Head Over Heels in France: Falling in Love in the Lot

by Samantha Brick

Just when life seemed its darkest, Samantha found happiness—Pascal, and his 10-year-old son, and the rigors of country life—in an unexpected trip to France When Samantha Brick’s life started to unravel—her company in liquidation, homeless, penniless, and friendless, and on max-strength anti-depressants—it seemed that everything was going wrong. But a chance week away in France led to the most unexpected of all a whirlwind romance with gun-toting, stubborn, and ever-so-macho Pascal. It wasn’t until she moved in to his cottage in the beautiful Lot region in southwest France that she realized how shamefully ill-equipped she was for the country life. Like Cinderella in reverse, Samantha had to learn to cook, clean, chop wood, and keep house, as well as discovering how to be a stepmother to Pascal’s know-it-all 10-year-old son, and finding love and happiness along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction, France, Travel, Memoir

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 16, 2013

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written memoir about the search for happiness that reads almost like a first-person novel. Told in the present tense, which gives the tale a little more immediacy, the story follows Ms Brick from the heights of being an international television executive with her own production company, through bankruptcy, depression, and ultimately redemption with her unexpected new life in France. But it isn't just about what happens; the narrator also goes through a clear change in character. I was glad to see that she loses her taste for the superficiality of designer labels once it is all sold off to pay her debts and she moves to the French countryside. She learns how to cook and clean - things she had previously paid people to do. And she successfully pulls through a difficult life change, one in which she seems to be on the verge of tears on every other page. One of the reasons I enjoyed it more than I thought I would was that I can personally understand why Ms Brick wrote this very personal story of her romance: I had a similar heady experience coming to Finland, and started writing my own detailed memoir, but I lost all reason to continue after it broke up. So I was cheering Sam at the end for her success.

There were a few things I wasn't happy with. I would have liked to see more of a build-up at the start, with some description of how the author became so successful in television, and a more detailed description of her life at the time, because that would have given her topple from the top a much stronger emotional impact when it happened. I also found myself wondering how she could afford to travel to France so often when she had no money, and was forced to sell her clothes and jewellery to pay off her debts. Perhaps cheap RyanAir tickets solved the problem, but it was not explained. A few times, I was annoyed that French phrases were not always translated. I did not do French at school, and so I know virtually nothing, and it's not fun to type into Google Translate while reading. Unfortunately, this is not going to appeal to the average male reader: it is very much a "chick-lit" book, written from a woman's perspective, culminating in a French countryside wedding.

I recommend it for any man or woman who likes a good romance, and Francophiles who will recognize both the landscape and the behaviour of the locals. I don't like traditional romantic fiction, as it always feels so twee to me, and I have not been involved much with France, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Ça va. Fin!

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The descriptions of the countryside and culture of France are great but they are unfortunately interspersed with stories of an ineffectual twat who changes her entire self for the apparent love of her life whilst actually, unwittingly becoming a bedroom and kitchen slave to a Frenchman.

[Liz Murray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love or hate Samantha Brick and her now-famous vitriol in The Daily Mail, you assume that this book is going to entertain. The most disappointing thing about this book is how dull it is. Samantha's articles are so wildly entertaining because of her controversial opinions and complete lack of awareness or concern about who she may be offending or how she comes off. In the book, however, she very much cares what the reader should think. Each page is careful to represent her in the best light: modesty overcome by Pascal's dominant affections, maligned by her only friend, embarrassed enough by the rustic to prove she has style but down-to-earth enough to appreciate its natural beauty...

This is a fairly uneventful story, devoid of any juicy details, about a woman who was having a rough time and then married a French bloke. You're supposed to think she was terrific when she was successful and rich, terrific when she's not and terrific when she moves to France.

It's not that long but it's very hard to get through. Boring borington.

[Anna Albrecht · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thumbs down - This is not the lot
Samantha Brick's title, Falling in love with the Lot, is utterly misleading: while we get to know quite a lot (pardon the pun) about her personal affairs, there is virtually nothing about the region Lot. I live in the Lot region, and I can testify that there'd be a lot of interesting and amusing things to tell, and indeed others have written good books about their experiences here (Michael Kenyon e.g.). Brick, however, deals with her life in France in an extremely superficial way, and I was utterly alienated by her way of rendering the attempts of her French friends and neighbors to speak English. None of them seems to be able to master the "th", but what is even more unbelievable is that everybody whom she meets does speak some form of English. Let me tell you: that is utterly not true. Most French people who live in small villages do not (I repeat: not) speak English, and the few who do sometimes even master the "th". And I found the excessively detailed reports on her wedding (who wore what kind of dress) just boring.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad. She has a great, lively, witty voice, and she doesn't shy away from explaining the difficult parts of her life. But what was missing, and what majorly bothered me, were the reasons she fell for Pascal. He was French, he was good-looking...that seemed to be about it. Instead, we're treated to a long list of how they're different (he's a hunter, she's a vegetarian; he's an artisan who works with his hands, she's led a pampered existence until now, etc), but nowhere did I read and think, "Oh, that's why she loves him." It seemed they just met and boom, she's moving to France, and my head was left spinning, going, "But who IS this guy?"

