Customer Reviews

CastOff: True Adventures and Ordeals of an American Family on a French Farm

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If you were expecting another tale of Americans who buy a fixer-upper in France and write a gushing book about how wonderful it all is, you are in for a shock. But not as big as the shock that Jan Murra got when her husband moved the family to France, then abandoned her and their four young children in an old farmhouse that lacked both heat and electricity.

Murra did not know anything about farming, about farmhouse maintenance, or anything about France, including the French language. And her marriage had just crumbled, apparently unexpectedly. So she sent the kids to school (they learned French pretty quickly), and went about learning to farm and how to make France home.

This is a remarkable story, free of self-pity, and full of good writing. After spending ten years in France, the Murras returned to the U.S., and Jan Murra lets us know what she and the kids did once they got back (not all of them left France for good).

This is an unusual book, a real twist on the usual farmhouse in France story, and certainly more memorable.

After what seemed like a good family plan Murra finds herself and her four small children "abandoned" on Vesat, a primitive farm in southwestern France. With no farming experience and no French language skills, the family faces numerous trials and challenges of animal husbandry, plumbing, drought, illnesses, storms, and most wrenching, loneliness. Through all the pain, Murra adeptly weaves a tapestry of solutions and friends to make the situation not a sentence but rather a joy. Knowing that I have not the ability or courage to do what Murra did, I read with sorrow and delight as she encountered and tackled each problem. The book clearly was written from Murra's heart; and touched my heart at the turn of each page. I highly recommend this beautiful story.

I loved Jan Murra's story of her family's adventures on a farm in France. I've read this book twice because I enjoyed it so much. Her writing skills are excellent and her humor throughout the book keeps the reader's interest. The circumstances of how her family ended up in France is pretty amazing and the fact that she kept her family not only intact, but strong with her very capable ways. She was a great inspiration to me and her book is a definite keeper!

This book was awesome. Very witty and heartbreaking all at the same time. A true story of triumph, and a credit to the saying: "When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well done.

The singular criterion of a "good read" is when you must keep turning the pages, to find out what happens next. In a memoir - always a very personal reflection -- this is a large achievement. Written with much humor the author displays a unique perceptiveness, enormous pluck, and also a poetic soul, in describing ten momentous years of her life while learning to farm in the Dordogne region of France and raise her four children. The animals encountered throughout receive the same love and attention as her family. Readers, both male and female, will enjoy an insider's view of the rural day-to-day life in a scenic and historic area of southwest France. This is a place known to many tourists yet unknown in its mores and manners, until now. I would highly recommend "CastOff" by Jan Murra to all readers, of all ages. December 2001

I read the book in two sittings, it was that good. I laughed and cried along with Jan as she faced each new challenge with humor and courage. This definitely should be an Oprah book of the month. I realized while I was going on field trips with my children she was learning how to install plumbing and run a dairy farm! It encouraged me as a woman that we can face each adversity with an attitude of hope and perserverance. I could not have imagined being left alone on a farm with only my children and no other support system. She went out and built a new support system and both she and her children grew stronger as people. I would highly recommend this book. I am buying 20 copies to give to friends as a Christmas present!

There were so many French spelling and grammer errors in this book that I can't judge the contents. It was so upsetting to see even simple words like "Incroyable" misspelled that I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I read this book with a red pen in my hand and finally had to stop editing it because I was so enraged by the author's sloppiness. Ten years in France as a farmer and she doesn't even know the gender of the French word for MUD? Her children suppossedly were fluent in the language and not one of them could proof read her book? I'm assuming that the publisher is a vanity press. This is the only way this garbage could have been printed.