To be completely transparent, I am a complete Francophile and love reading books about people living there, old houses in the country, and the French way of life. Sometimes those writing such books don't do the narrative justice. No such problem here from Les Américains (a.k.a. Eileen McKenna and Marty Neumeier).
Well, I loved it! The depiction of living in the Dordogne with all the trials and tribulations of an old farmhouse, along with the French way of doing things, is wonderful, and thanks to the lovely prose, Eileen and Marty's story is a pleasure to read. And I should mention their daughter, Sara, a chef, who features in the book and has included a dozen recipes from the region - looking forward to trying my hand at some of them, too.
From the book comes one of the most lovely of quotes I've ever read about the south of France:
"...the sun was low in the sky and the landscape had turned green and gold with long purple shadows. Vineyards and wheat farms alternated with clumps of forest, and wide expanses of sunflowers gave off an intense yellow light collected from the long summer day. We had never seen such beautiful farms. There were pale amber and tan colored houses with stone walls and clay tile roofs..." (p.25)
For Francophiles this is a must read! Thank you Eileen and Marty.
Cheers,
ABP
Well, I loved it! The depiction of living in the Dordogne with all the trials and tribulations of an old farmhouse, along with the French way of doing things, is wonderful, and thanks to the lovely prose, Eileen and Marty's story is a pleasure to read. And I should mention their daughter, Sara, a chef, who features in the book and has included a dozen recipes from the region - looking forward to trying my hand at some of them, too.
From the book comes one of the most lovely of quotes I've ever read about the south of France:
"...the sun was low in the sky and the landscape had turned green and gold with long purple shadows. Vineyards and wheat farms alternated with clumps of forest, and wide expanses of sunflowers gave off an intense yellow light collected from the long summer day. We had never seen such beautiful farms. There were pale amber and tan colored houses with stone walls and clay tile roofs..." (p.25)
For Francophiles this is a must read! Thank you Eileen and Marty.
Cheers,
ABP
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