French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair in Burgundy – A Heartwarming Memoir of Renovating a Historic Presbytery and Embracing French Food, Wine, and Traditions

by Jeffrey Greene

When Jeffrey Greene, a prize-winning American poet, and Mary, a molecular biologist and his wife-to-be, discover a moss-covered stone presbytery in a lovely village in the Puisaye region of Burgundy, they know they have to live there. In lush, lyrical prose, Greene recalls their experiences turning the 300-year-old stone building -- a "château in miniature" that the locals believe houses numerous spirits-into a habitable refuge. He brings to life their adventures in finding wonderful bargains with which to furnish their new space, including a firm mattress and some rather suspicious antiques" bought from the back of a van. Greene offers the unexpected joys and surprises of village life, from celebrating his and Mary's simple backyard wedding to toiling in a verdant garden. He shares the experience of surviving his mother's decision to move in and humorously introduces the locals -- both human and nonhuman -- who define his and Mary's new world. Woven throughout this luscious tale are the pleasures of rural wondrous food and wine, long-held rituals and feasts, dark superstitions, and deeply rooted history.

Genres: Travel, France, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone reading the blurb about this book couldn't help but think this has all been done before - an ex-pat purchases a falling down place in a small quaint town in France, renovates it, gets to know the equally quaint locals and the French rural way of life first-hand and makes many observations on the experience. And of course it has - many times, in various European locales. This didn't detract from the enjoyment of the book,for me, but then I'll read almost anything about France and as this was was set in a village in Burgundy, a place I hope to visit soon, it had topical appeal.

Not that you get to learn a lot about the broader canvas of Burgundy, or France for that matter, as the focus is set very tightly on the specific village, its inhabitants and history and the various quandaries faced by the author and his wife as they come to grips with their particular restoration project. It wasn't the best book of its type I've read, but it was intriguing and very well written (Greene is a poet and has a way with words). It was a light, unchallenging read and if you're a Francophile, you'll enjoy it.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much 16 years ago that I kept it on my bookshelf. I enjoyed my second reading just as much.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down with this book three days ago and have taken every chance since to sit down with it again and again, though I didn't want it to end. Greene has such a poetic way with words that his descriptions can't help but leave deep impressions in the mind of any savvy reader: not only of his renovated presbytery and its surrounding gardens, but also of the French countryside and regional customs, all as complex and telling as the many people he encounters. A poet sensitive to language in the most profound way, he weaves history, geography, sociology, and literature together into something so much more than memoir or travel writing... something that makes all those other I-bought-a-house-in-a-foreign-countryside stories seem too easy and more shallow than even I ever suspected, too neatly ordered to be considered literature in the wake of such a fine account. No, THIS is more than a story. It's a his/tory with feminine influence and sensibilities that starts with a quote from Colette and ends with fireworks, illegal and illuminating. There is dark and light, life and death, love and its myriad frustrations on every page, and for that, I will come back to this book, to this place, to these lives over and over again for the rest of my days.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well- I read this- I know I did, because I lent it to a girlfriend who just returned it to me saying, "You're right- it was okay but not great." But I honestly can't remember much beyond the fact that they buy a presbytery and go about working on it. I remember finding it odd that he refers to someone in his wife's past as a "former mate", but that's just me, I guess.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book because my friend loved it and I was sure that it would improve. Sadly it is not my thing - or perhaps I am just not in the right frame of mind to appreciate it. That happens with books sometimes. Key takeaways: he holds his mother in very high esteem and the American way of doing things is always better than the French way.

This is more of a personal memoir with a lot of pages devoted to wedding preparations (including a bath with his wife - wtf?) and their personal histories than the stories around village life I was expecting.

The small snippets of history are interesting but overall the tone was too self congratulatory for my taste. The author even muses that perhaps they should have been more respectful toward the locals and their way of life than they have been, but then seems to lose interest in this line of thought and return to telling us how clever they have been.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book; it was everything I had hoped "Paris to the Moon" would be, but wasn't. Perhaps it's because the author is a poet that he managed to paint such vivid pictures of the village and those who people it that it was all so real, so almost tangible, to me. And perhaps, also, because we know that area of France a little - and love it - that I came to the book with that lovely feeling of visiting an old friend.

There are so many books by or about ex-pats setting up house in France. Some are fantastic, some are good, some really are an example of how not to write a book. This one was a delight to read, and I highly recommend it.

