It's Me, Sara Louise

{buy me}

… and I can tell you that they detest the Parisian’s far, far more than you.

While reading Carla McKay’s mysterious and delightful romp through British expat life and intrigues in the south of France, The Folly of French Kissing, I came across countless lines that could have been written about Le Petit Village. So spot on are author Carla McKay’s descriptions of small village life in the South of France that I swear, I’ve actually seen them with my very own eyes…

“Behind the church there was an area of pollarded trees and benches where the village elders gathered, tiny old men in flat caps who had lived in the same village all their lives and now had no need to speak to each other having long ago said all there was to say.“

Yeah, that’s going to be Brother-in-Law and Honey Jr. in fifty years.

In Vevey, the locals fear the Brits are taking over and they begin an Anti-British campaign in revolt. And there are certainly enough British expats there to revolt against. There’s Judith, the literature lover and anonymous published poet who is running from a secret in her not so distance past. Unfortunately for her, she runs into the lecherous Lance, an ad executive turned writer from London who fancies himself to be to the Languedoc, what Peter Mayle is to Provence. Luckily for Judith, there’s the British flag waving Wuthering Heights bookstore to seek refuge in, but will disgraced journalist, Tim, ruin that safe haven for her by exposing her past?

Carla McKay weaves easily through an intricate plot of story lines with a large cast of characters who all have their secrets, lies, and liaisons to hide. Even Vevey itself is hiding shameful memories from the Resistance. (I’ll give you a clue… it involves wine smuggling and Nazis… oh it’s a delicious doozy!)

The Folly of French Kissing is a delectable read a little darker than the standard expat in paradise fare, but nonetheless gratifying and thrilling. And thanks to Gibson Square Books, I am giving away a copy to one lucky reader.

bisou