Not for me

I love reading and listening to expat adventures in France, but this wasn't interesting to me. Perhaps it's a generational thing, but I didn't find it interesting and stopped halfway through the first chapter

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Chewing gum for the ears

My late stepfather used to use the phrase for background music or something you could listen to without actually “listening” to it. This “free” audiobook was just that for me - a pleasant enough voice chittering away in the background. I ran it through a few times while otherwise busy but thought I’d give it a proper listen in the end. Sadly, I was terribly disappointed.
I wrote a book years ago. I didn’t do anything with it - it was a cathartic exercise as much as anything - I let a few friends and family read it and every one of them said they laughed and cried reading it and I should definitely try to get it published. I didn’t, because I didn’t believe it was worthy. Perhaps this author was buoyed by his family’s encouragement? If a professional publisher read this and thought that the world needed to hear this man’s story of such riveting moments in his life then I can only assume said publisher lives in a cardboard box in a cupboard under the stairs! I’m sorry, it takes courage to put your life on paper for the world to read but… in my humble opinion, this author really shouldn’t have bothered. I found it lacking on every level I’m afraid but the narrators voice is nice enough for background noise.

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Great book but annoying narration

I loved this book very much but unfortunately the narration was really annoying – the pronunciation of Loire and Terroir particularly irritated! Sorry!

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Hmmm

I found the narrator annoying, just reading not understanding, and his French accent was not convincing. Perhaps if it had been narrated by the author, it might have sounded more authentic.

This chap knows a lot about wine, but so far, he seems to have little idea about renovating a house, so the renovated house sounded less appealing than the un-renovated one. He explained in great detail the things I was not interested in and skipped over the things that I felt were quite important. I kept going to the end so it can't have been that bad.

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1 person found this helpful

Dull

Sorry but the story is rather dull. Was expecting similar to A Year in Provence or A year at the chateau but was sadly disappointed.

Despite trying a few times to listen to this I decided to give up.

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Funny Irishman shares his love of wine

The narrator keeps up a sprightly pace as we learn about Raymond Blake's lifelong obsession with wine, intermingled with hearing about their purchase and renovation of a house in the Burgundy region. We meet his wife Fionnula, (not sure of spelling of her name...), who is a working musician, hear about his childhood in Ireland and his lively accounts of his relatives visiting them in France. An enjoyable listen.

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passion and joy for wine

the authors love of the subject of food and wine un Burgundy. The quality and passion of description of experiences

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Very enjoyable

A very enjoyable book. Week with charm and atmosphere. We'll read too and I was immersed in the story, the region and the events beautifully described.

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Minus for the Narrator

Awful drivel - boring, pretentious twaddle. Can't pronounce French words. Don't waste your time on this.

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A sheet delight

If you love wine, or food, or simply enjoying being immersed in another world, then this book is for you.

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