Customer Reviews

An Englishman a la Campagne: Life in Deepest France (Englishman series)

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This book recounts the author's temporary residence in a country house in the Touraine area of the Loire Valley, obviously not a new premise for a book. But Mr. Sadler -- a wonderful and fearless writer who loves puns, bad jokes and anthropomorphized everything -- is an admitted francophile, and (though he pretends otherwise) he also speaks French, so his is not merely another "babe-in-the-foreign-woods" story. Besides being an exploration of one Englishman's encounter with a foreign culture, the book is also a means for Mr. Sadler to display his keen, zany, and somewhat surreal sense of humor. In this breezy, entertaining read he manages to make you laugh aloud as he pokes fun at both the British (food, teeth) and the French (aperitif mania, work ethic) as he encounters various obstacles and mysteries, from garden slugs to the gallic digestive system. He is also willing to share his unvarnished attraction to several lovely Frenchwomen, which I found refreshing and un-PC for a welcome change! As Sadler recounts dealing with the villagers, attempts with great effort to plant a garden, and gives English lessons to the locals, the reader is drawn into this absurd and yet lovable narrative. Altogether hilarious and charming.