L'héritage de tata Lucie

by Philippe Saimbert

Tata Lucie est une emmerdeuse. De son vivant ce n’était pas une sainte mais, une fois morte, elle se surpasse pour pourrir la vie de sa famille.
Le testament est clair : pour toucher leur héritage, ses neveux doivent se lancer dans uns chasse au trésor rocambolesque, les pieds dans la boue. Bienvenue à la campagne !

Au cœur du Béarn, ils sont entraînés dans une aventure qu’ils ne risquent pas d’oublier... Mais que ne ferait-on pas pour toucher le pactole ?

Genres: Fiction, Humor

319 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2012

About the author

Philippe Saimbert is a novelist and scriptwriter.
Passionate about writing, comics, rock music and movies, the author has had more than 12 comic books and several novels published since 1999.
Saimbert likes mixing literary genres, fleshing out his characters and coming up with… surprising ends.

Reviews

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

If any one has trouble sleeping and needs help? Well Then, this is the book for you lol. Complete Snorefest to me. Every page just went on and on. After reading about 15 pages, I had already forgot what the hell the book was about anyway!

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je n'ai pas vraiment été conquise par ce livre malgré le sens de l'humour de l'auteur.
Les personnages étaient un peu lourd et pas très attachants ce qui a rendu la lecture un peu difficile.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I did receive this book from Goodreads.com and at no cost to me.
I tried to really, really like this book. I suppose it is well written, however, I couldn't get the humor out of it. I'm sure the humor is there but apparently it is not my cup of tea. Not the author's fault - it did get many high reviews, though.
I will try again later to see what I missed.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd give it 0 if I could. This has to be the worst book I've ever read. I only kept at it since I won it as a goodreads giveaway and felt I should give it a chance to get better. If you read for an escape, as I do, avoid it. Half the characters are obnoxious, self entered trash, and of course they get what they want in the end. The narrator is an incestuous rude teenager. He openly gets boners staring at his cousin who strips for him and laments they're former makeouts since she's "too mature" for him now that she got her period and starting having sex outside the family as well. He also enjoyed watching his aunt have sex and goes on about never seeing another woman as sexy as her, except his cousin. They're entertainment is in making fun of a "retarded" man, as they joyously insult him multiple times. For a bunch of incestuous men and dim witted prude women, I found it rich for them to think they're so much more enlightened as they tear up the house of their aunt, who the men lusted after, while the women are disgusted that she decided to have a sex life instead of marrying a man that wouldn't allow her to have an opinion of her own. Basically, I expected it to be funny and only didn't hate or wasn't downright disgusted by the rare outlying characters and sometimes one of the uncles.

[Catherine Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une bonne tranche de rire. Tata Lucie connait bien sa famille, qui l’a ignorée toute sa vie. Elle connait tout ce petit monde cupide et âpre au gain. Sa vengeance est racontée à travers les yeux d’un adolescent (un peu perturbé par la montée en puissance de la testostérone).Tata Lucie se venge à titre posthume, elle va leur en faire baver. Ça sent bon la garbure et les effluves du Pacherinc. C’est truculent, rosse (comme tata Lucie), très drôle, gaulois, mais aussi plein de tendresse et surtout bien écrit et bien construit. On rit beaucoup. Un livre qui fait du bien.

[PepperP0t · Rating 3 out of 5]

***A complimentary copy of this read was furnished by author in exchange for a an unbiased review***
When Aunt Lucie died, a lot was said and a lot was unsaid. Believing himself to be Lucie's favorite nephew and sure he'd inherited Lucie's worldly goods Dad pulled out appropriate sadness about her death, remembrances of how and why he was her favorite nephew, touted her virtues and family values.

Much to Dad's chagrin, he learned Aunt Lucie's solicitor had appointments to see his three brothers as well. He was livid at the possibility of sharing his inheritance. Then he spouted about Lucie's inconsideration to die at the start of the family vacation and the many lascivious smiles and knowing winks that followed in Lucie's wake over her chosen profession.

Once the will is read the greed, dark humor, sarcasm and madcap, ludicrous situations begun on the way to the funeral are ratcheted up and continue as the prevailing tone of the read. Lucie's instruction stipulates the nephews and their families live in her rural home and participate in a scavenger like hunt if they intend to inherit a euro. Winner take all!

As the families depart the notary office for the house Dad reverts to his natural jealous and hypocritical state and initiated the ever present game of bluster and brotherly brinkmanship. The finely developed brothers and their wives were identifiable by their own degrees of greed and were entertaining if not likable.