[Heidi Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeffrey Greene’s poetic chops shine through into his prose in this reminiscence. I can’t remember reading a book that so lovingly embraces the things that life leaves behind for us to find. France, this French village and it’s residents, and the presbytery now haunted by Pere Jo are all so warmly rendered that I started dreaming about this wonderful escape, spending even my sleeping hours in an idyll I’ll never experience first hand. I found this treasure in a used book store and raved to the point that my sister-in-law has asked to read it next. I’m hoping she’ll ship it back to me when she’s done because I’d like to read it again some time.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it is very near where I'm going on holiday soon in France. I got a satisfying flavor of the area and the people - and the historic presbytery the couple purchased and renovated.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming read! Helps to be a Francophile as it reads like a fairy tale....will make you smile if you love france👍

[Lorraine Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed his descriptions of the people in the village. Not sure how his wife coped eight having gone mother in law takeover the house.

[Hazel Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meanders, but great descriptions of French village setting. Follows the dream of many to renovate an old building in France.

[Jo Rosenhain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. A gentle delightful journey of buying a house in rural France. I especially enjoyed the author's writing style and tales of locals and family.

[GRANT L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Descriptive and enjoyable story.

[Kim Cl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ik heb dit boek gekocht in de opruimactie van de bibliotheek. Het zag er leuk uit, de synopis zag er leuk uit. Maar tijdens het lezen had ik het soms wat lastig om me er door te worstelen. Soms voelde het een beetje te "toeristische brochure-achtig". Maar soms was het ook zeer grappig en amusant.
Daarom was het wel een leuk mix tussen de achtergrond informatie van de omgeving en het verhaal.

Ik vond het een leuk boek maar toch maar 2 sterren.

[penelopewanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was sent as an RABCK and here was what I wrote when I received it:
As we are in the process of renovating an old farm in the Loiret, this will give us a goal for weekend visits once we're there more often - Burgundy is not all that far from there... and it sounds like there may be some helpful hints for the renovation of our very very old farmhouse (18th century?? not sure). As far as I know, ours doesn't have the reputation of being haunted, which seems to be hinted at on the back cover which I've only glanced at (I try to read the back of books as little as possible because they often are spoilers, I find).

That was written two years ago when I got this book. The other day I picked it up, of course having totally forgotten whatever I had read about it at the time, which was little enough. Now, having actually read the book I can't imagine where I got the impression there was any haunting going on, unless it's reference to the research on the previous inhabitants of the presbytery. I mostly enjoyed this, and do indeed hope that some of the places described can be goals for outings in the future. Our renovations are progressing perhaps less quickly than those described in the book, but I suspect much of that is related to the financing of said renovations. I was a bit surprised at how the home seemed to be completely taken over by the author's mother, but in a way that's very sweet, too. An interesting read.

[Scilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poet Jeffrey Greene and his fiance Mary, a molecular biologist purchase a very old presbytery in Rogny, in the Puisaye region of Burgundy. The book is somewhat boring and very slow moving. They gradually renovate the house and gardens and get to know their neighbors, especially the old woodcutter, Coco. They have their wedding in the garden about 8 months after the purchase when the house still has a long way to go. His mother comes to live with them. There are many anecdotes about people they meet, the workers, and Coco.

[TiffanyLamp · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writer had a way of making beautiful words flow together. I kept reading, even when I fell asleep multiple times, in order to experience them. Being more of a technically written storyline, it was incredibly hard to read at the same time. I have the book and I plan to keep it. I do not see myself reading it again in the near future. I'll wait until I almost forget what it was about.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of an American couple's move to Burgundy. Quite enjoyed it but didn't find it unique enough - there are a lot of similar accounts out there. The rural French lifestyle and locals were well portrayed though.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I really like this genre. Love reading about Americans pulling up their roots and moving to a foreign country and rehabbing a dilapidated structure and grounds and making it a home! I could never do it, so I live vicariously through them.

[Shawna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter - an American moving to France and renovating an old presbytere. The author's ego got in the way.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars if the subject matter really interests you

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

How can moving to France and buying a house seem so dull? The turgid start to the book and dreary history is not a reason to seek out this story which ought to be a lot better than it is.

[Velvetink]

I have the Flamingo edition 2002

[Genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, but ultimately not a keeper.

[Ülle Hilep]

Jätsin pooleli, lihtsalt nii igav oli lugeda. Ei tundunud enam mõistlik aega raisata, kui on olemas palju teisi häid raamatuid. Peategelaste ettevõtmised on huvitavad, nad ise ilmselt ka, aga raamat ei ole kahjuks õnnestunud.