Product Description

A dilapidated, rat-infested stone barn set amidst thirteen acres of overgrown woodland and unkempt pasture might not be many people's vision of a potential dream home. But for English couple Richard and his wife Al, the cavernous, oak-beamed building in a sleepy hamlet of the Limousin region of France is perfect. Tussles with French bureaucracy allied with fierce storms that wreak havoc on the property do little to dampen resolve as they immerse themselves in the "calme" of this quiet corner of France, taking trips in Richard's balloon and starting their very own llama farm. Their colourful, often eccentric neighbours are always ready to lend a hand: the jovial ex-Gendarme and his wife, who is able to foretell the weather; a lonely widow who offers copious amounts of gateaux in exchange for convivial chat; and a brawny cattleman with suspicious motives in offering to clean up the couple's land.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69803 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

The Book Place - Lucy Watson
'you'll be hooked' ... 'captures all that is French' ... 'Move over Dingwall-Main and Peter Mayle - you've got company.'

French Property News Magazine
'covers all the pitfalls and successes of the ambitious project'

Country House and Home Magazine
'this book will trigger dreams' ... 'humorously highlights the obstacles they had to overcome to fulfil their dream'

Customer Reviews

Great Read
I greatly enjoyed this book but then I may be biased as I grew up in Limousin and originally bought this book to see how the region was going to be portrayed. I felt it was depicted with sincerity despite some liberties taken by the author with some local expressions, (I am not talking about the 'Trompette de La Mort' which are delicious by the way), and also his own interpretation of local custom. But then, if the author and his wife got everything right all the time it would not be so funny and one can imagine how much of a headache the whole project must have been but also how much this was all worth it. After reading this book, it leaves you wanting to see the barn and meet them as they seem genuine good neighbours. I wish them all the best with their lama breading and settling in Limousin.

compelling
As someone who has lived the French property renovation dream/nightmare myself, I found this book compelling, hilarious and relatable. What Richard Wiles took on far exceeds my own project in its challenges and disasters, and his book should be read by anyone with the slightest ambition to buy a place in France. Take a dose of reality from Bon Courage and see if you think you still have what it takes to overcome the obstacles involved!

Bon Courage
An entertaining read, with some humorous observations and characterisations of his neighbours.

In the same ilk as "A Year in Provence", although maybe not as well written, it tells the story of renovating a barn in rural France. I felt that although an encapsulating read, it did suffer in parts by being too technical with the details of the renovation. In parts it felt like reading a (rather dry) technical DIY manual, without the pictures.

Some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments, particularly his partner's linguistic blunders in both French and her native English tongue.