I liked pieces of this read but didn't love them, it did mostly deliver (a dark but) humorous read told in third person memory by a pre-teen great-nephew. For this readers taste the pacing is a tad slow given the givens but third party was the best narration for the tale.

This reader was concerned much would be lost in the translation from French to American speak and sensibilities. Some things were but they were minute (I think).
Rating 3.25stars

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunt Lucie's Legacy is part coming of age story for the fourteen-year-old narrator, Joseph, and part wild treasure hunt. Set in 1980s rural France in a ramshackle farmhouse, four brothers and their families search for a hidden turquoise stone in order to inherit a large fortune. The catch, they only have thirty days to find the treasure and their exasperating aunt has only provided a riddle to help them find it. The book is slapstick humorous, bawdy at times, and full of the feeling of belonging to a large family - laughing, fighting, and forgiving. Not all the characters are likable and sometimes they are even unkind, but ultimately I felt I had spent time with a very close, if slightly off the wall, family.

[Dustyloup · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ce livre est à fuir! Beurk.
F this book :
-super sexist (which sure, given the time period, 80s, and the age of the narrator, prepubescent boy, could be forgivable but there just nothing redeemable to balance it out)
-mocks people with mental handicaps/disabilities (see above)
-the people are such horrible, judgmental a-holes and that *could* be interesting or funny, but it's not, it's just boring.
-it takes 69 meandering pages (en français) to get to the reading of the will, which was the only interesting scene and I would've far preferred reading about Tata Lucie than her despicable family.

I don't usually "count" my DNF's but this was just so horrible that I want the energy that I spent on it to count for something. I didn't even care how it ended. Blah

[Karine SIMON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je dois dire que dans l'ensemble, je suis un peu déçue, par ce livre. Peut-être que j'en attendais un peu trop, j'avais été très emballée par l'extrait que j'avais lu.

Malgré tout, il y a des chapitres très intéressant, et même très rigolo, c'est bien écrit, sans langue de bois.

Et même si je ne veux pas trop en dire, pour vous laisser découvrir ce livre, je peux vous dire que la Tata Lucie, c'était vraiment une emmerdeuse.....

Bonne lecture !

[Eliane · Rating 1 out of 5]

En film télé se pourrait être bien ; un trésor que la famille doit trouver dans la propriété de la Tata. Mais le style d'écriture oh là là ! simpliste, vulgaire, méprisant même envers les gens de la campagne et particulièrement les écologistes.

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps it is because I am not french or my tastes do not lean toward crude language and borderline pornography, but this book was terrible. I kept hoping it would get better but it never did. The narrative rambled on and on, having nothing to do with the storyline. Luckily this was a free book.

[Jettiep Parrish · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book wasn't for me, I just gave up after about 4 chapters. I put it down several times, but thought I would give it another try, but it just wasn't going anywhere fast.

[Pat Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

This author's quirky sense of humour strongly appealed to me. I started chuckling as soon as I started reading this highly entertaining book which is told from the perspective of a fourteen-year old boy who watches his family with detached amusement as the four brothers, led by his dad, embark on their annual family holiday for a month on France. Unfortunately, just as they set off, their estranged aunt, Lucile, passed away. She had left the family at the age of thirty, unmarried, when the family inheritance was passed to her brother leaving her nothing. Annoyed, she had decided to earn her own keep as a prostitute. She became the family scandal. On her deathbed she left instructions for her four nephews, wives and children were to meet at the lawyer's offices to hear who would the millions she was leaving to them, as her only family members. However, she had a big chip on her shoulder, it seems.
The inheritance came with clues, as she led them a merry dance, trying to find the duplicate of a turquoise pendant retained by the lawyer, within a month. Family dynamics and different characters entertained the fourteen-year old son as he was a skinny gangling teen, reaching puberty. He was exposed to their rages, their indignation, their indiscretions, their propensity to drink until sunrise, on occasion; their indulgence of Caroline, a manipulative brat who delighted in tormenting him, while his flirtatious older cousin tried to tempt him into sexual experimentation by stripping topless as they cooled off one evening. It was a holiday the tense family would never forget. Family dynamics range from benevolent to incandescent rages. Highly entertaining and great fun!

