One of the eternal questions is: What is a good life? Or, slightly differently, what is THE good life? In the first chapter of this memoir, 3.75 stars
One of the eternal questions is: What is a good life? Or, slightly differently, what is THE good life? In the first chapter of this memoir, Wright describes himself as a theatre critic living the all-amenities urban life in London. By his own description, he is a cerebral (perhaps a bit geeky) but soft-handed modern man. “My Surrey childhood was as safe and soft as a padded cell in an open prison.” He is 38, recently split from a long term partner, and more than a bit bored of reviewing yet another Shakespeare production. A long-term train spotter with a romantic streak, he dreams of flying Spitfires and does have a 1946 Luscombe Silvaire of his own. That plane is a bit of ‘tell’, as it reveals to the reader that Michael Wright is not as bland as his self-deprecating self-analysis would suggest. By his own admission, he has always idolised heroes and longed to be one himself. But how does a man become heroic, if only in his own eyes, in peacetime conditions? Obviously, he sets himself a challenge - one beset with discomforts. He decides to buy a large wreck of a house in the French countryside and the proceeds to make a life there with only a cat for a companion.
This memoir will mostly appeal to people who have either (1) just renovated a house in the French countryside, or (2) dream of doing so. I am in the first category, and although I do not have plans to raise sheep or chickens (as the author does), I could certainly recognise many aspects of Michael Wright’s Englishman Abroad experience. This book was published in 2006, so for those Brits in this post-BREXIT world, it has already taken on the nostalgic tone of a lost world of possibilities.
Predictably, but enjoyably, the book is made up of vignettes which have the author either ‘roughing it’ or learning the cultural ways of his new community. He is good at describing the richly eccentric personalities of his French friends and neighbours without falling into cliche or caricature. Although he is not successful at finding a French female partner - at least within the confines of this book - he does share how he becomes part of the community. One of the things I really noticed is that his friendships encompass a wide range of ages and social classes, which seems more possible in a French village than it does in a big city like London. There is also a lot of emphasis on his relationship with the animals he brings into the La Folie fold, and that definitely gives the book a bucolic flavour which chimed with Clarkson’s Farm (a TV programme I was watching at the time).
It’s an enjoyable and good-natured book, but probably easier to enjoy if its themes have some personal relevance. I liked it a lot, but I wouldn’t describe it as a page-turner....more
This is a book you can read again and again - not only because the writing is beautiful, but also because it contains far too much informati4.5 stars
This is a book you can read again and again - not only because the writing is beautiful, but also because it contains far too much information to take in on one reading, especially if your knowledge about the countryside is on the sketchy side.
It’s a diary of John Lewis-Stempel’s last year managing the Cockshutt Wood, in a remote hilly bit of Herefordshire, but it’s also rather like an almanac, albeit a highly personalised one. The book is made up mostly of the author’s observations of his wood - not just of the trees, but also the wildlife which inhabits it - but also includes information about the weather, the history of words, recipes for woodland edibles, poetry (presumably all favourites of the author) and many other woodland related tidbits, some of them scientific, although never ponderously so. It’s the sort of book that makes me realise how little I know about trees and other wildlife, and what a lot of reading, observing and doing it takes to become truly knowledgeable on the subject.
The flavour of the writing really appealed to me. The author definitely has a poetic sensibility, but spiked with a nice amount of earthy humour. ...more
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