much more than other people might have, and treated their neighbors, even the nasty one, and the community with understanding and respect

The author uses a charming tone throughout the book and with a sense of humor, such as referring to her husband Patrick as “himself” whose grasp of the French language was less than the author’s. This opened to a few mix-ups in the beginning, until “himself” learned the language. Some of the passages, especially in the beginning sections, involving the idiomatic language differences are humorous and charming

Did the author and her husband find what they hoped for in France? Maybe in good weather but after they decided to live there year-round, a challenging winter changed everything and decided the ending for them.

This couple’s account of their adventures in Languedoc I found to be captivating reading especially because of the author’s voice and slant, and the humorous yet respectful way she describes and shows the other characters. It is almost like she takes the readers along with them on their journey through the years they have spent in France.

enjoying a different country through someone else's eyes.

how well the author treated people in general, not only in real life but also in her writing.

is Patricia Feinberg Stoner, a former journalist, advertising copywriter, and publicist.

the tone and the voice are delightful and the experiences of the couple are very different from what one finds out from a short visit as a tourist.

When the couple adopted a dog they thought was a stray and its owner showed up, they offered to buy the dog from him, and they did. I thought that was funny.

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Created May 20, 2019 at 6:30pm • Submit your own review...