Cave Life In France: Eat, Drink, Sleep... (Paperback)

~ William Glover (Author)
Key Phrases: Bûche de Noël, gigot ficelle, chenin grape, Monsieur Jean, Cave Life In France, Grandmother Walker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Cave Life In France is a charming and humorous account of an American couples move to France and their encounters with the people of the French countryside. It is a story of wine, food, and unforgettable characters in deep France. It is also a journal of the problems of moving to a foreign country where language, customs and culture make life difficult but always interesting. This is a must read for anyone interested in life in the French countryside.

About the Author

William Glover is a native of St. Simons Island, Georgia, who practises law in Jacksonville, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia. He graduated from Furman University in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1973. He is currently a freelance writer living in Lavardin, France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (September 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595135218
• ISBN-13: 978-0595135219
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,456,935 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking About France and French Culture, April 17, 2004

By	Christine (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

Enjoyed this book. I've yet to experience any place but Paris while I've visited France. This book gives me an idea of the culture and what to expect while there and what it might be like to live there. I love the details. The writing allows me to travel there in my mind and consider what it might be like for me to live there.

The book was well worth reading. I'm glad the writer took the time to share his experiences with us.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book revels in French food and wine more than cave dwelling., May 23, 2004

By	"crcrcrcricky" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

So you have dined countless times with someone you wanted to impress but when the sommelier asked you for your wine order, you grinned with some embarrassment and said, "What would you recommend?" And when you were at the best restaurant in town, do you remember how you stared uncomprehendingly at all those foreign terms on the menu and said, "I'll have number six." Well, take heart.

"Cave Life in France" certainly is the worst possible title for this thoroughly delightful book. This reviewer thought it would tell about life 20,000 years ago in the caves at Grenoble. The book would be better titled. "Through France with Knife, Fork and Wineglass."

Author and attorney William Glover and spouse Aprille decided a few years ago to chuck the rat race and head for Lavardin, a quaint Breton village to enjoy the pleasures of food, wine and the peace of village or, rather, cave life.

Our author was never without his pencil and notebook. He has recorded not only the complete menu of every meal he ate in France but also the recipe for most of the items on the menu.

It seems that in France when two or more people meet for any reason whatsoever, whether it be social or business or even quite by accident, they must memorialize the event by drinking a glass of wine. One glass leads to another, until everyone is awash in bonhomie.

There is a different wine for every day of the week, for every season of the year, mood, weather condition and holiday. Glover made every effort to learn the names of them all and to pass the information on to us.

Ulti-mately, he does talk about cave life, and though I am not entirely convinced, it does have some advantages.

It is always cool in the cave, and even though it might be damp from time to time, a fire in the fireplace banishes the chill. A refrigerator is not absolutely necessary. And plumbing facilities inside the cave are adequate. A big selling point of the cave way of life is that you have your wine cellar within arm's reach.

Notwithstanding these (doubtful) advantages, the cave must be wired for telephone and electricity. Cave life isn't for everyone.

I never did learn what one actually buys when one buys a cave. A cave is, after all, a hole in a hillside. Apparently you have the rights to enlarge the cave by digging an extra room or two whenever you are so inclined. I wish the author had provided a copy of the deed.

The French farmers among whom the Glovers live are charming and friendly. We see a happy population content with simple pleasures of life. (Who wouldn't be content when everyone is apparently under the influence most of the time?) To those of us who tend to think that the French are unfriendly, distant, and even arrogant, I would say it has been my experience that we often judge the people of a foreign country by their waiters and taxi drivers. There are no taxis in Lavardin, and the only people who wait on tables are the owners of the wonderful restaurants and bistros that Glover describes.

Glover tells his story with a dry and subtle wit. By the time you have turned the last page, you are thinking of any excuse to travel to France, drop in on him and his charming wife, and enjoy a comfortable dram with people you feel are dear friends.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars typical self-published work, February 22, 2004

By A Customer

This is the typical self-published work: a meandering diary sent direcly to the press without any editing or proofreading.

I'm guessing the other reviewer is a Florida buddy of "Bill."