The Bordeaux Book Club

Finished February 5

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

This novel follows a group of mostly British ex-pats living in or near Bordeaux, France. Leah and her husband Nathan working in journalism before giving it up to live a dream life of owning and living off a small farm. The life is not as the dream, with the vegetables they grow not doing well, and Leah working part-time as a copy editor to help sustain them. Their daughter, Scarlett, now fourteen has thrived, easily learning the language and making friends. Now she is into her teen years where she spends a lot of time in her room and seems to resent her parents, particularly Leah. 

Leah has made a friend of a slightly older woman named Grace. Grace has thoroughly involved herself in the community, running a variety of clubs, and helping those who need it. Now she is starting an English book club, and convinces Leah to join. Along with Leah are George, a man who works construction and who has come over for a few months to work on a house for a man he's worked for before; Monica, who has an infant daughter, and whose husband, Peter, is a pilot who is often away for long periods of time; and Alfie, a young man in his twenties who is in college and living with his mother. 

They start with classics, with the first read being Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which Grace has chosen and has enough copies in her home library to provide one for everyone. Going forward, they will take turns picking books. 

As they discuss the books and their thoughts, they share a lot with each other, from pasts to dreams of the future and secrets about the present. Even though they only meet once a month, they become close friends, and are there for each other when some of them struggle with deeply personal issues and change.

I really enjoyed this novel. All the characters are interesting, yet we really see depth for Leah and Grace. We grow to understand what brought Grace to where she is now, and why she behaves the way that she does. And we see Leah struggle with her marriage and her daughter, working her way through deep emotions and fears. A very enjoyable read. 

An Ignoble Profession

Finished July 4
An Ignoble Profession by Louis Sanders, translated by Michael Woosnam-Mills

This novel, set in the Dordogne region of France, involves British ex-pats with secrets.In the local bookstore, Richard Carter finds a novel that shocks him. He recognizes himself as one of the characters, and some things he wouldn't want made public are there. He also recognizes two other men in the community, and approaches them about the book. Lord Michael Bollington has a few secrets exposed in the novel, some of them potentially criminal. Johnny McGuire has found some underhanded ways to get the money to support his lifestyle. These two involve a fourth man that they recognize, Mark Olson, a man with a past in animal rights activism. All four men put their heads together to try to figure out who is behind the novel. When they think they have it figured out and take action that they believe will prevent any further disclosure, a second novel appears, exposing them further. As they begin to suspect each other, things go out of control.
An interesting look at human nature and an ex-pat community.