When ‘just’ a book club becomes more

Synopsis

Love books? The Bordeaux Book Club is seeking new members!

When Leah and her husband moved to France, it was with the dream of becoming self-sufficient. But in truth, it’s not the ‘good life’ she’d imagined, as three hours of digging barely yields a single straggly carrot. Worse, her teenage daughter is acting up, and her husband seems to find every strange excuse under the hot French sun to disappear.

So when her friend entreats her to join the new bookclub she’s forming, Leah decides it’s something she will do for herself. The chance to make new friends, to drink a few glasses of wine, and to escape into stories that take her miles away from the life she’d thought would be her own happy-ever-after.

But the book club is a strange group of misfits. There’s prickly Grace, who lives alone and seems to know everybody and like no-one. Buttoned-up Monica, who says her husband is away and appears to be parenting her baby all alone. Handsome builder George, who has barely read a book before. And Alfie – who is a full two decades younger than everyone else, and is hiding a devastating secret…

As the stories they read begin to bring the new friends closer together, Leah is about to discover that happy-ever-afters don’t always look how you expect them to…

A gorgeously escapist read from the bestselling author of A Year at the French Farmhouse, perfect for fans of Veronica Henry, Jo Thomas and Fiona Valpy.

My review

Leah imagined that moving to France with her husband and teenage daughter would be completely different. The dream was becoming self – sufficient but the realization of that dream is way more difficult than expected. And for sure it doesn’t help that her daughter is acting out and her husband is finding any excuse to escape home.
Under slight pressure of her friend, Leah decides to join a new book club, something for herself. And while the other members of the book club couldn’t be more different from each other, with each their own issues, it’s reading and talking about books that brings them closer to each other, being there and helping each other through the toughest times, learning that life doesn’t always go as expected but also that even ‘just’ a book club can bring on your path just what you need..

At the start of this story, I admired Leah and her family, as they packed everything and made the move to France to start all over again, with the dream of becoming self – sufficient. And yes, it’s an admirable thought, but I have to be honest, I would just be terrible at it and it would become my personal hell.

But no matter how noble the initial dream was, it’s clear that reaching it is far from easy. And it made me pity Leah, because for sure she isn’t having an easy time. Not only does she has to face that the dream could be turning into a nightmare, but her husband is acting weirdly, her daughter is being a typical teenager, and Leah is certain that the chickens are after her!

And being a booklover myself, I found it a great idea for Leah to join the new book club, doing something for herself, but also getting outside more, forgetting the troubles at home.
Even if it was under slight pressure to join, it was exactly what Leah needed.

Yes, the group couldn’t be more diverse, but that also made this a wonderful group. There aren’t two members that are even remotely alike, with each their own issues, one more life – defying than another.
While each member of the group would initially seem a bit odd, slowly I started to appreciate each and every one of them, and accepting their views on books, even they don’t match my own opinions. That was also the beauty in this book, as for especially the classics, the general thoughts are all alike, yet in this book, the author dared to have a character have the complete opposite opinion, making you perhaps even rethink about your own opinion.

But the most beautiful thing in this book was, no matter how different the characters were, or in what stage of life they were, they found their own unique tribe. What started out as just another book club, turns into a real friendship, where you can rely on each other, and where you are able to offer and even receive help, without questions asked.
What started as complete strangers coming together about books, turns into a special kind of family. And that evolution truly warmed my heart, seeing how they all gathered together in the most difficult moment, involving young Alfie – the youngest member of them all – having to grow up way too fast…

The author managed to capture the despair that people can have in life, but mostly, she managed to capture how no matter how different people are, that diversity can perhaps just be what someone needs. And we see with each character realize that perhaps the life they thought would be their happy life may not be the life they are living now, but that they can be finding happiness in another, different way, with new yet amazing friends. And it’s okay to change your dreams during the journey that life is, because it’s your life to live and life can take you on a different path than what you envisaged before. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! 😊