Vive le Chaos: My So-Called Tranquil Family Life in Rural France

by Ian Moore

Follow the hilarious misadventures of Ian Moore and his family as their search for serenity in rural France leads them on a journey of chaos, commotion and comedy

Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough. Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn't like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space.

Several years later, Ian finds himself up to his neck in bilingual offspring, feral cats, promiscuous horses, dysfunctional spaniels and needy hens; he's wrestling with electric fences, a foreign language, a mountain of animal waste and a wife who collects livestock like there's a biblical flood on the horizon, all while trying not to dirty his pristine loafers.

But despite the ups, downs and increasing demands of Ian's showbiz career, the Moore family persevere in true Brit style to create a unique, colourful and ultimately rewarding life in their new home - à la campagne!

Genres: Nonfiction, Contemporary, Comedy, France, Memoir, Humor

352 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2024

About the author

Best-Selling author Ian Moore is also a stand-up comedian and conference host in the UK, and husband, father of three boys, farmhand, chutney-maker and Basil Fawlty impersonator in France. Since doing less stand-up, he's stopped taking himself so seriously.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book with an idea it might be quite funny, I had not heard of the author but on googling found he was a pretty well known stand up comedian and author, anyway I was wrong, it wasn’t quite funny...it was hilarious, I was laughing out loud with pretty much every page I read, it had me laughing often enough that Matt ( my partner )and then even Sapphire (our Ragdoll cat, with has to be said disdain) looked to see what was ‘going on’
The decision to move to Rural France from Crawley is made and it is then experience after experience of funny, sad ( but funny ) and funnier mishaps and interpretation of the foibles of French living....there are just too many great stories to list but the animals they seem to double up on weekly and that then take great joy in attacking him, some of them every time he appears anywhere close to them.the school concert about the annual school trip, an unusual choice for a concert has to be said and the ‘the UK to French’ taxation of their car notable
The camping holiday to Biarritz is also worthy of a mention for hilarity as are the musings on French food, the subtleties and complexities that must be learnt of the French kissing ritual when greeting and the general way of life but all in a good ribbing way and not in a derogatory way if makes sense, ( albeit the author is still a Mod and takes this seriously so is kinda quirky and has his own share of fascination on him from new neighbours who are at times not quite sure what to make of this Englishman abroad )
There is a more serious side with pointers to the stress his job and travel and at times life gives him but even this is done with wry insight and humour but none the less real feeling and it was a good differing side to the author that we learnt about, being a comedian has it’s ups and it’s downs
I loved loved loved it and found it a really refreshing,honest,read and Ian Moore goes straight into my ‘will read without looking at blurb’ list such is my confidence in the writing after reading this book
Essayez ce livre et vous rirez dès la page 1 ( try this book and you will laugh from page 1 )

[Zee Monodee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought this would be more entertaining... It was more 'woe is me' than actually funny, to be honest. Was also looking for more 'Frenchness' in all this, the fish-out-of-water aspect of it all, which I didn't really find (it was very clouded or coloured, depends on the moment, by the 'mod' in the author) along the lines of Jon von Sothen's Paris Match: The Fine Art of Becoming Everyday French
Read very humdrum, sadly. Wasn't what I was looking for and what was sold to me from the blurb

[Manu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read, one that's made me one that wants to read again after a long time without reading a book (maybe 1 year in total). That being said, the lack of a plot made me feel like as if I was just reading a bit of nonsense and made me question why I was actually reading this book. It has it's clear ups and downs but Moore knows how to make his life seem entertaining and fun to read.
To conclude, I think that this book is a fun read and it's really good if you want to pick up the habit again, but by the time you finish it, you're just doing so for the sake of finishing it.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can understand why some people would really like this book as it is well written and does provide some insights. I like some British humour, John Cleese come to mind, but parts of this book became a little tedious with that slapstick style which I am not a fan of, I also have to say the stories centred on the cats and horses were too much and not very funny (in my view). Some parts were quite good but it was like the author suddenly thought that's been a page or two without some ridiculous scenario so I had better put something in. You might like it but it just didn't grab me.

