C'est La Folie

The true story of an urban man's search for a deeper, richer, simpler life (not to mention a dishy copine) in the heart of rural France...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.

“What elevates this book... is Wright's gentle humour and his ability to create a vivid impression of his literal and emotional journey... with such wit and perception”

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Hilarious and evocative... Michael Wright's book provides the most startlingly honest answer to the question of "can you live your dreams or do they inevitably turn into nightmares?" -- Dr RAJ PERSAUD
Wright captures the fun of the countryside perfectly THE SUNDAY TIMES

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.

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. To explore life at La Folie further,

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