Book info

• Title A House in the Sunflowers
• Author Ruth Silvestre
• Year 1991
• Genre Memoir

This is the story of a dream come true. In 1976, in the Lot-et-Garonne region of south-west France, Ruth Silvestre and her famiy found Bel-Air de Grezelongue, a house that had been left deserted and uninhabited for ten years. They fell in love with it. A House in the Sunflowers tells of their affair with the house, from the search and initial frustrations, their euphoria when they finally bought it and the challenges of renovation and graduation assimilation into the local community. It provides rare glimpses of French family life in the region that is considered the gastronomic centre of France, complete with mouth-watering descriptions of meals in the sun and fascinating insights into the history and customs of this area.

Thoughts

I like reading about people upping sticks and moving to a new country for a fresh take on life, but this one had the balance of the new French abode being a summer home rather than a full time lodging. Visits at least twice a year describe how the rickety old house is gradually whipped into shape, and how the family and their many visitors fall in love with the place - and the surrounding villagers as well.

This wasn’t as interesting as some memoirs are, there weren’t many challenges facing the family in France and it was a gradual process with no major concerns over funding the overhaul. Instead the focus is on the beauty of the area, incredible descriptions of the food and how different and relaxed life is in the rural setting compared to London.

I’ll be honest that by the final harvest, I was a little bored of the descriptions - they work really hard, then enjoy bountiful food as a reward, and go to bed worn out but very satisfied. Regardless, it’s a quick and easy read, one that will make you just jealous enough to start considering your own holiday home in the south.

Rating: 3 / 5