[ChrisGA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outrageously tongue- in- cheek story, set in France, of four brothers and their families who compete to find a treasure hidden by their recently-deceased and reportedly-scandalous aunt. It told from the viewpoint of a fourteen-year-old who candidly reports the quirks, “colorful” (aka foul) language, and dysfunctional behaviors of his peculiar, extended family. It also dwells on his bodily reaction to beautiful women and his feelings of being awkward and misunderstood by just about everyone around him. I have never been a 14-year-old boy, but I imagine these reactions are pretty common. The hair-brained attempts of his family to decipher the clues and find the treasure are a continuous comedy of missteps and blunders. All in all, the book is a little bit naughty, humorous, and intriguing. I received this book through Goodreads giveaway, but the thoughts are my own.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer vacation becomes treasure hunt

The story is told from the point of view of a 14-year-old boy. Aunt Lucie has died, and her four nephews and their families have gathered for the reading of the Will. It is unlike anything they have ever heard of.

The four nephews must go to her home where they will have one month to find a turquoise pendant. What follows will either make you laugh or make you cry. Either way, it's quite an adventure (and an education) for a teenage boy.

I made my own guess early on and it wasn't a bad guess. Join the hunters as they wrack their brains and lay waste to the property.

42

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book and am glad I did. First, it has introduced me to an author I knew nothing about and who I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Merci beaucoup. A tale of a crazy family's month-long venture in the Langue d'Oc, searching for a necklace on their deceased aunt's estate that will give them a hefty inheritance....if they find it. Some good laugh-out-loud Gallic humor interspersed throughout. Sometimes you need to read a book purely for entertainment, and this once fit the bill very nicely.

[Rumeur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book because Aunt Lucy was fun ( although her relatives were less than thrilled with her). After she died, in order to get the inheritance, the relatives had to live in her run down, awful home, along with going through a treasure hunt in this awful, run down wreck. Aunt Lucy was as much fun dead, as she was alive *insert sarcasm here lol
It was a real fun read, & quick since I found it immensely funny. I won a kindle copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway & wrote honest review

[Esther SANCHEZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il m'a fait penser à un mélange bizarre entre Le Petit Nicolas arrive à sa puberté et Martine à la ferme, les rapport d'une famille très, très typique (j'ai bien aimé cela) et le passage de la mort au coeur des réflexions. Je lui ai enlévé un étoile à cause de l'humour un peu basique et crade parfois du narrateur. Un truc bizarre pour moi c'est qu'il s'agit de la premier fois que je trouve le narrateur le plus irritant de personnages!!. Par contre, je me suis bien amusée et passé un très bon moment en lisant ce roman amusant et nostalguique.

[WillBookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cela faisait longtemps que je n'avais pas lu de livres en Français (je vis en Amérique depuis 2002) et ce livre était mon premier replongement en lecture française. Je trouve l'histoire intéressante, en partie très amusante, et en d'autres parties le narrateur est un peu trop répétitif dans ses descriptions des autres personages. Ça devient un peu lourd à force. En général une lecture divertissante.

[Leslie Raymer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book to read

This is a fun read about a very dysfunctional family and what they went through when they thought they were getting an inheritance. Omg, you can just envision the situations because the author made the scenes so vivid. It’s a light hearted read so if you’re looking for something in-depth, that’s not this book. But if you just want to sit back and have a chuckle with family problems, you’ll enjoy.

[Babajaga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won a Kindle version of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I wanted to like it because the plot line sounded intriguing and fun. But unfortunately, it disappointing for me. It wasn't all bad, there were some funny moments and I kept reading because I wanted to find out how the story ends. But there were many instances when I didn't find the humor funny at all, no matter how many allowances I made for the teenage narrator.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book with a mystery to solve for which some readers will identify answers before the story characters. To be noted are a few adult type (not terrible) circumstances which some people may find a bit offensive.

My book copy was received through a goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgically Cute
A summer vacation in France looking for treasure left from an estranged aunt told from the viewpoint of a fourteen year old boy. Thank you good reads for this free book. Off the record I had guessed where the treasure was at the beginning but was a fun read.

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways for an honest review.

I thought the plot of the book was really good - I liked the treasure hunt idea for the inheritance. I also liked the ending. I had a hard time getting into the humor though. It just wasn't for me.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Goodreads, Kindle and Mr. Saimbert for a wonderful little romp. It did not take long for the reader to discern where the prize was hidden,but it was fun to watch the relative fumble and fail . This was a really fun read

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this kindle book in a Goodreads giveaway. I apologize for not getting to it sooner.

This is less about a mystery and more about I teen horny for his cousin. It would ha e gotten a lot lower rating if the author hadn't had an fun pace and other interesting characters.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good Laugh. Refreshing and at time Hilario’s but underneath is familial love: except for Aunt Lucy.

[Carmela Morreale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce livre est un réel moment de détente.

[Dorothy Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky book and characters.

Aunt Lucie gave a task to her would be heirs, what happed next, is funny. Some are more greedy than others

[Manu Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Evitable ...