Product Description

One day in late summer, Michael Wright gave up his comfortable South London existence and, with only his long-suffering cat for company, set out to begin a new life. His destination was 'La Folie', a dilapidated 15th century farmhouse in need of love and renovation in the heart of rural France...Inspired by the success of his column in the "Daily Telegraph" about La Folie, this book is his winningly honest account of his struggle to fulfil a childhood dream and become a Real Man - to make the journey from social townie to rugged, solitary paysan. And in chronicling his enthusiastic attempts at looking after livestock and coming to terms with the concept of living Abroad Alone, the author discovers what it takes to be a man at the beginning of the 21st century, especially if one is short sighted, flat footed and not very good at games. Life-affirming, laugh out loud funny (and boasting more than its fair share of larger-than-life locals, bilingual chickens, diminutive but over-sexed sheep, invisible rodents, manly power tools with unpronounceable names, plus the occasional femmes fatale), this tale of a new-found life in France with a cat, a piano and an aeroplane, is both an elegy for a world that's fast disappearing as a hymn to the simple pleasures of being alive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9261 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

From the Back Cover
What do you do if you reach your thirties and still don’t feel grown-up?
Why fritter away your life in front of a computer when you could be wielding manly power-tools?
How do you learn to be a hero if you suspect you may be a wimp?

These and other pressing questions are what drove Michael Wright to give up his comfortable South London existence and set out, with just his long-suffering cat for company, for La Folie – a dilapidated fifteenth-century farmhouse in need of love and renovation in the heart of rural France.

Inspired by his much-loved newspaper column, C’est La Folie is the gloriously entertaining account of his struggle to make the transition from chattering townie to solitary paysan at one with the livestock, the locals and the landscape of his adopted home.

Witty and winningly honest, this tale of a new life abroad with a cat, a piano and an aeroplane is as much an elegy for rural France as a hymn to the simple pleasures of being alive.

About the Author
Born in Surrey in 1966, Michael Wright enjoyed an unfashionably happy education at Windlesham House and Sherborne and graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in English Literature. He spent several years working as a theatre critic, arts columnist and literary diarist in London whilst wondering what to do when he grew up. The answer turned out to lie in rural France, where he now lives.

Customer Reviews

On how to live sans Marmite and hard cheese
This is such a life-enhancing book; written with honesty,style and self-deprecatory humour.
One man's journey into wisdom.Beginning a new life on an isolated French hillside,renovating not only an ancient farmhouse but his very soul.

He writes engagingly of his immersion into French country life and the gradual acceptance of 'l'anglais' by his neighbours.
The trials and triumphs of animal husbandry are related with humour and warmth when Titus,the aptly named
cockerel, arrives to join his harem of hens,'the girls'.
Before long ,Gaston, the charismatic ram and his entourage of wild Ouessant sheep join the homestead bringing new life and heart-ache in equal measure.

I loved the book for its honesty and Michael Wright's rare gift in expressing his own humanity with truth,sensitivity and witty self-deprecation.He left me reassured that our own personal quest to understand and accept our mortality yet live with hope and joie de vivre is shared.

Vive La Folie !

Did what it said on the tin
I am not sure if the stars are supposed to reflect literary excellence or how much the individual reviewer enjoyed the book. For me, the five stars represent how much I enjoyed reading it and how much I annoyed my husband by laughing out loud and reading out extracts to him.

I have never read any of Micheal Wright's columns or even heard of him. I chose this book over other summer reads because I lived in France as a child, live in Portugal now and was interested on someone else's take on living abroad. I also wanted something topical but light to read whilst on holiday in France last week (in a tent, in the rain).

I recognise that I am a prime candidate for the author's target audience and can see it might not appeal to those wanting more substance from their reads. It is witty, light, occasionally cheesey and occasionally thought provoking. This book ticked all the boxes of my expectations and was spot on in its characterisations and experiences in integrating with the locals in a foreign country.

In addition, anyone who is thinking of moving their own life closer to nature, in the UK or elsewhere, might benefit from Wright's emotional experiences of keeping livestock. Next time I feed my dinner scraps to our neighbour's chickens, I shall be looking at them in a whole new light (the chickens, not the neighbours). I am now thinking twice about whether I am ready to have chickens of my own!

I too miss my piano.

C'Est La Folie - Author Michael Wright
I am a prolific reader and I seldom come across a book which is absolutely spellbinding and this is one of those books. I found I was unable to put it down, time went right out of the window! For me, it will be re-readable and in my collection I only have a handful of such literary penmanship.

Michael Wright tells of his early years in England and his future dreams but becomes dissatisfied enough to seek adventure to prove to himself that he can accomplish something worthwhile. Having previously visited France this is where he ultimately makes his home, and in the heart of rural France he buys a delapatated abode with land attached. He has to undertake the ardious renovation both of the property and the land. To distract him from his labours he becomes the proud owner of chickens and sheep, giving them names is part of the fun! Not to mention his wonderful neighbours and village inhabitants - all of them characters in their own right (pardon the pun!).

Mr Wright has that rare ability to write in such a way that the reader is immediately transported to being with him in person.

Without giving too much away, there is wonderful humour to render the reader to laugh out loud but there is also sensitivity and touches of sadness - these emotions go hand in hand with the life he has made for himself.

The manner in which he pens his words is a treat and a feast for the eyes. Could we live in hope for more of the same?!

Kris Massie
West Sussex, England