[Jonathan Waugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed the opening entries in the Follet Valley series, I was keen to read this non-fiction book by the author. I found the first half hysterically funny, as the author describes moving to France and the early part of their life there. The book loses a little of its edge in the second half.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me laugh. Learnt a lot about French people.

[Julie Haigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun. 

This was enjoyable, and so easy to read. I've read lots of moving abroad memoirs; many are retiring couples-this one is a bit different in that Ian and wife Natalie are a young couple, with a three-year-old son. Working age-and not just that, Ian is a famous comedian. Well, I hadn't heard of him when I originally found his books :) A few years ago, he was being interviewed on a memoirs group. Before the event, I mentioned I hadn't heard of him..... and he was supposed to be funny. He certainly was-what a great event. I got both of his books about life in France...... but, years later, having thousands of books.....I'd still not read them, and kept meaning to every time I saw them mentioned. On seeing this, what I thought a new book-I found it was what was previously published as A La Mod, so, I snapped up this up-to-date edition. Such fun! Wondering why I hadn't picked these up earlier!

The book contains the usual delights and hurdles this sort of upsticking involves. A fun read with lots of laughs.  

A bit different. Not your usual moving abroad memoir. Not a lot about property hunting, as they find somewhere incredibly quickly. Not so much about renovating etc. More about their daily lives, and the chaos that ensues. You can imagine him telling some of this on stage-indeed, the audiobook edition (I see there is one of the older edition so far), with the author narrating would be great, because that's how the book sort of 'sounds' as you read it-I imagine him telling paragraphs from this, using it as some of his gags.

There are some renovations later on in the book as they're thinking of ways they could make money in France-rather than Ian's increasing travel and being away from home with his work as a stand-up. It's starting to take its toll.  

Different, and refreshingly so.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Moore is already well known for his popular cosy crimes set in France, and as a stand up comedian. This is a book about his move to France and both his writing and his life as a commuting stand up comedian . It's funny, entertaining and interesting. He comes across as a less curmudgeonly Peter Mayle. This is is a must read for fans of his crime novels, and for anyone who enjoys stories of fish out of water English men trying to fit in with the French.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of Ian’s Follet Valley mystery series, you definitely have to check out this autobiographical book about his experience uprooting his family from Crawley and starting a new life in rural France.

(Psst… for all the Richard fans, you will find many an origin story in here! 🐓🍷🎬)

The book had me laughing out loud in several places as Ian was unashamedly grounded and truthful in his retelling of the assorted disasters, blunders and triumphs his family have faced on their journey to claiming their own slice of rural French paradise.

Full of lots of heart and wit! 🇫🇷🥖

[Jilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! real laugh out loud reading. Highly recommended.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant.
I have read quite a few books written by English expats who have landed in France. This is by far the funniest.
More, please, Mr Moore!

[Imogen Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly. I loved it.

[Belka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[magnus parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed a lot reading this book. At one section about the French civil service, I couldn't breathe for laughing. Ian is very funny and it's a great story. Ian's wife steals the show though.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good re-read for me after maybe 12 years…under a new title. This time I enjoyed it in France under thundery skies and with wine in hand.

[Robin Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who hasn't read any of his crime novels this look at his first few years living in the Loire Valley is an excellent introduction to Ian Moore - and his writing.
There are certainly echoes here of Gerald Durrell's 'My Family and Other Animals' and any number of memoirs by British ex-pats experiencing the French lifestyle but Ian Moore still manages to make this an original and amusing book.
The author charms his readers with a ready wit and a consistent lightness of tone despite all the ups and downs of adjusting to a very different way of life amidst a young family and a growing menagerie of opinionated pets.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. I will be honest, I've never heard of Ian as a comedian but picked this up as it was a biography more or less. This was a funny story in plenty of places but it's Ian's story of how he came to move to France with his family.

Very interesting read and easy to pick up and put down. I always enjoy stories of people moving abroad and reading about different lifestyles so this was a good read for me.