The descriptions are wonderful and are what bumped this from a two to a three, for me.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pleasant enough read. The descriptions of the Lot are rather rose-tinted. The way Samantha speedily changes from a wealthy vegetarian city dwelling media type - who never cooks or cleans - to a drudge in the house of a basic chauvinistic French countryman is hard to credit. According to her website she now 'juggles life as a freelance TV consultant, journalist, writer, yogi and, of course, French housewife'. So probably has help with the housework now!
I admire the way she bounced back after depression and has made a success of her life.

[Bree · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hung in there til page 53. The moved-to-France genre is one of my favourites, but I just couldn’t gel with this author or her approach. I want to read about France- the countryside, the people, the food, the culture, have a clean, girlie laugh- not read about some woman’s dramas, a sleazy Frenchman, & married people having affairs like it’s not a big deal. Not my kind of book at all.

[Alice Doherty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book a bit bland, didn’t really feel much chemistry between Pascal and Samantha.

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intrigued by some of journalist Sam's out spoken pieces in the press I was really looking forward to reading this book. Would it provoke fireworks? Would it give us Brit women in France a bad name? Would I be disagreeing with her at every page turn? I was one curious reader.

What I found myself reading was an open and honest book written from the heart. In life things don’t always go to plan and when her life and business folded around her Sam hit rock bottom. She struggled with the simplest of daily tasks, her family were worried about her, and she could see no future. Her beloved dogs were all that kept her going. A chance meeting with rugged Frenchman Pascal left her with some very difficult decisions to make, but offered her the possibility of a new life.

This book is a romantic tale of love and recovery, a girl at rock bottom who is wooed by a man who loves her and just wants to protect her, forever. You have no idea how difficult it is not to write ‘fairytale’, ‘damsel in distress’ and ‘hero’ in this review! But the path of true love is never easy and for two people who are so different and from such different backgrounds they had more ups and downs than most. There are some very funny escapades that had me snorting as I read, often caused by the Franco/Britanique culture clash. For neighbouring countries it never ceases to amaze me how we can be so different.

Although I have only spoken to Sam via email and we probably won’t ever meet, I like to think the real Sam is the one in this book and the controversial journalist is the one who knows you need to provoke a reaction to get your article read. I loved this book.

[Breann · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first mistake...I thought this was fiction rather than memoir when I picked it up to read. The early section of the book where the author describes her professional risks, disappointments, and eventual downfall were compelling if not completely gut-wrenching. Still, she paints a picture many can relate to in today's all-consuming workplace. While she wrote convincingly about her pain and sadness in the first secion, my interest started to die off once she left it all behind to move in with her new love in France. The story changed at that point from showing to telling and because the telling was "nothing but the facts" it was hard to believe she was happy with this seemingly boorish man in a foreign land. At the end she ties it up nicely and the reader is left believing the author found happiness, but until she said as much, I couldn't tell. I've heard it said that memoir is a bad place to start as a writer and that happiness is much harder to write than pain. Both of those concepts seem to be proven here.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am glad that I bought this book as I have enjoyed it tremendously. In fact I am looking forward to a sequel and I do hope that Samantha is working on it. Head Over Heels in France is a true story and as an adult I do now prefer reading non-fiction to fiction. I liked that the story is written eloquently and with a great sense of humour.
What an interesting turn in her life. I hope one day it would be made into a romantic comedy. I already see Kim Cattrall playing Miriam :)

[September Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a memoir it was intriguing and as a story not so much I'm afraid. While it took great courage to up and move to France the circumstances dictated such a move would be good for her and it was. Finding love rather quickly enough to make one's head spin. I couldn't get the image of a very smelly many who hardly ever washed or changed clothes out of my mind. How can anyone find that attractive? It is beyond me.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sort of enjoyed this book, but must agree with some others, who have pointed out that the reader doesn't really get a good sense of just who this guy is, that Samantha Brick fell for, or of why she did. It's most certainly light reading, and more than a bit fluffy in places, but somewhat diverting. I was most interested in the micro-culture of the area of France in which most of the book takes place, and I have a real desire to travel there. Can't be bothered to say much more now.

[Carol]

boring!

[Karen Keleher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely easy going read. A book you wanted to keep picking up to read through to the end.

[CD · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh...