Before we came to France, seven years ago, I read many of the ‘real life stories about setting up home in France‘ books, in a (completely fruitless) attempt to see what surprises might be in store for us.

Like many expats moving to France I toyed with the idea of writing a book myself. I even have a heap of papers somewhere with my draft notes. I didn’t carry on though, in part because it became a sort of cliche – the expat moving to France and writing a book because they think they are the next Peter Mayle.

Instead I let my boundless talents go to waste on this little corner of the internet.

So I had a tiny moment of regret about lost opportuities when I was sent a book - Going in Seine by Maria Anton – to see if I would like to read and review it.

The book tells the story of how Maria, with the help of daughter Nikki and without the help of husband Dennis, bought a small apartment in Paris to be used as a second home.

The events in Going in Seine are related in a gentle, forward-moving, way that draws the reader in to the story, with various characters and events being described along the way – from an over-enthusiastic Italian plumber to the unlikely problem of severe flooding in the 3rd floor apartment.

Example extract – talking to the (drunken) plumber

“Shall I turn off the power?” I suggest quickly.
“No, not worth it,” he mumbles, pulling on the wires.

Sparks fly between the wires and his finger and there’s a distinct odour of burning flesh.
“Merde!” he says letting the wires drop and sucking his finger.

The book is made of many such small incidents, from the challenges of squeezing on to the metro to the pleasures exploring the less well known regions of Paris – they use the fine technique of closing their eyes and stabbing a finger at a map to decide where to go next.

Together the incidents form a colourful and interesting tapestry of events that make the book a pleasure to read – it also reminded me I must search out my own dusty notes…