Charming story set in France. A divorced woman making a new life away from her mother, children and sister. ( )

Catherine moves to rural France to set up a needlework business, meets and befriends the locals, adapts to the rhythm of life and is intrigued by Patrick. Then her sister comes to visit and sleeps with Patrick and the business runs into difficulties any one but a complete idiot would surely have foreseen.

I skimmed this and found it a pleasant read, although Patrick didn't really do it for me. I enjoyed Catherine's children, and the affection she still felt for her ex-husband rang true. I liked the way the French neighbours felt like real people and not stereotypes. On the other hand, I think it would have been bit dull if I had read every word. ( )

This is another one where I wish there were half stars - I liked it more than just "liked it" but when I think about the books that I've rated a 4, I can't go that high. This one had a lot to think about, a lovely grownup coming-of-age story. ( )

This is another one where I wish there were half stars - I liked it more than just "liked it" but when I think about the books that I've rated a 4, I can't go that high. This one had a lot to think about, a lovely grownup coming-of-age story. ( )

Catherine has bought an old farmhouse in the Cevennes mountains in France. She has just emerged from a divorce, and her two young adult children are established at university and in a job. Her mother is in a pleasant nursing home, suffering with advanced Alzheimer’s Disease, and barely recognises her daughter.. so Catherine is, at last, following her dreams and moving into France, where she hopes to establish a business making curtains, furniture covers and tapestries for the locals.

The first part of the book takes us through the first months, where Catherine gets to know her neighbours, discovers what will and won’t grow, becomes more confident in her language skills, and gradually begins to feel as if she’s settling in. She finds herself quite attracted to the somewhat mysterious Patrick, one of the few of her neighbours with excellent English... then her sister Bryony arrives for a holiday, and embarks on what seems to be an affair with Patrick.

There’s not really a whole lot more plot to this gentle and enjoyable novel. Catherine is on a journey to establish a new life as an expat; having done that as a family ourselves, I could relate to her quite strongly in her struggles with bureaucracy, her frustrations about lack of time sense, and her gradual explorations beyond her own boundaries.

The writing is excellent, a cut above the majority of modern books, and the pace is exactly right. A delightful book, and one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys gentle women’s fiction. ( )